Checklist of ferns and seed plants of the Golden Gate Highlands  National Park, South Africa

Daemane, Mahlomola E.; Wyk, B-E. van; Moteetee, A.

doi:10.4102/abc.v40i2.222

Cited by 10 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…The evergreen tree Leucosidea sericea, known as 'ouhout', is an important source of fuel and indigenous medicine. Normally associated with river courses, Leucosidea forms dense thickets on overgrazed and disturbed areas, and can become an aggressive invader (Daemane et al 2010;Pond et al 2002;Mafole et al 2017). Similarly, Chrysocoma occurs naturally in grassland and shrubland ecosystems (Quinlan and Morris 1994), but can become problematic where grass cover has become reduced by overgrazing (Nüsser 2002;Rutherford et al 2012), leading to a reduction in rangeland grazing capacity.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Accounting for land cover changes and degradation in the Katse and Mohale Dam catchments of the Lesotho highlands

Turpie

Benn²,

Thompson

et al. 2021

African Journal of Range & Forage Science

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Rangeland conditions in the Lesotho highland dam catchment areas is important for local livelihoods and regional water supply. We investigated changes in land cover and condition from 1991 (before construction) to 2013, using Landsat imagery. The Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) decreased in the catchment areas, while increasing within two protected areas. NDVI decreases were greatest close to the dams and in the high altitude summer grazing areas. Land cover maps were generated for 1993, 2005 and 2013, using structural vegetation classes, as well as categories of grassland based on NDVI. High altitude areas were characterised by grasslands changing to lower NDVI categories, indicating overgrazing in climax sourveld grasslands. Mid-altitude areas were characterised by grasslands changing to higher NDVI categories and increases in woody vegetation, indicating overgrazing in Sweetveld. At lower altitudes, the increase in cultivated areas suggested disproportionately high population growth in the catchment areas. The results suggest that there has been widespread degradation that appears to be more as a result of overgrazing than climate change. The study demonstrates the importance of using a combination of land cover, NDVI and field data in assessing degradation. Natural capital accounting methods provide a useful framework for documenting, monitoring and understanding changes in ecosystem condition.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Accounting for land cover changes and degradation in the Katse and Mohale Dam catchments of the Lesotho highlands

Turpie

Benn²,

Thompson

et al. 2021

African Journal of Range & Forage Science

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“…The annual rainfall in GG is c . 780 mm (Daemane et al., 2010). Several species of large herbivores occur within Golden Gate Highlands National Park, but there was no evidence of extensive herbivory at any of our study sites (possibly due to cushion plant species at GG being limited to rocky and exposed sites; Momberg et al, 2018).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There are no large herbivores on the island, and herbivory by invertebrates is limited. Golden Gate Highlands National Park covers c. 340 km 2 of grassland, with isolated patches of shrubland and Afrotemperate forest, and has pronounced variability in topography, elevation and climate (Daemane et al, 2010). The annual rainfall in GG is c. 780 mm (Daemane et al, 2010).…”

Section: Study Site and Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Golden Gate Highlands National Park covers c. 340 km 2 of grassland, with isolated patches of shrubland and Afrotemperate forest, and has pronounced variability in topography, elevation and climate (Daemane et al, 2010). The annual rainfall in GG is c. 780 mm (Daemane et al, 2010). Several species of large herbivores occur within Golden Gate Highlands National Park, but there was no evidence of extensive herbivory at any of our study sites (possibly due to cushion plant species at GG being limited to rocky and exposed sites; Momberg et al, 2018).…”

Section: Study Site and Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Testing the role of functional trait expression in plant–plant facilitation

et al. 2020

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1. Positive biotic interactions between plant species may strongly affect species and community-level patterns, but the processes through which benefactor species alter the performance of interacting species (via, e.g. beneficial mechanisms like resource provisioning) are still inadequately understood. One poorly explored potential explanation is that plant-plant facilitation could occur through the impact of benefactor species on the functional trait expression of beneficiary species. Indeed, plant species that affect local conditions can modify functional trait expression of interacting species, thereby improving their performance and resulting in a facilitative interaction. However, the response of intraspecific trait variation to biotically driven microhabitat modification, and its role in determining the outcome of plant-plant interactions, has rarely been explored. 2. Here, we test whether growing with benefactor species affects the expression of functional traits of eight species, encompassing different plant growth forms, in two contrasting study systems. This is achieved using a paired sampling approach to compare values of seven functional traits of conspecific individuals growing within and adjacent to cushion plants (i.e. benefactor species which are known to strongly alter microhabitat conditions and to have positive effects on some of the focal species). In addition, we test whether the effect of biotic interactions on functional trait expression changes along elevational gradients, as the outcome of biotic interactions is expected to vary with elevation. 3. Contrary to predictions, in both systems, intraspecific trait variation was not well explained by the biotic interaction with the cushion plant species or the variation in abiotic conditions associated with elevational gradients. Where biotic interactions did affect functional trait expression and bivariate trait relationships, traits responded variably between species, suggesting that context specificity may be a constraint to predicting how intraspecific trait variation responds to plant-plant interactions, adding to the growing body of literature that challenges the generality and predictability of the drivers of intraspecific trait variation. 4. This research, therefore, suggests that benefactor species' facilitative process is likely not through an impact on intraspecific trait expression, and that instead other processes may be more important for translating beneficial microhabitat 256 | Functional Ecology van der MerWe et al.

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Chrysocoma ciliata L. (Asteraceae) in the Lesotho Highlands: an anthropogenically introduced invasive or a niche coloniser?

et al. 2017

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Over recent decades, concern has been raised regarding the management of Chrysocoma ciliata L. (Asteraceae syn. C. tenuifolia) in the eastern Lesotho highlands. This shrub species is argued to be a Karroid invasive introduced anthropogenically within the last century. Historical botanical records in Lesotho are scarce, so the origins of this species in the region are as yet uncertain. Speculation is based on the contemporary abundance of these shrubs in overgrazed areas throughout the highlands. This study presents fossil pollen records for the eastern Lesotho Highlands which confirm the presence of this species intermittently throughout the past ~6,000 cal yr BP. In so doing, this study refutes claims that the species was introduced anthropogenically within the past 100 years, and of its narrow definition as a Karoo species invasive in Lesotho. The intermittent appearance of this species in the pollen record, however, indicates that it is climate sensitive, colonising the wetlands under conditions unsuitable to other plant species. Evidence presented here calls for a re-evaluation of the categorisation of Chrysocoma ciliata as an invasive in the Lesotho highlands, and more critically, for a redevelopment of the environmental management policies which involve this species.

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Checklist of ferns and seed plants of the Golden Gate Highlands National Park, South Africa

Cited by 10 publications

References 2 publications

Accounting for land cover changes and degradation in the Katse and Mohale Dam catchments of the Lesotho highlands

Accounting for land cover changes and degradation in the Katse and Mohale Dam catchments of the Lesotho highlands

Testing the role of functional trait expression in plant–plant facilitation

Chrysocoma ciliata L. (Asteraceae) in the Lesotho Highlands: an anthropogenically introduced invasive or a niche coloniser?

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