The vegetation ecology of the Eastern Transvaal Escarpment in the Sabie area. 2. Floristic classification

Abstract

The indigenous vegetation of the Eastern Transvaal Escarpment in the Sabie area is classified with the aid of the PHYTOTAB program package. Four ecological-formation classes (efc) based on floristics. physiognomy and climate correspond to four data subsets. Plant communities in each efc are defined by means of 46 differential species-groups distributed amongst forest, thicket, woodland, shrubland and grassland structural types. Environmental correlation is facilitated by means of 21 habitat types.

The vegetation ecology of the Eastern Transvaal Escarpment in the Sabie area. 1. Physical environment

“…The foregoing treatment has been necessary for estab lishing a basic environmental context for vegetation classification (cf. Deall et al 1989). Environmental attributes are largely responsible for determining plantspecies distributions.…”

Phytosociology and plant community utilisation by vervet monkeys of the Blydeberg Conservancy, Limpopo Province

“…No similar vegetation descriptions have previously been completed on the vegetation of the study area and this research therefore provides valuable data on the ecosystems present. Previous vegetation studies for the region were conducted on broader plant communities (Deall 1985;Deall et al 1989;Matthews 1991;Matthews et al 1994;Marais 2005). Data obtained from this initial assessment could be incorporated into a larger vegetation map for the entire Blydeberg conservancy.…”