Ecosystem Guidelines for Environmental Assessment

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MIDLAND & MOUNTAIN will move in from neighbouring areas; recovery is possible within three fire cycles (20-120 years). For large areas, rates of recovery are 50 m from the edge per fire cycle (5-40 years) for serotinous species and 10 m per fire cycle for myrmecochorous species. If regeneration is insufficient to carry a fire, recovery will take much longer. Southern Cape areas with more regular rainfall will restore much faster than drier ones. If serotinous species are lost from the system (as happens under aliens or too-frequent burning), recovery takes about three fire cycles if remnant patches survive. Otherwise seeds should be broadcastsown after the first post-fire rains. Recovery of myrmecochorous species is slower and more labour-intensive (and costlier) than for serotinous species. What are acceptable trade-offs, compensation or off-sets for biodiversity loss Habitat in threatened (Critically Endangered and Endangered) ecosystems, corridors and vegetation boundaries must be avoided, as must sensitive habitats such as wetlands and riparian fringes. For all types of development, footprints should be minimised. The focus should be on selecting alternatives that maximise the retention of indigenous habitat, species and ecological processes. This means, for example, seeking less destructive methods of cultivating buchu, using local indigenous plants species in landscaping and retaining wetland features as natural habitats and corridors. Many of the rare species are localised, and these populations can often be avoided by good environmental assessments and planning. There are no acceptable trade-offs for losing the habitat of Critically Endangered and Endangered species, or the species themselves. Large developments are not recommended. Search-and-rescue is important for all development, especially when development may result in the irreversible loss of rare or threatened plant populations. A specialist botanical report must provide recommendations on rescue techniques and CapeNature should endorse the sites to which these plants are translocated. Rehabilitation of rare or threatened plants should not be considered as adequate mitigation for loss of pristine habitat. In the case of sites that will be disturbed by development but later rehabilitated, search-and-rescue should, as a minimum, concentrate on saving bulbs and succulents. Frequent, high-intensity summer fires and overharvesting have reduced the Clanwilliam cedar Bulbs should be marked in spring when they flower or Widdringtonia cedarbergensis to remote sites in the are in leaf, but they should only be transplanted once higher-lying parts of the Cederberg. their leaves have dried off. In all cases topsoil (upper 150 mm) should be removed before an area is disturbed and replaced after the operational phase. In the case of recently burned sites the seedlings of most shrubs can be rescued by means of retaining soil sods (± 30 cm x 30 cm x 15 cm deep) in trays. Transplantation of rescued plants must take place in autumn (March-April). In threatened ecosystems, or where sensitive habitats or ecological corridors or vegetation boundaries may be transformed, biodiversity off-sets must be considered after all standard mitigation has been carried out. The selected areas should support vegetation of the same or better quality than that found on the developed site. PIETER MALAN COLIN PATERSON-JONES 50 : MIDLAND & MOUNTAIN FYNBOS ECOSYSTEMS
Property development in the Cape mountains must provide for management of woody alien species such as the aggressively invasive silky hakea Hakea sericea. MIDLAND & MOUNTAIN
Page 1: ECOSYSTEM GUIDELINES FOR ENVIRONMEN
Page 4 and 5: CHARL DE VILLIERS (EDITOR) Conserva
Page 6 and 7: CONTENTS 7 : 8 : 10 : 14 : 22 : 24
Page 8 and 9: “Environmental Assessment provide
Page 10 and 11: PREFACE Charl de Villiers These gui
Page 12 and 13: INTRODUCTION Susie Brownlie Purpose
Page 14 and 15: The drafting process, which was co-
Page 16 and 17: INCLUDING BIODIVERSITY CONSIDERATIO
Page 18 and 19: UNEP's voluntary guidelines on biod
Page 20 and 21: Breede River valley: CAPE and SKEP
Page 22 and 23: STEP 4: WHEN SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS AR
Page 24 and 25: A NOTE ON FIRE All fynbos types req
Page 26 and 27: COASTAL ESTUARIES COASTAL ECOSYSTEM
Page 28 and 29: COASTAL non-linear manner over wide
Page 30 and 31: COASTAL SANDY BEACHES & DUNE SYSTEM
Page 32 and 33: COASTAL What are the “bottom line
Page 34 and 35: COASTAL INCORPORATING WEST AND SOUT
Page 36 and 37: COASTAL Strandveld is also increasi
Page 38 and 39: What are the critical things to mai
Page 40 and 41: LOWLAND FYNBOS INCORPORATING SAND F
Page 42 and 43: LOWLAND FYNBOS Veld clearance for r
Page 44 and 45: NICK HELME LOWLAND FYNBOS Leipoldtv
Page 46 and 47: MIDLAND & MOUNTAIN INCORPORATING AL
Page 48 and 49: MIDLAND & MOUNTAIN Altered fire reg
Page 50 and 51: MIDLAND & MOUNTAIN What are the cri
Page 54 and 55: RENOSTERVELD INCORPORATING COAST &
Page 56 and 57: RENOSTERVELD Urban expansion is a p
Page 58 and 59: RENOSTERVELD What, if any, reliable
Page 60 and 61: SUCCULENT KAROO INCORPORATING VYGIE
Page 62 and 63: SUCCULENT KAROO Quarrying for grani
Page 64 and 65: MAINLAND THICKET INCORPORATING THIC
Page 66 and 67: MAINLAND THICKET appear to recover
Page 68 and 69: MAINLAND THICKET What are the criti
Page 70 and 71: FRESHWATER FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS: W
Page 72 and 73: FRESHWATER What are the key issues,
Page 74 and 75: FRESHWATER exotic garden escapees i
Page 76 and 77: FRESHWATER INCORPORATING MINOR DRAI
Page 78 and 79: FRESHWATER Introduction to the syst
Page 80 and 81: SCEPS SPATIAL COMPONENTS OF ECOLOGI
Page 82 and 83: JAN VLOK SCEPS Quartz patches can s
Page 84 and 85: SCEPS those characterised by mosaic
Page 86 and 87: TABLE 4: EXAMPLES OF SPATIAL COMPON
Page 88 and 89: SCEPS ecosystems (e.g. Granite Fynb
Page 90 and 91: REFERENCES & RESOURCES There is a w
Page 92 and 93: APPENDIX 1 SOUTH AFRICAN VEGETATION
Page 94 and 95: APPENDIX 2 RECOMMENDED TERMS OF REF
Page 96: SALDANHA CAPE TOWN VANRHYNSDORP CER

Ecosystem Guidelines for Environmental Assessment

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