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PhD student Colleen Seymour is working on the role of Acaciaerioloba in preserving biodiversity in the Kalahari. Photo: OnnoHuyserthreaten remaining fragments of natural lowland vegetation inthe southwestern parts of the Western Cape. Arid savanna andKaroid areas within these provinces, that have no access toirrigation, are threatened by management designed to increasestocking densities for domestic livestock, and by an urbanmarket for firewood from indigenous hardwood Acacias.In general, this project aims to quantify rates and biodiversitycosts of natural habitat transformation, understand thefunctions and value of biodiversity in the region, and provideguidelines for sustaining and restoring biodiversity in utilizedand conserved rural and peri-urban Cape landscapes.Ultimately, the key outcomes of the project will be thedevelopment of (i) a theoretical framework for incentives andpolicy for biodiversity restoration based on an understanding ofthe influence of vegetation diversity on secondary production,faunal diversity and resistance to alien plant invasions, and (ii)recommendations for conservation management andrehabilitation of selected Cape vegetation types (particularlyRenosterveld, Strandveld and Succulent Karoo) based ontheoretical modelling, observation and experimentation.Karoo ecosystem responses to land-use: changes inbiodiversity, plant demography and soil processesOverviewThe key objectives of this project are (i) to investigate theeffects of land-use in the Karoo on the distribution of nutrients,water and energy in rangelands, plant population processesinvertebrate assemblages and invasive alien plant distributionand abundance, (ii) to model the probability, direction and rateof change in Karoo ecosystems following resource use orrehabilitation management, (iii) to build capacity in sustainableresource use through field training of postgraduate students,and (iv) to enhance public awareness of the role of ecologicalresearch in facilitating sustainable use of Karoo ecosystems.Highlights• Nearly 7000 km of roadside surveys of alien plants in theKaroo and Karoo-Kalahari, and Karoo-Fynbos ecotonesindicate that the Australian saltbushes dominate disturbedvegetation on saline soils.• A new model of plant growth and longevity based on twomeasurements of plant size makes it possible to estimatethe age and growth rate of poorly known plant species.• A project on the impacts on the avifauna of thereplacement of native trees by non-indigenous trees hasbeen completed.• School pupils from a formerly disadvantaged ruralcommunity have been involved in SET-awarenessactivities including excursions to nature reserves whereaspects of the science syllabus are demonstrated in thefield.StudentsColleen Seymour (PhD, co-supervised by Dr Jeremy Midgely);The role of Acacia erioloba in preserving biodiversity in theKalahari, Southern AfricaThidi Tshiguvho (MSc, University of Stellenbosch, cosupervisedwith Dr Isla Grundy); The role of the sacredtradition in species and land conservation: The case of theVhavenda of Northern Province, South AfricaVisitorsDr Scott Turner, Department of Environmental and ForestBiology, SUNY College of Environmental Science & Forestry,Syracuse, New York 13210 USA, together with colleagues and15 students, spent 3 days at Prince Albert in December-January on a desert ecology course, taught jointly by DrTurner, Prof Milton and Dr Dean.Dr Thomas Leuteritz, from Conservation International inWashington DC, USA, and currently doing a post-doctoralproject through the University of the Western Cape, is carryingout a study of movements of radio-tracked Tent Tortoises atthe Tierberg study site. He has been a regular visitor to the sitefrom July 2002 to June 2003.Corinna Riginos, a Fulbright funded student from BrownUniversity, Rhode Island, USA, and affiliated to the Departmentof Conservation Ecology at Stellenbosch University, carried outa study on the recruitment of plants on the Tierberg study siteduring 2002.AcknowledgementsWork on woodland structure in Kalahari arid savanna waspartly funded by the Deutsche Ministerium für Bildung undWissenschaft (BMBF) (BIOTA - southern Africa project).Sponsors for the Karoo project are: National ResearchFoundation, Stellenbosch University, PotchefstroomUniversity, National Department of Agriculture, Jan Kitshoffand the BMDF.24 Percy FitzPatrick Institute Annual Report: July 2002 - June 2003