Appendix O2 - Biophysical Report.pdf - Zitholele.co.za

February 2011 63 12619The landscape comprises of small dolerite koppies and steeper slopes of ridges with sparse grasscover and typical occurrence of scattered shrubland pockets (and locally also thickets). Acaciacaffra, A. natalitia, Clerodendrum glabrum, Diospryos lycioides, Rhus pyroides, R. pentheri, Scutiamyrtina etc are the most prominent shrubs and small trees.This vegetation unit is classified as least threatened with a conservation target of 23%. Currentlyless than 1% is statutorily conserved in the Spioenkop Nature Reserve and about 3% istransformed by cultivation.Ithala Quartzite SourveldThe Ithala Quartzite Sourveld occurs in the Mpumalanga and KawZulu-Natal provinces. The unit isconfined to large quartzite patches that occur from Amsterdam, southwards east of Piet Retief andthrough Mahamba, to the Paris dam and Ithala Game Reserve, with isolated outcrops nearMagudu. This unit is located in low mountain ranges and undulating hills with rocky lowlands. Thegeneral pattern is a mosaic of woody shrubs and small trees in rocky areas, interspersed in thegrass layer. The vegetation structure varies according to altitude and rockiness, but the basaldensity of the grass sward is relatively low. This unit occurs in the zone between Grassland andSavanna where the dominant grassland gives way to woodland as elevation decreases. Thegrasslands are species rich covering a variety of altitudes but sharing common species unique tothe dystrophic quartzite geology.This vegetation unit is considered least threatened and the 27% conservation target has not beenreached. A total of 10% of this unit is protected within the Ithala Game Reserve. Land usepressures on this unit are low, probably because of its low nutrient status and rocky nature.Approximately 5 % is under plantations and a further 5% has been transformed into cultivated land.Savanna BiomeMost Savanna has an herbaceous layer usually dominated by grass species and a discontinuousto sometimes very open tree layer. The following Savanna vegetation units are present in theproposed study area:• Eastern Valley Bushveld;• Swaziland Sour Bushveld;• Zululand Lowveld;• Northern Zululand Sourveld;• Ngongoni Veld; and• Zululand Coastal Thornveld.ZITHOLELE CONSULTING