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

February 2011 71 12619patches too. Occasional hot fires encroaching from the surrounding savanna woodlands,uncontrolled timber extraction, medicinal-plant harvesting, and grazing in forest can be viewed ascurrent major threats.Southern Misbelt ForestsFigure 7-20: Northern Afrotemperate ForestThe Southern Misbelt Forests occur in the KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape provinces. Theseforest vary in size and occur in fire-shadow habitats on south and southeast facing slopes andlocated along the Great Escarpment, spanning a large area from Somerset East, the AmotholeMountains, scarps of Transkei to the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands as far east as Ulundi. In KwaZulu-Natal these forests are found in a wide band sandwiched between the Drakensburg MontaneForests and Northern KwaZulu-Natal Misbelt Forests at higher altitudes and Eastern Scarp Forestsat lower altitudes.On the Great Escarpment (Amothole, Transkei Escarpment) and in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlandsthese forests are tall (15-20m tall) and multilayered (having two layers of trees, a dense shrubbyunderstorey and a well-developed herb layer). The forests found on low-altitude scarps are low (inplaces having the character of a shrub forest), and although less structured into different treelayers, they are still species rich. The tall forests show a mix of coarse-grained, canopygap/disturbance driven dynamics and fine-grained, regeneration characteristics. Further east(Transkei, KwaZulu-Natal Midlands) Podocarpus henkelii become prominent in the canopy layer.Deciduous elements play an important role.ZITHOLELE CONSULTING