Guiding principles for reserve management - NCC Environmental ...

2.4.6 Vegetation2.4.6.1 GeneralThe vegetation of the WNR comprises a Central Bushveld vegetation unit of the Savanna Biome (Figure5).Savanna is characterized by a herbaceous layer (usually dominated by grasses) with a woodycomponent – most typically an overstorey of trees. In southern Africa the term bushveld is an aptdescription of the vegetation structure, as the vegetation most often does not comprise distinct shruband tree layers and the shrubs and trees occur in a matrix with a grass-dominated herb layer.The vegetation descriptions for the reserve follow Mucina and Rutherford (2006).Roodeberg BushveldRoodeberg Bushveld (Figure 5) varies from short closed woodland to tall open woodland in that it has apoorly developed grass component. The trees and shrubs of this vegetation unit are comprised of,amongst others: Acacia burkei, Acacia nigrescens, Acacia robusta, Sclerocarya birrea subsp. caffra (talltrees); Acacia tortilis subsp. heteracantha, Combretum apiculatum, Kirkia accuminatum, Terminaliasericea and Ziziphus mucronata (small trees); Dichrostachys cinerea, Grewia flava, Euclea crispa (tallshrubs); and Commiphora africana, Melhania acuminata and Sida cordifolium (small shrubs). The grasslayer is dominated by Aristida canescens, Chloris virgata, Digitaria eriantha and Panicum maximum,amongst others.2.4.6.2 Species of Special ConcernTable 4 lists the species of conservation concern known to occur in the WNR area 4 .Table 4: Plant species of conservation concern known to occur in the Wonderkop Nature Reserve areaAcacia eriolobaSCIENTIFIC NAMEIUCN STATUSDeclining2.4.6.3 State of Invasive Alien Plant SpeciesIsolated patches of Queen of the Night Cereus jamacaru (Category 1 – Declared Weed), Syringa Meliaazedarach (Category 2 – Declared Invader) and Prickly Pear Opuntia sp. (Category 1 – Declared Weed)occur in the reserve.4 The species of conservation concern indicated in this section have a strong probability of occurrence at this reserve, based on the Plants ofSouth Africa (POSA) database. The POSA includes a database of all plants recorded by means of voucher specimens lodged with one of therecognised herbaria in South Africa. The actual occurrence of these species will, however, need to be ground-truthed as part of KPA 1:Biodiversity and Heritage Conservation (Objective 1.6).LEDET Reserve Management Documents: Wonderkop Nature Reserve (Strategic Plan) 18