Nurse plants have the potential to accelerate vegetation recovery in Lapalala Wilderness old fields, South Africa

2018 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 82-91
Author(s):  
Sheunesu Ruwanza
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Vegetation Recovery ◽  
Old Fields ◽  
Nurse Plants

scholarly journals Topsoil Transfer from Natural Renosterveld to Degraded Old Fields Facilitates Native Vegetation Recovery

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 3833 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheunesu Ruwanza
Keyword(s):  
Vegetation Recovery ◽  
Old Fields ◽  
Old Field ◽  
Vegetation Diversity ◽  
Nurse Plants ◽  
Natural Site ◽  
Restoration Technique ◽  
Analysis Of Similarity ◽  
Soil Transfer ◽  
Degraded Ecosystems

The transfer of soils from intact vegetation communities to degraded ecosystems is seen as a promising restoration tool aimed at facilitating vegetation recovery. This study examined how topsoil transfer from intact renosterveld to degraded old fields improves vegetation diversity, cover, and composition. Transferred topsoil were overlaid on 30 quadrats, each measuring 1 m2, in May 2009. Eight years following the initial soil transfer, vegetation diversity in the soil transfer site showed an increase towards the natural site compared to the old field site where no soil transfer was administered. Both species richness and cover for trees and shrubs in the soil transfer site increased towards the natural site, though this was not the case for herbs and grasses. One-way analysis of similarity (ANOSIM) showed significant (R = 0.55) separation in community composition between sites. The study concludes that soil transfer from intact renosterveld to degraded old fields is a promising restoration technique because it increases species diversity and cover and facilitates vegetation recovery. A significant restoration implication of this study is that soil transfer introduces key renosterveld native tree and shrub species that can facilitate successful restoration and act as restoration foci or nurse plants.

scholarly journals Facilitation by nurse plants contributes to vegetation recovery in human-disturbed desert ecosystems

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 485-497 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ernesto I. Badano ◽  
Omar R. Samour-Nieva ◽  
Joel Flores ◽  
José L. Flores-Flores ◽  
Jorge A. Flores-Cano ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Vegetation Recovery ◽  
Desert Ecosystems ◽  
Nurse Plants

scholarly journals Short-term vegetation recovery after alien plant clearing along the Rondegat River, South Africa

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 434-438 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer M. Fill ◽  
Suzaan Kritzinger-Klopper ◽  
Brian W. van Wilgen
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Vegetation Recovery ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Alien Plant

scholarly journals Population biology and ecology of the endangered Euphorbia susannae Marloth, an endemic to the Little Karoo, South Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Laaiqah Jabar ◽  
Stefan John Siebert ◽  
Michele Pfab ◽  
Dirk Cilliers
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Species Distribution ◽  
Population Biology ◽  
Species Distribution Model ◽  
Habitat Preferences ◽  
Distribution Model ◽  
Nurse Plants ◽  
Populations At Risk ◽  
In The Wild

Abstract. Jabar L, Siebert SJ, Pfab MF, Cilliers DP. 2021. Population biology and ecology of the endangered Euphorbia susannae Marloth, an endemic to the Little Karoo, South Africa. Biodiversitas 22: 4583-4596. Many euphorbias in the semi-arid parts of South Africa are restricted edaphic specialists with small populations at risk of extinction. Euphorbia susannae is one such species, which grows on the edges of quartz patches along a section of the northern foot slopes of the Langeberg Mountains. This study set out to acquire data on the biology and ecology of the species during a first-ever comprehensive field survey. The resultant dataset allowed for the determination of the geographic distribution of the species, as well as the size and number of populations. Biotic and abiotic environmental variables were employed to generate a habitat profile and a species distribution model. The population structure, regeneration potential, and stability of each subpopulation and the population were also assessed. Euphorbia susannae is a range-restricted species (EOO 170 km2 and AOO 36 km2) confined to eight subpopulations that vary considerably in size. According to this study, 1845 individuals remain in the wild. Habitat preferences of the species were considered in detail and linked to a species distribution model for conservation purposes. It was shown that the species preferred nurse plants. The smallest adults size class was the largest cohort in all the sub-populations and was ascribed to pulse recruitments after an unknown favorable event. Although individuals were not evenly distributed among the size classes, annual recruitments levels were healthy, suggesting good pollination, seed set, and germination conditions.

Time and Latitude in South Africa

1972 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 27-38
Author(s):  
J. Hers
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Cape Town ◽  
Astronomical Observations ◽  
Royal Observatory ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Astronomical Determination ◽  
Limited Accuracy ◽  
Better Than

In South Africa the modern outlook towards time may be said to have started in 1948. Both the two major observatories, The Royal Observatory in Cape Town and the Union Observatory (now known as the Republic Observatory) in Johannesburg had, of course, been involved in the astronomical determination of time almost from their inception, and the Johannesburg Observatory has been responsible for the official time of South Africa since 1908. However the pendulum clocks then in use could not be relied on to provide an accuracy better than about 1/10 second, which was of the same order as that of the astronomical observations. It is doubtful if much use was made of even this limited accuracy outside the two observatories, and although there may – occasionally have been a demand for more accurate time, it was certainly not voiced.

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