Original Research

Conservation value of the Egoli Granite Grassland, an endemic grassland in Gauteng, South Africa

G.J. Bredenkamp, L.R. Brown, M.F. Pfab
Koedoe | Vol 49, No 2 | a112 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/koedoe.v49i2.112 | © 2006 G.J. Bredenkamp, L.R. Brown, M.F. Pfab | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 18 December 2006 | Published: 18 December 2006

About the author(s)

G.J. Bredenkamp, University of Pretoria, South Africa
L.R. Brown, University of South Africa
M.F. Pfab, Gauteng Department of Agriculture, South Africa

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Abstract

Gauteng is the most densely populated province in South Africa. Its remaining natural areas are constantly under threat from urban development and the associated impacts. Presently, the natural areas of Gauteng support a large diversity of ecosystems. One such ecosystem is the Egoli Granite Grassland, endemic to the province, poorly conserved and therefore highly threatened. This paper describes the original Egoli Granite Grassland and the anthropogenic Hyparrhenia hirta dominated grassland that has replaced it in many of the remnant areas. Human impacts on this sensitive ecosystem have resulted in an altered species composition, loss of many species, and a change from a species-rich grassland with high conservation value to a species-poor grassland with low conservation value. The conservation of the last remaining relicts of original Egoli Granite Grassland is essential.

Keywords

Egoli Granite Grassland; Conservation value; Hyparrhenia hirta; Gauteng

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