Original Research
The plant communities of the Andover Game Reserve, South Africa
Koedoe | Vol 50, No 1 | a137 |
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/koedoe.v50i1.137
| © 2008 Heath P. Cronje, Mike D. Panagos, Brian K. Reilly
| This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 21 February 2008 | Published: 10 December 2008
Submitted: 21 February 2008 | Published: 10 December 2008
About the author(s)
Heath P. Cronje, Doornkloof Nature Reserve, South AfricaMike D. Panagos, Tshwane University of Technology, South Africa
Brian K. Reilly, Tshwane University of Technology, South Africa
Full Text:
PDF (1MB)Abstract
Floristic characteristics of the Andover Game Reserve (AGR) were surveyed using an area-based survey technique and classified according to the data recorded from 88 relevés, using the PHYTOTAB-PC software package. Three plant communities, of which two each contain two variants, were described and mapped. The plant communities and their causative environmental factors were validated through detrended- and canonical correspondence multivariate analyses. The plant communities of the AGR were found to typify the floristics associated with the catenal sequences located in undulating areas on granite. Broad-leaved savanna is located at the crest and upper mid-slopes while fine-leaved savanna occurs along the footslopes of the AGR. Seeplines, a characteristic occurrence along catenas, are found at the transitional zone between the upper broad- and lower fine-leaved savanna plant communities. This study forms the basis for the compilation of a revised ecological management plan for the Andover Game Reserve.
Keywords
Plant communities; PHYTOTAB-PC; catena; savanna; granitic soils
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