Original Research

Soil-plant Relationships in the Central Kruger National Park

S.W. Fraser, T.H. van Rooyen, E. Verster
Koedoe | Vol 30, No 1 | a499 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/koedoe.v30i1.499 | © 1987 National Parks Board
Submitted: 21 October 1987 | Published: 21 October 1987

About the author(s)

S.W. Fraser, University of South Africa, South Africa
T.H. van Rooyen, University of South Africa, South Africa
E. Verster, University of South Africa, South Africa

Full Text:

PDF (4MB)

Abstract

There is a significant relationship between the tree communities and the soils in the Mooiplaas- Mahlangeni region of the central Kruger National Park. Shrub savanna dominated by Colophospermum mopane (mopane) as a multiplestemmed shrub occurs on all the fine-textured soils derived from basic rocks i.e. basalts, diabase and olivine gabbro. Mixed savanna woodlands dominated by either mopane or Combretum apiculatum (red bushwillow) occur on the coarse-textured soils derived from granitic gneiss. The red bushwillow is dominant on the more shallow soils. Mopane occurs in very dense stands as either stunted trees or as single-stemmed shrubs on most duplex soils. Relatively low-lying areas with saline soils are treeless. Terminalia sericea (silver cluster- leaf) is characteristic of deeper coarse-textured and somewhat poorly drained soils.

Keywords

Kruger National Park, soil types, vegetation, Colophospermum mopane, Combretum apiculatum, Terminalia sericea, Mooiplaas-Mahlangeni region.

Metrics

Total abstract views: 6035
Total article views: 4057

 

Crossref Citations

1. Determinants of savanna vegetation structure: Insights from Colophospermum mopane
GARETH P. HEMPSON, EDMUND C. FEBRUARY, G. ANTHONY VERBOOM
Austral Ecology  vol: 32  issue: 4  first page: 429  year: 2007  
doi: 10.1111/j.1442-9993.2007.01712.x

2. Comparison of plant diversity in protected and communal lands in the Bushbuckridge lowveld savanna, South Africa
Charlie M. Shackleton
Biological Conservation  vol: 94  issue: 3  first page: 273  year: 2000  
doi: 10.1016/S0006-3207(00)00001-X

3. Landscape‐scale variation in plant community composition of an African savanna from airborne species mapping
C. A. Baldeck, M. S. Colgan, J.-B. Féret, S. R. Levick, R. E. Martin, G. P. Asner
Ecological Applications  vol: 24  issue: 1  first page: 84  year: 2014  
doi: 10.1890/13-0307.1

4. Edaphic, structural and physiological contrasts across Amazon Basin forest–savanna ecotones suggest a role for potassium as a key modulator of tropical woody vegetation structure and function
J. Lloyd, T. F. Domingues, F. Schrodt, F. Y. Ishida, T. R. Feldpausch, G. Saiz, C. A. Quesada, M. Schwarz, M. Torello-Raventos, M. Gilpin, B. S. Marimon, B. H. Marimon-Junior, J. A. Ratter, J. Grace, G. B. Nardoto, E. Veenendaal, L. Arroyo, D. Villarroel, T. J. Killeen, M. Steininger, O. L. Phillips
Biogeosciences  vol: 12  issue: 22  first page: 6529  year: 2015  
doi: 10.5194/bg-12-6529-2015

5. Patch dieback of Colophospermum mopane in a dysfunctional semi‐arid African savanna
Shaun D. Macgregor, Timothy G. O'Connor
Austral Ecology  vol: 27  issue: 4  first page: 385  year: 2002  
doi: 10.1046/j.1442-9993.2002.01192.x

6. Influence of Colophospermum mopane on surface soil properties and understorey vegetation in a southern African savanna
D. Mlambo, P. Nyathi, I. Mapaure
Forest Ecology and Management  vol: 212  issue: 1-3  first page: 394  year: 2005  
doi: 10.1016/j.foreco.2005.03.022

7. Tree thinning as an option to increase herbaceous yield of an encroached semi-arid savanna in South Africa
Gert N Smit
BMC Ecology  vol: 5  issue: 1  year: 2005  
doi: 10.1186/1472-6785-5-4

8. Woody vegetation–environment relations in a semi-arid savanna in the northern Transvaal
T.G. O’Connor
South African Journal of Botany  vol: 58  issue: 4  first page: 268  year: 1992  
doi: 10.1016/S0254-6299(16)30846-8

9. Differentiating geological fertility derived vegetation zones in Kruger National Park, South Africa, using Landsat and MODIS imagery
Christopher Munyati, Thihanedzwi Ratshibvumo
Journal for Nature Conservation  vol: 18  issue: 3  first page: 169  year: 2010  
doi: 10.1016/j.jnc.2009.08.001

10. Above ground woody community attributes, biomass and carbon stocks along a rainfall gradient in the savannas of the central lowveld, South Africa
C.M. Shackleton, R.J. Scholes
South African Journal of Botany  vol: 77  issue: 1  first page: 184  year: 2011  
doi: 10.1016/j.sajb.2010.07.014

11. Investigating potential determinants of the distribution limits of a savanna woody plant:Colophospermum mopane
Nicola Stevens, Anthony M. Swemmer, Leanne Ezzy, Barend F.N. Erasmus, David Ward
Journal of Vegetation Science  vol: 25  issue: 2  first page: 363  year: 2014  
doi: 10.1111/jvs.12098

12. Influence of soil fertility on the physiognomy of the African savanna tree Colophospermum mopane
Donald Mlambo
African Journal of Ecology  vol: 45  issue: 1  first page: 109  year: 2007  
doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2028.2006.00676.x

13. Savanna Tree Seedlings are Physiologically Tolerant to Nighttime Freeze Events
Kimberly O’Keefe, Jesse B. Nippert, Anthony M. Swemmer
Frontiers in Plant Science  vol: 7  year: 2016  
doi: 10.3389/fpls.2016.00046

14. Plant community diversity in the Chobe Enclave, Botswana: Insights for functional habitat heterogeneity for herbivores
Pascal Vittoz, Federico Pellacani, Rémy Romanens, Ali Mainga, Eric P. Verrecchia, Richard W.S. Fynn
KOEDOE - African Protected Area Conservation and Science  vol: 62  issue: 1  year: 2020  
doi: 10.4102/koedoe.v62i1.1604

15. Patch dieback of Colophospermum mopane in a dysfunctional semi‐arid African savanna
Shaun D. Macgregor, Timothy G. O'Connor
Austral Ecology  vol: 27  issue: 4  first page: 385  year: 2002  
doi: 10.1046/j.1442-9993.2002.01192.x

16. Organic matter fuel briquettes as a forest conservation tool in Lake Malawi National Park
S. Rantala, T. Tyynelä, M. Vickers
The Southern African Forestry Journal  vol: 202  issue: 1  first page: 55  year: 2004  
doi: 10.1080/20702620.2004.10431790

17. Review article: Vegetative growth, reproduction, browse production and response to tree clearing of woody plants in African savanna
G.N. Smit, N.F.G. Rethman, A. Moore
African Journal of Range & Forage Science  vol: 13  issue: 2  first page: 78  year: 1996  
doi: 10.1080/10220119.1996.9647902

18. Modelling Water Uptake Provides a New Perspective on Grass and Tree Coexistence
Michael G. Mazzacavallo, Andrew Kulmatiski, Matthew Germino
PLOS ONE  vol: 10  issue: 12  first page: e0144300  year: 2015  
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0144300

19. Landsat TM image segmentation for delineating geological zone correlated vegetation stratification in the Kruger National Park, South Africa
Christopher Munyati, Thihanedzwi Ratshibvumo, Jason Ogola
Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Parts A/B/C  vol: 55-57  first page: 1  year: 2013  
doi: 10.1016/j.pce.2009.11.014