The plant communities of the Roodeplaat Experimental Farm, Gauteng, South Africa and the importance of classification verification

M.D. Panagos, R.H. Westfall, J.M. van Staden, P.J.K. Zacharias
1998 South African Journal of Botany  
A classification and a map of the Sourish Mixed Bushveld on the ARC-Roode pia at Experimental Farm is presented . Pla nt communities need to be verified and th is was done in this study by means of a classification efficiency value , examination of the spatial integrity of rereve-groups, floristic and habitat corre la tion, the va lidity of the commun ity composition analysis and ground-truthing. Five woodland communities , differentiated floristically, are identified and quantitative resu lts
more » ... or each community include a short description, community statistics, species and growth form rela tions and community cover. Three of the five woodland commun ities occur on flats and the other two occur on crests and slopes. All five plan t communities have Acacia trees as the dominant species and four of the five have grasses as diagnostic species. The vegetation on the farm is in a degraded condition and Aloe greatheadii var. davyana occurs in all the communities as a strong competitor. Management proposals include conservative stocking rates and the removal of sheep.
doi:10.1016/s0254-6299(15)30826-7 fatcat:bdzkyyhxtndenompxokh6subke