38. Moist Sandy Highveld Grassland

Synonyms:

North-eastern Sandy Highveld (A57), Eastern Bankenveld (A61c).

Statistics:

15 547 km²; ± 55% transformed; 0.67% conserved.

Locality & Physical Geography:

Found on the sandy plains west of the Belfast-Carolina-Ermelo area, and north of Volksrust in Mpumalanga, at an altitude of 1 600 to 1 800 m.

Climate:

The annual rainfall is 700 to 950 mm, occurring in summer. Temperatures vary between -10°C and 35°C, with an average of 15°C.

Geology & Soil:

Shales and sandstones of the Vryheid and Volksrust Formations (Ecca Group, Karoo Sequence) predominate the underlying rock types, giving rise to deep, red to yellow, sandy soils.

Vegetation:

This grassland is dominated by Fan Lovegrass Eragrostis plana, Weeping Lovegrass E. curvula, Speargrass Heteropogon contortus, Trachypogon spicatus and Themeda triandra. Dicotyledonous forbs are not abundant, though many species occur in the area.

Key Environmental Parameters:

High rainfall on cold, frosty, eastern Mpumalanga highveld, together with sandy soils, control the distribution of this vegetation type.

Economic Uses:

Very suitable for crop production, with natural vegetation heavily used for grazing by sheep and cattle.

Conservation Status:

Very poor. Moist Sandy Highveld Grassland is now largely ploughed. Natural vegetation is restricted to patchy remnants, which are often heavily grazed. The Nooitgedacht Dam Nature Reserve is the only official conservation area, but the Ermelo Game Park represents a good example of this vegetation type.

Key References:

Turner (1989), Coetzee et al. (1995).

Authors:

George Bredenkamp & Noel van Rooyen.