Renosterveld types:

RenosterveldNorth-western Mountain RenosterveldEscarpment Mountain Renosterveld Central Mountain RenosterveldWest Coast Renosterveld

61. CENTRAL MOUNTAIN RENOSTERVELD

Synonym:

Central Mountain Renosterveld

Mountain Renosterveld (A43).

Statistics:

7 611 km²; ± 11 % transformed; 3.63% conserved.

Locality & Physical Geography:

Found on the fringes of the Little and Great Karoo basins and westward to the Worcester Valley, usually between Fynbos and Succulent Karoo vegetation types. In some areas the transitional zones between these three types is quite broad.

Climate:

Rainfall ranges from 250 to 400 mm per year, occurring mainly in winter.

Geology & Soil:

On Bokkeveld and Witteberg Group and, rarely, Karoo Sequence shales.

Vegetation:

This is an open to medium-dense cupressoid and small-leaved, low to mid-high shrubland. Emergents in the overstorey are scattered and include Sweet Thorn Acacia karroo, Bitter Aloe Aloe ferox, Common Guarri Euclea undulata and Rhus spp. The understorey lacks grasses when overgrazed, and contains a fair number of herbaceous plants at various densities, with a high proportion of succulents. Ashbush Pteronia incana is often dominant.

Key Environmental Parameters:

Little is known about the ecology of this vegetation type. Large game no longer exists in the area, although some species have been reintroduced to some of the nature reserves.

Economic Uses:

The vegetation type is mainly used for grazing. In the west it is increasingly being cultivated for cereals, whereas elsewhere it is used for propagation of vegetable seed. Where there is sufficient water in adjacent mountains, this vegetation type is being extensively cleared for fruit orchards. Ostrich farming is also prevalent in the Little Karoo.

Conservation Status:

Poor, but the best conserved of all the Renosterveld types, and the least transformed in the Western Cape. The Anysberg Nature Reserve is the principal conservation area of Central Mountain Renosterveld.

Key Reference:

Moll et al. (1984).

Author.

Tony Rebelo.