Introduction
Wildcliff offers an outstanding example of the flora of the reknowned
Cape Floristic Region. The dominant vegetation biomes of the Reserve
are Mountane Fynbos and Afromontane Forest. In addition, there
are, in all likelihood, mini-ecosystems in the fields, mountains
and cliffs that have yet to be discovered. In addition to indigenous
flora,
the southern slopes of Wildcliff suffer from the spread of exotic
vegetation dominated by the invasive black wattle, Acacia mearnsii,
and other alien species. This project aims to map the various areas of
different vegetation. Further studies will seek to relate the
vegetation
maps to soil, microclimates, sunlight and other physical features.
Location
Wildcliff is 17km
north-east of Heidelberg, Western Cape. It is centered at about
33º57'S, 21º2'E with
elevations from 290m to 1130m. The boundaries lie between 20º58.9'E
on the west to 21º3.0' on the
eastern side, and 33º58.5'S on the
south to 33º55.9' at the
northernmost point.
Vegetation Mapping Method
The aim is to record and evaluate GPS data
concerning the different biomes in order to understand the spatial and
temporal trends within the vegetation of the reserve using GIS. This
can be achieved by using the GPS unit to
demarcate the boundaries of each habitat type and identify the key
indigenous and alien species found in each given area. Some
existing features, such as the edges of the reserve and streams/rivers
will
serve as boundaries between habitats to manage and simplify data
collection within set target areas.
The main habitat types will be divided into
- Monotypic
stands consisting chiefly of black wattle and/or pine of various
densities
- Formerly
disturbed areas namely land previously used for agricultural purposes
such as the meadows which were grazing for livestock, etc.
-
Area
within 10 – 20 m on either side of streams/rivers which tend to
comprise tree species associated with Afromontane forest
- Montane
fynbos
The first step will
be to divide the reserve into areas to which I will assign one of the
aforementioned habitat types and circumnavigate these set areas using
the GPS device, in order to establish their coverage. Once the
size and position of these areas has been confirmed I will walk through
them to identify key indigenous tree specimens and record their
positions using the GPS device. I will only take GPS readings for
established trees which are at least 1 m in height and where a number
of trees of the same species occur in close proximity to each other
only one reading will be taken in the middle of the group noting
roughly how many there are.
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Wildcliff
montane fynbos
Wildcliff
Afromontane forest
Talari
meadow: former pasture
Invasive
black wattle and pine
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