Wetland vegetation in the North-eastern Sandy Highveld , Mpumalanga , South Africa

The wetland vegetation of the high mountain grasslands of Mpumalanga w as sampled by using stratification based on geology and land types. Floristic data were classified by TWINSPAN procedures and refined by using the Braun-Blanquet method. This resulted in the recognition of four major w etland plant communities w hich are subdiv ided into eleven minor plant communities. The major communities include the Phragmites australis Wetland occurring in relatively deep water, the Miscanthus junceus Wetland from moist river banks and wet drainage lines, the Eragrostis biflora-Stihurus allopecuroides Moist Grassland restricted to moist, poorly drained soils w ith a high water table, and Arundinella nepalensis Moist Grasslands on black v ertic soils.


INTRODUCTION
South Africa is rapidly approaching the position of maximum exploitation o f it's natural water resources (Walmsley 1988).Due to the increased demands that people place on the natural habitat for the basic require ments o f life, the natural resources are slowly but surely being depleted and will not be able to provide for the needs o f the people (Bayer 1970;Allen 1972: Scheepers 1975;Asibey 1977;Mentis & Huntley 1982).Many wet lands have been destroyed beyond rehabilitation (Cowan 1991).making them one o f the most endangered ecosys tem types in South Africa (Walmsley 1988).The Sabie.Elands and Crocodile Rivers are fed by smaller rivers originating from wetlands in and around the study area.These wetlands arc therefore important for maintaining the flow o f the rivers.Wetlands are therefore considered as a scarce resource which should enjoy high conserva tion priority ( Eckhardt et al. 1993: Smit el al. 1995).It is vital that these natural wetland resources be maintained, if not improved, to be able to cope with future pressures being placed upon them.
The degradation o f wetlands in this area affects the continued health o f these river systems (W almsley 1988).This degradation is often caused by dessication of the soil by pine forests in the catchment areas.An esti mated 30 35% o f this study area is currently under cul tivation.with forestry being the most abundant practice (Matthew s et al. 1993).Apart from the exotic plantations there is also a considerable problem with black wattle (Acacia mearnsii) and silver wattle (Acacia Jealbata) in these drainage systems.The removal o f these trees will enable the natural vegetation to re-establish itself (Mueller-Dombois & Ellenberg 1974).
An important conclusion o f Myburgh et al. (1995) is that individual wetlands in the Grootvlei area.Mpumalanga, are p<x>r in plant species, but that the different wetlands are The phytosociological study o f the w etlands o f this study area will not only contribute to the know ledge o f South African wetland vegetation and diversity, but can be incorporated into the Grassland Biome Classification Project (Du Preez & Bredenkamp 1991).Other com pa rable vegetation surveys of the area include those of Deall (1985).Deall et al. (1989).Bloem (1988).Turner (1989) and Matthews (1991).
An important site rich in wetland communities is the Lakenvalei.north o f Belfast.A recommendation to pre serve this site is made, thus preserving many o f the w et land communities o f this study.

Physiography
The study area comprises two parts (Figure 1).both situated at high altitudes in Mpumalanga, the average being above 1 800 m.The area is mountainous and rugged with deep ravines and steep cliffs in places and gently sloping plains in others.This area has the highest rainfall in the northern provinces, resulting in an unique flora (Stevens 1989).The altitude ranges from 900-2 331 m (Die Berg), which is the highest mountain in Mpumalanga.Mount Anderson (2 284 m) lies just out side the bounds, to the north of the smaller studs area.Gradients o f up to 57° are not uncommon, and many ver tical cliffs are to be found.
The geology o f the study area was described in detail ( Burgoyne 1995) and only a brief summary is given here.Nomenclature follows the South African Committee for Stratigraphy (SACS 1980).
The Pretoria Group is dominated by quartzite and shale, combined with some conglomerate and also some chemical members.Volcanic eruptions occurred inter mittently and were normally localized.The soils derived from sedimentary rocks are generally very shallow and poor in nutrients, whereas the soils derived from the lavas are richer in nutrients and are generally deeper (SACS 1980).Fine-grained homfels together with silt and sandstone, with minor layers o f carbonaceous (dolomite) and siliceous (chert) rocks, are to be found throughout the study area in a broken, broad band from the north to the south.These rock types give rise to soils that are rich in minerals but the soils themselves are not deep.Diabase sills and dykes can be found at intervals all over the study area.These sills and dykes can some times be noted from aerial photographs by the difference in the vegetation growing on them.
The Eeea Series o f the Karoo Supergroup consists of sediments that were laid down in a freshwater basin (Trusw ell 1970).Vegetation grow ing in the sw amps gave rise to the formation o f coal w hich is extracted by means o f open cast mining.This is detrimental to the ecology o f the area because much o f the topsoil is lost or ruined, while seepage from open casts and waste dumps threat ens wetland systems.
Recent Quartemary Deposits (Pleistocene) occur in the study area in most o f the riverbeds w here the prod ucts o f many years o f erosion have been deposited (SACS 1980).Some wetland communities occur specif ically on these deposits along the rivers.
The Fa and Ac land types were studied in this area (Land Type Survey Staff 1984).These two land types constitute the land covered by grassland in the escarp ment area.Other land types were not studied for the rea son that they are not grassland, but forest or savanna, as well as the fact that they are considered as low lands.The Fa and Ac land types differ from each other in terms of microclimate, terrain form and geology (Land Type Survey Staff 1979).The Ac land type represents the high altitude plateau o f the escarpment and occurs on sedi ments o f various geological groups.Slopes are generally shallow and may reach considerable lengths, forming systems o f catenas, creating a gently undulating plateau landscape.The soils are defined as red-yellow and apedal, with free drainage, and are dystrophic or mesotrophic.Soil forms Hutton.Griffin.Clovely and Inanda are frequent, although others may be present to a lesser extent (Land Type Survey Staff 1979).The Fa land type represents the rugged slopes w ith deep gorges and val leys o f the escarpment, linking the grassland plateau w ith the low-lying bushveld vegetation (Figure 1).It is prin cipally found on Vermont sandstone.Magaliesberg shale and Steenkampsberg quartzite w here the main soil-form ing process is w eathering o f the parent material, resulting in the formation o f relatively young soils w ith orthic topsoils.The B horizons are formed by clay illuviation.Although Glenrosa and Mispah Forms are the most com mon soil forms, other forms make up 7% o f this land type.

C Iimate
The climate o f this region, according to the classifica tion o f Koppen (Schulze 1947). is a temperate, rainy cli mate with a dry winter season (summer rainfall).There is a C-tvpe humidity province (subhumid), with grass land as the characteristic vegetation, together w ith a pre cipitation (P)/evaporation (E) index o f 32 to 63 (Schultze 1947;Schulze & McGee 1978).The area is also classi fied as a w -type.which indicates a moisture deficiency in the w inter.
Lydenburg (1 439 m) and Waterval Boven (1 430 m) have similar temperature ranges.Lydenburg records an extreme minimum o f-7 .8°C and Waterval Boven records the highest maximum temperature o f 38.8°C (Weather Bureau 1968).Sabie.however, has a maximum average o f 30.2°C.which is higher than the other towns in the area.The temperatures recorded for Belfast are lower due to its situation on an open, exposed, high-altitude plain where free airflow occurs.Dullstroom (2 100 m) is expected to be colder than the other tow ns in the area.
Frost occurs generally in the winter months in this area and is common on all slopes, crests, as w ell as in the valleys.It has been known to persist into the months of September and October in the southern parts o f the study area.Frost causes teracettes on slopes in this region (Van Zinderen Bakker & Werger 1974) by the daily frost-thaw process.These terracettes are often colonized by pio neers because they are basically disturbed areas.During rainy seasons the teracettes can be eroded, thus losing valuable topsoil.The formation o f frost-heaved tussocks is also an important process in this region (Sigafoos & Hopkins 1951;Hopkins & Sigafoos 1954).
The higher parts of the Steenkampsberg receive more rainfall than surrounding areas (Figure 1).This is partly due to the higher elevation coupled to the fact that these mountains act as a barrier against which the rain falls.The same can be observ ed in the northeastern part o f the Escarpment which receives a higher rainfall than the areas surrounding it.The high rainfall in the area might have contributed to the higher species diversity than in most other parts of the country (MacArthur 1972;Huston 1979;Stev ens 1989;Matthew s et al. 1993).
From the Walter Climate Diagrams (Figure 2) it can be seen that Sabie has a considerably higher rainfall than the other tow ns in the area.Precipitation from mist and fog supplements the rainfall rather significantly.Mist is a common occurrence especially during the months o f October to February .From the data (Figure 3) it can be seen that the most mist occurs in Belfast, but other areas that do not have ample weather stations for recording this phenomenon, may have much higher occurrences o f mist.Areas above 2 000 m in altitude are shrouded in mist for most o f the summer months, and mist can cover the entire escarpment area for three weeks at a time.
Snow falls are uncommon in this area, the last falls at Dullstroom were recorded in 1974.The Steenkampsberg Range is well above 2 000 m and it forms the tail-end of the Drakensberg Range, thus any extreme weather con ditions caused by cold fronts mov ing northwards during winter months would cause snow on these mountains (Weather Bureau 1986).

METHODS
The geological and land type maps.2530 Barberton (scale 1:250 000) were used as units of statification.
Within each stratification unit, wetland sites were chosen subjectively, as originally postulated in the Braun-Blanquet approach (Braun-Blanquet 1932).This w as done to enable a surv ey of the limited and scattered wetlands throughout the area.Thus a thorough recon naissance o f the study area had to be done to choose the wetland sites so that all wetland communities represent ed in the area were sampled.Within a particular wetland, samples were placed randomly.Releves were compiled in 39 sample plots.grams for four towns in the study area (Walter 1991).

BELFAST H (1950m ) 2 -2J
[25-251 24.9 Based on a species-area curve o f the vegetation o f the Verlorenvalei Nature Reserve (Bloem 1988), a sample site o f 200 m2 was used, due to the low species diversity o f wetlands in high mountain grassland.This is also the same size quadrat as recommended by Deall (1985).
For each quadrat the following data were recorded: • location by farm name or nearest beacons and stand co-ordinates (Land type series, 2530 Barberton 1979, e.g.2530 AA) • altitude in metres was noted from the nearest contour on the topocadastral map (Land type series, 2530 Barberton 1979) • geology • land type • geomorphology position (Munnik et al. 1984) • degree o f disturbance, including disturbance due to road construction, exotic invaders, soil erosion, overburning, trampling and power line construction, using the following scale: 0, no visible erosion; 1, sheet ero sion; 2, donga erosion; 3, sheet and donga erosion • degree o f grazing, using the following scale: 0, no recent grazing; 1, selectively grazed; 2, evenly grazed; 3, heavily grazed • soil depth (cm) • soil texture was noted using the method as prescribed by the FSSA (1980) • soil form and soil series were noted following a table that was then refined by Braun-Blanquet proce dures (Werger 1974) as w as proposed by Bredenkamp & Bezuidenhout (1995).Type releves were chosen as the most representative releve for a community by compar ing releves from the Braun-Blanquet tables (Table 1).

RESULTS
The floristic composition o f the w etland plant com munities is given in Table 1

Phragmites austraIis Z antedeschi a a IbomacuI at a Typha ca pens is The Iypter i s confIuens Berkheya s p e d os a
Species Group D

Ceranium m u / 1isecturn Alepidea amatymbica Pelargonium a Ichemi11oides D i d is r o t u n d i foIi a Kyi ling a p a u c i f l o r a Adiantum capi / / / s -veneris D i h e t e r o p o g o n amplectens Aeschynome n e rehmanni i Asclepias cut tr i f o r m is CephaIar i a attenuata
Species Group E Sc/er/a dieter/enii Agrostis g i g a n t e a Sphagnum t r u n c a t u m Senecio stri at i foIi us Rorippa n a s t u r t i u m -a q u a t i c u m Aristea sp.

Disperis cooperi KoeIer i a capensis Commelina africana Hypoxis rigidula Alepidea set if era Aloe ecklonis TuIbachia nutans H e l i chrysu m sub g I o m e r a t u m P e u c edanum
1 Carex cognat a Eulophia oval is Bulbine abyssinica Eulophia /e o n t o g / ossa Carex austro-africana Festuca caprina

Rumex 1a n c e o 1atus
Senecio s e r r a t u 1iodes Leersia hex andra Hypoxi s f i / /' f or mi s Asclepias multi caul is Buchner a glabrata Eragrostis capensis Bulbostylis sp.

Stiburus a Iopecuroides Monopsis dec i pi ens H a h /enbergia virgata Xyris capensis P aspalum urvillei H ypericum Ialandii He Ii ctotr i cho n h i r t e l u m CephaIari a zeyheri ana
Species Group T

Arundinella nepa l e n s i s Fuirena p u bescens Mariscus congestus
Pycnostachys reti c u l a t a Sebaea sedoides AlIoteropsis sp.

Eleocharis palustris Pycreus nitidus Mentha aquatica Er i ocauI on dregei Lobelia flaccida A n st i da aequiglumis H e l i c hrys u m d ifficile H e //chrysum mundtii P ennisetu m thunbergii Agrostis lachnantha Mariscus sumatrens i s Kyi ling a erect a Hemarthri a altissima
Setaria p a l l ide-fusca Ranunculus baurii   This high altitude community occurs in the central parts o f the deep wetlands and the surface area covered may be up to 15 ha.Lakenvalei between Belfast and Dullstroom is a good example o f this community.These wetlands are periodically burned and according to some o f the farmers in the region this is beneficial to the breed ing o f birds like the wattled crane, who prefer open areas where they can clearly see any foes approaching (Tarboton 19X1).

Miscanthus junceus Wetland Community
Species group: K (Table 1).rockiness is confined to the presence of small pebbles in the sediments.The moisture regime varies from moist soil which releases free water when trodden on.to surface w ater o f a depth o f 0.7 m.The area covered by these w et lands is generally shrinking, due to management practices.This subcommunity is found on wet soils.The mois ture status is such that w hen trodden on.w ater is released to the surface.This community is represented by numerous small patches o f shallow wetlands that are a result o f a raised water table caused by the lithological formations in the area.This wetland type may also be formed by the dry ing up o f larger wetlands through destructive practises.

Agmstis gigantea-Miscanthus junceus
The moisture status is such that visible water is pre sent on the soil surface but never deeper than 0.05 m.The vegetation is extensively grazed especially in the dry season when it is still green, as compared to the adjacent drier grassland vegetation.
The species richness (53) in this community is higher than in any other wetland community and should there fore be considered important to conserve.

Diagnostic species: the grasses Panicum schinzii and
Lolium multiflorum, the semisucculent forb Crassula pellucida, which may form mats o f pure stands in patches, possibly due to it's seed dispersal mecha nism.the orchid Habenaria sp. and the water plant Aponogeton junceus.Dominant species: Miscanthus junceus.
This subcommunity covers a larger area than the Agrostis gigantea-Miscanthus junceus Moist Grasslands Subcommunity (2.2) and is also found along the periph ery o f the larger wetlands, where the water depth is up to 0.8 m.Moisture levels in these wetlands vary greatly and can become quite dry.especially in the winter when rain fall is low.

General species occurring in all the above-mentioned
Miscanthus communities (1.1.to 2.3.)are: the forbs Epilobium salignum, Sium repandum, the geophytes Eucomis comosa, Kniphofia linearifolia and the grass Holcus lanatus.Large and perennial, these wetlands contain ± 0.7 m water all year and are fed by fountains forming the beginnings of the river systems o f Mpumalanga.The only time when they may have little or no water in them is during severe drought.

Carex cognata-Miscanthus junceus
Species group 1 represents general species occurring in communities 1.1 to 2.4 and include the sedge Carex austro-africana, the forbs Rumex lanceolatus, the con spicuous Gunnera perpensa with its large round leaves.Senecio serrulatuloides.the orchid Satyrium hallackii, the m onocot Kniphofia Jluviatilis and the grasses Festuca caprina and Leersia hexandra.
These communities cover an area o f less than three hectares and are subjected to periods of drying out.The water is also never as deep as the wetlands o f the prev i ous community (2.4) and is only ± 0 4 m deep.The slopes occupied by these wetlands are also steep (± 12°) as opposed to the wetlands in the previous community where a gradient o f 3 is the steepest noted.Running w ater is therefore a feature o f this community.
Forbs in this community include Dolichos falciform is, Conyza pinnata, Berk hey a echinacea, Alysicarpus rugosus and Helichrysum opacum.Species group K. (Table 1) are found throughout the previously mentioned commu nities (1.1 to 2.5) and include the sedges Miscanthus junceus and Juncus exsertus, together with the forbs Ranunculus meyeri and R multifidus.
It is interesting to note that the robust grass Mis canthus junceus is relatively absent in the Senecio microglossus-Phragmites australis Community, where as it is most dominant in all the other communities.The explanation for this may be that Phragmites australis and Carex austro-africana out-compete this species to such an extent that it cannot survive.nates the vegetation and especially in the months w hen it flowers, the light purple heads are prominently visi ble.Also when mist is present this community stands out visibly from those next to it due to the dew drops that are caught in the hairs of the leaves o f this plant.

Eragrostis biflora-Stiburus alopecuroides
In this community depressions w ith poor drainage are periodically flooded in the wet season, thus forming wet lands.w hich dry out if further rainfall ceases or is insuffi cient.The sandy loam soil is dark, rich in organic materi al and is not deeper than 0.4 m. having a rock base w hich is normally not penetrable to w ater, thus the w ater table is raised, resulting in moist conditions.Rocks may be found in this community but are not larger than 0.05 m diam.
An affinity exists between community number 3.1 and 3.2 through the common species shared in species group M. Species group P. present in communities 1.2-3.2represents species common to these communi ties and include the following: the sedges Schoenoplectus con mbosus.Mariscus keniensis.Juncus oxycarpus and Bulbostylis burchellii.the forbs Denekia capen sis and Oldenlandia herbacea.the geophytes Ledebouria cooperi and Gladiolus longicollis and the orchid Satyrium longicauda.The presence o f species in more than one community shows en\ ironmental affinities which exist between the communities.These environmental factors have yet to be ascertained and a combination of factors may be responsible for the distribution o f species.This community is found on all aspects and on slopes o f moderate inclination ( 15°-30°).There are rock sheets present which may lie exposed at the surface or are cov ered by a thin (± 0.30 m) layer o f soil.Because the soil is not deep, the roots o f the plants grow so closely togeth er that a mat is formed.The moisture status gives rise to a semipermanent soggy layer o f soil underlain by an impenetrable layer o f solid or weathered rock.During the dry' season the soil may dry out completely.This community is found on very gentle slopes, nor mally in shallow valleys.During wet periods much water is held in the soil and during dry seasons the soil may be cracked and dry.

Imperata cylindrica-Arundinella nepalensis
Species Group S present in communities 2.1^4.2 but absent entirely in community 2.2, represents species that are flexible in their habitat requirements, thus inhabiting a wide variety of environmental conditions w ithin the parameters o f the wetland.These include the grasses Stihurus alopecuroides, Helictotrichon hirtellum and Paspalum urvillei, the forbs Monopsis decipiens.Wahlenbergia virgata, Hypericum lalandii and Cephalaria zeyheriana and the sedge Xyris capensis.

D ISC U SSIO N
Wetlands are fragile ecosystems and mismanaging them can result in a shrinkage of the area covered by the wetland or a total disappearance o f some species in the wetland (Walmsley 1988;Eckhardt et al. 1993).for example, the Miscanthus junceus wetlands (2.1 to 2.5) are intensively grazed by cattle and sheep, as they con tain plant species that are highly desireable in the w inter months when greens are scarce for grazing animals.Burning takes place at intervals o f between one and five years and this, accompanied by grazing o f the green shoots and trampling by livestock, may cause a serious depletion of the w ater.W ith continued grazing and tram pling and increased evaporation, the surface area o f the wetland shrinks until only moist grassland is left.
The wattled crane (Grus carunculata), which has its breeding grounds in this area, is an endangered bird species (Batchelor et al. 1982).The Verlorenvalei Nature-Reserve has been set aside specifically as a breeding ground tor w attled cranes.According to some local farm ers.they breed only in wetlands that have been burned the previous season.Under-burning can have as serious an effect on the condition of the w etland and grassland as can over-burning (Trollope 1989).Thus if wetlands are left unburned, the cranes w ill either move to a more suit able site or would simply not breed that year due to unfavourable conditions.Most cranes, however, return to their territories each year to breed.Not burning the wet lands may be a possible explanation for their low num bers.According to Heyns (1985).wetlands o f the Verlorenvalei Nature Reserve should be burned every third year to remove dead plant material.
Grasslands found in the Belfast, Lydenburg and Dullstroom Districts are ot tire climax vegetation as opposed to climatic climax vegetation (Tainton 1981).Here it can be seen that tire, together with grazing, maintains the grass cover (Burkhart 1975), and prevents the establish ment ot shrubs and trees.Ihus fire started naturally (lightning) or by man, together with grazing, have creat ed pressures with which the grasslands o f Africa have co evolved (Daubenmire 1974;Grubb 1977;Owen & Wiegert 1981;Tainton 1981;Mentis & Huntley 1982). 1 ire has always been used by pasturalists for the manage ment o f the vegetation, but abuse of this tool can result in deterioration in the vegetation (Trollope 1989).Such mis use ot fire is to be found in the study area where sheep farmers bum the veld out o f season to obtain green growth for grazing.This causes a reduction o f canopy cover, basal cover and a reduction o f vigour (Tainton 1981;Trollope 1989) as well as an increased run-off area for rain which in turn causes soil erosion (Trollope 1989).
The great variety o f w etland plant communities iden tified in this study, most o f them being relatively poor in species richness, emphasizes the results o f Mvburgh et al. (1995) and Bloem (1986).Therefore a variety o f w et land communities should be conserved in order to pre serve the wetland biodiversity in Mpumalanga.
FIGURE 1.-Locality, rainfall in mm and topography o f the study area

FIGURE
FIGURE 2.-Walter Climate Diagrams for four towns in the study area(Walter 1991).

Mac
FIGURE 3.-The occurrence of mist at three stations in the study area Orni t h o g a l u m tenu i f o l i u m Diagnostic species: the robust grass Miscanthus junceus dominant, and the forbs Ranunculus meyeri and Ranunculus multifidus.together with the sedge Juncus exertus.A shrinking o f the Miscanthus junceus wetlands was observed over a period o f two years, possibly aggravated by low rainfall.These wetlands are represented by moist river bank communities to wet drainage lines.No trees occur and

FIGURE 4 .
FIGURE 4.-The Phragmites autralis deep wetlands, showing the dominance of the reed Phragmites australis.

4.
Arundinella nepalensis Moist Turf Grassland Com munity This major community is fairly poor in species com position, is often dominated by the widespread Arun dinella nepalensis (species group T.
The species with the highest constancy values are Fuirena pubescens (66%) and Arundinella nepalensis (66%), followed by Mariscus congestus (39%) and Schoenoplectus corymbosus (32%).The analysis o f the w etland vegetation resulted in the recognition o f four communities and 11 subcommuni ties.which are classified as follows: 1. Phragmites australis Deep Wetland Community 1.1.Phragmites australis-Ficinia acuminata Deep 3. Eragrostis hi flora Stiburus allopecuroides Moist Grassland Community 3.1.Helichvsum aureonitens Eragrostis hi flora Sti burus allopecuroides Moist Grassland Subcomm unit\ 3.2.Disa patula Eragrostis hi flora Stiburus allope curoides Moist Grassland Subcommunitv 4. Arundinella nepalensis Moist Turf Grassland Com munity 4.1.Hypericum aethiopicum-Arundinella nepalensis Stands of these deep wetlands may cover a surface area o f up to 5 ha.This community is found where sea sonal fluctuation o f the water level occurs.Only in the most dry o f seasons (as in the spring o f 1992) is relative ly deep surface water not present.T ABLE 1. sp.

TABLE 1 .-P h y to so cio lo g ica l table sh o w in g w etland com m u n ities (con t.)
Cephalaria attenuata.together w ith the sedge Kyllinga paucifolia.the fern Adiantum capillis-veneris and the grass Dihetempogon amplectens.Dominant species: the tall grass Miscanthus junceus.
Diagnostic species: the insect trapping plants Drosera madagascariensis and Utricularia prehens i I is. the forbs Polygala uncinata and Justicia petiolaris, the sedge Ascolepis capensis.thegeophyteDieramasp. and the grass Eragrostis biflora.This grass is also vis ibly prominent due to its fine leaves and light pink.tlufTyinflorescence.These wetlands are found in poorly drained soils.In most cases the lithology is impenetrable, resulting in a raised water table.Palatable grasses are predominant, affording much grazing.Diagnostic species: the geophytes Hypoxis filiformis and Oxalis obliquifolia.theforbsHelichnsumaureo nitens, Sebaea leiostyla, Asclepias multicaulis and Anthericum cooperii and the sedges Juncus dregeanus and Ficinia sp.together with the grass Agrostis enantha.Dominant species: Stiburus alopecuroides.Fuirena pu bescens and Eragrostis bifloraThis community is found on all aspects and slopes, and the area covered by stands of this community never exceeds 1.5 ha.There are thus small areas where the w ater is trapped by the geological strata.No visible w ater is present but.during the rainy season, water may seep out w hen trodden on.Grazing is moderate to heavy due to the presence o f palatable grasses in this community.Buchnera glabrata andChironia purpurescens.the orchids Habenaria clavata and Disa aconitodes together w ith the grass Andropogon eucomis.Diagnostic species: the orchid Disa patula.the forbs Plectranthus sp. and Alepidea gracilis, the geophyte Ornithogalum tenuifolium.the sedge Bulbostylis sp. and the grasses Helictotrichon turgidulum and Era grostis capensis.Dominant species: the grass Stiburus alopecuroides domi

Table 1 )
. No diag nostic species group could be recognized.