Abstract:
The aim of this study was to determine the
minimum conservation area needed to conserve vegetation
types and their landscape and to apply it to an area
in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, which is within the
Maputaland Centre of Plant Endemism and part of the
Maputaland–Pondoland–Albany biodiversity hotspot. Outside
conservation areas this Centre of Plant Endemism is
under threat from human utilization. We used a method
initially designed to determine minimumconservation areas
for rare plant species, which we adapted from its original
country and context, to determine minimum conservation
areas for landscape species inMaputaland’s little-documented
environment. The minimum area required for conservation
was established for the Sand Forest andWoodland vegetation
types in the region. We found that sufficient habitat is
presently conserved to preserve the Sand Forest but not the
Woodlands. Themethod holds promise to provide answers to
critical conservation issues in lesser-known environments
and, although relatively difficult to establish for the first time,
is an efficient and easy to use tool that can be refined once
more knowledge becomes available.
