Characteristics and affinities of the fynbos vegetation on Mariepskop, Limpopo Province, South Africa

Abstract

Prior to this in-depth phytosociological classification and biogeographical study, the only other intense floristic study focussing on all plant species done specifically on Mariepskop was the work by Van der Schijff and Schoonraad (1971 The aims of the study were to: (1) describe and map the plant communities above 1800m at Mariepskop; (2) analyse the life forms in each community using Raunkiaer’s (1934) classification as modified by Mueller-Dombois and Ellenberg (1974) in order to assess similarities with the Cape fynbos flora and; (3) investigate the geographic distribution of the identified plant species and their association with the Cape fynbos flora. Results from the phytosociological study indicated three plant communities and four subsequent subcommunities. The life form spectra for the three communities combined did not show similarity with Grassland Biome spectra but did however show similarities to the Fynbos Biome spectrum at Swartboskloof, where the ratio of the life forms was similar compared to the present study area. The codominant life forms for the Fynbos Biome are phanerophytes (35.2%), chamaephytes (28.1%) and hemicryptophytes (33.5%), while the codominant life forms on Mariepskop were also phanerophytes (32.3%), chamaephytes (28.6%) and hemicryptophytes (29.1%). In terms of phytogeography, out of a total of 61 species found at the summit of Mariepskop, 23 species (38% of all species) had a northern-southern distribution, 17 species (28%) had a north-eastern distribution and 21 (34%) species had a strictly northern distribution. The current pilot study has improved our understanding of the floristic and life form composition of the vegetation on the summit of Mariepskop and has provided a platform for future ecological studies such as unravelling the directionality of the migration of ‘Cape taxa’ (either from or to the Cape) as well as the ecology of mountain summit vegetation scattered along southern Africa.