The plant ecology of the farm Groothoek, Thabazimbi district

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to classify the vegetation of the farm Groothoek, Thabazimbi district and to establish procedural guidelines for the application of the veld condition assessment technique (Foran, Tainton and Booysen, 1978) in Acocks's (1975) Sour Bushveld. The vegetation was classified into eighteen co1TV11unities, by means of the Braun-Blanquet method using the Domin-Krajina cover-abundance scale, under five main vegetation types which follow temperature/ moisture and soil depth gradients according to a detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) ordination of communities. Layer diagrams are used to illustrate community structure. Suggestions for the application of the veld condition assessment in respect of grazing potential in bushveld vegetation include the use of the quadrat method with the Domin-Krajina cover-abundance scale for estimating canopy cover.