Plant endemism in Griqualand West, South Africa

dc.contributor.authorFrisby, Arnold Walter
dc.contributor.authorSiebert, Stefan John
dc.contributor.authorStruwig, Madeleen
dc.contributor.authorCilliers, Dirk P.
dc.contributor.emailarnold.frisby@up.ac.zaen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2020-02-05T05:35:59Z
dc.date.issued2019-08
dc.description.abstractGriqualand West, a region in the semi-arid Northern Cape and North-West provinces of South Africa, has been variously suggested to contain a number of range-restricted plant species, and was proposed to be a local centre of plant endemism. The Griqualand West Centre (GWC), hitherto demarcated by geological features and limited floristic data, is hereby investigated to determine the true levels of endemism and its extent of occurrence. Findings suggest that at least 23 plant species have their natural distribution ranges restricted to the Griqualand West region. These endemics represent 1.4% of the region's flora. Although this is a lower than the predicted level of endemism, it matches the trends of endemicity found in other centres in semi-arid savanna of southern Africa. Many of the GWC endemics show indications of holo-endemism owing to their apparent preference for the Ca- and Mg-rich substrates of the Ghaap Plateau. When the total distributions of all GWC endemic species are considered, then the resulting boundary of the GWC is more extensive than the substantial area already proposed previously (> 40,000 km2). This study therefore proposes the concept of ‘core area’ in which distant outlier populations of endemic species (> 100 km outside the main distribution range with no suitable habitat in between) are discarded during the demarcation of the centre's boundary. It is proposed that this concept is best applied when assessing extensive areas with few endemic species. A more refined GWC core area will allow for more effective conservation and future research efforts by focussing attention on those areas where high numbers of endemic plant species co-occur. Within the GWC core area, specific regions, such as the increasingly densely populated Kimberley region, the banded ironstone hill ranges, and the unique environment that is the Ghaap Plateau, are highlighted as areas of conservation importance.en_ZA
dc.description.departmentPlant Production and Soil Scienceen_ZA
dc.description.embargo2020-08-01
dc.description.librarianhj2020en_ZA
dc.description.sponsorshipThe National Research Foundation (Grant UID: 103370), South Africaen_ZA
dc.description.urihttp://www.elsevier.com/locate/sajben_ZA
dc.identifier.citationFrisby, A.W., Siebert, S.J., Struwig, M. et al. 2019, 'Plant endemism in Griqualand West, South Africa', South African Journal of Botany, vol. 124, pp. 127-137.en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn0254-6299 (print)
dc.identifier.issn1727-9321 (online)
dc.identifier.other10.1016/j.sajb.2019.03.041
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/73109
dc.language.isoenen_ZA
dc.publisherElsevieren_ZA
dc.rights© 2019 SAAB. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Notice : this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in South African Journal of Botany. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. A definitive version was subsequently published in South African Journal of Botany, vol. 124, pp. 127-137, 2019. doi : 10.1016/j.sajb.2019.03.041.en_ZA
dc.subjectPlant endemismen_ZA
dc.subjectGriqualand West, South Africaen_ZA
dc.subjectNear-endemicen_ZA
dc.subjectLimestoneen_ZA
dc.subjectIronstoneen_ZA
dc.subjectGhaapen_ZA
dc.subjectEndemicen_ZA
dc.subjectDolomiteen_ZA
dc.subjectCentre of endemismen_ZA
dc.titlePlant endemism in Griqualand West, South Africaen_ZA
dc.typePostprint Articleen_ZA

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