The ecology and management of wildlife on the Roodeplaat dam nature reserve

Abstract

The aim was to compile a management plan for the Roodeplaat Dam Nature Reserve based on an ecological inventory. The study involved range condition assessment, determination of the browsing capacity of the reserve, as well as the pasture yield of plant communities to be used in a burning programme. The habitat requirements of six selected herbivore species were examined. Data was analysed by frequency histograms, correspondence analysis and redundancy analysis. Nutritional value of the favoured plant species of zebra and kudu was investigated. This study covers wildlife management, range management, ecotouris~ planning of a hiking trail and lookout points and identifying the problem areas on the reserve. The carrying capacity is 6.80 ha/LSU and stocked at 60.48% of maximum capacity ofLSU (128). An overall protein deficiency was found in the winter months. It was found that there are great possibilities for education, walking trails and bird hides.