The effect of herbivores and humans on the Sand Forest species of Maputaland, northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Abstract

Sand Forest in the Maputaland region of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa is deemed the most valuable, but also probably the most complex vegetation type of this part of the Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany hotspot of biodiversity. However, Sand Forest is under threat from the current human population growth in that region as well as uncontrolled increases in animal numbers in conservation areas. In this study the impacts of herbivores and humans on the state of woody resources at two sites under differing utilisation regimes were compared. Sand Forest was found to be a complex assemblage of tree communities defined by different canopy and subcanopy levels. Although marked differences in abundance we noted for selected species at the different sites, Sand Forest was still dominated by finegrained species with an ideal population structure under both utilisation regimes. The finegrained nature of Sand Forest implies that regeneration depends on the creation of small canopy gaps either by natural processes, humans or elephants, while the creation of large gaps could transform it into woodland. Management of conservation areas where Sand Forest occurs should therefore concentrate efforts on regulating animal populations to levels that provide gap properties that favour forest regeneration.