The plant communities of the Andover Game Reserve, South Africa

Abstract

Floristic characteristics of the Andover Game Reserve (AGR) were surveyed using an area-based survey technique and classified according to the data recorded from 88 relevés, using the PHYTOTAB-PC software package. Three plant communities, of which two each contain two variants, were described and mapped. The plant communities and their causative environmental factors were validated through detrended- and canonical correspondence multivariate analyses. The plant communities of the AGR were found to typify the floristics associated with the catenal sequences located in undulating areas on granite. Broad-leaved savanna is located at the crest and upper mid-slopes while fine-leaved savanna occurs along the footslopes of the AGR. Seeplines, a characteristic occurrence along catenas, are found at the transitional zone between the upper broad- and lower fine-leaved savanna plant communities. This study forms the basis for the compilation of a revised ecological management plan for the Andover Game Reserve.