Fire and African browser ungulates - The effect of long-term management burns on the woody component of four different Savanna types.
Faria, Naquita Paredes
Faria, Naquita Paredes
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Abstract
The role of fire in savanna’s is to maintain the Biome’s function and structure with the effect of fire frequency on woody plants yielding conflicting results. This study focused on the long-term effects that various management burns had on woody dominance, structure and density within and in-between treatments of the Experimental Burn Plots, representing four different savanna units in the Kruger National Park, and to link these changes to changes in browse availability. All rooted woody plants were measured and assigned a growth form with the canopy cover for each species estimated using the plant number scale. The PHYTOPTAB PC software provided a classification on the floristic data collected, with the Chi-square test used to analysis the data. The August burns provided the highest browse potential in the Pretoriuskop Sour Bushveld (SVI 10); with the February Triennial Burn providing the same in Granite Lowveld (SVI 3); and the August Triennial Burn in the Tshokwane – Hlane Basalt Lowveld (SVI 5). However, in the Mopani Basalt Shrubland (SVmp 4) the removal of the palatable grass layer is unjustified and even risky considering the low and erratic rainfall of these areas, and therefore, it strongly advised that this Savanna type not be burned.
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Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree, Magister Technologiae: Nature Conservation in the Department of Nature Conservation, Faculty of Science at the Tshwane University of Technology.
Date
2020-07-01
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Tshwane University of Technology
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Keywords
Fire, African, Savanna units, Kruger National Park, Pretoriuskop Sour Bushveld