Marloth Park Management Plan. - Nkomazi Local Municipality

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This variation is characterised by the profusion of caterpillar bush Ormocarpum trichocarpum, with an understory of the summer impala lily Adenium swazicum and Aloe chabaudi. As this is the only location of this variation it is recommended that some protective measures be implemented, and that future development be aware of this occurrence. Due to the infrastructural development of Marloth Park most of the plant communities are fragmented and almost impossible to manage as separate management units. A more holistic approach is advocated where localised tendencies are addressed as part of an integrated management plan. The plant communities identified are used to determine the potential of the veld to sustain animal production without deterioration of the environment. Where degradation is evident these will be addressed under header specific recommendations. © Ecological Associates/ Marloth Park 33
VELD CONDITION ASSESSMENT AND THE CALCULATION OF POTENTIAL GRAZING CAPACITY INTRODUCTION A basic requirement when establishing a management plan for a wildlife ranch is the assessment of the condition of the veld. The term veld does not cover grass species only but refers to all aspects of the vegetation. Veld condition is defined as the state of health of the veld in terms of its ecological status, its resistance to soil erosion and its potential for sustainable forage production. Veld condition therefore refers to the velds´ state in relation to its productivity for animals. Knowledge about the veld condition is essential when devising a management plan for any livestock farm or wildlife area. The aim of such an enterprise is maximum profit gained through optimal animal production. To realize this goal over an extended period, without deterioration of the environment, some ecological aspects need to be taken into consideration. The aim should be to use the land sustainably, which implies to exploit it to a maximum while maintaining or creating optimal veld that stays in good, productive and re-productive condition. A major management dependent factor, that influences the veld condition, is the applied grazing pressure. Stocking rates should be calculated according to the prevailing veld condition to prevent deterioration of the veld; it is achieved by relating veld condition to grazing and browsing capacity values. Wise grazing management such as subdivisions into camps or additional watering points can also serve to improve veld condition. Veld condition assessment is furthermore valuable for monitoring trends, as veld deterioration indicators is noted early, during a stage where it can still be negated by appropriate management measures. Classifying vegetation types and quantifying their condition using veld condition assessments simplifies the prediction of impacts due to management measures, by comparing similar vegetation types and their intrinsic ecological processes. Veld condition assessment A means of determining the veld condition is the assessment of soil loss. But soil loss is difficult to measure and, once obvious, an indicator of high and often irreversible degradation. Changes in vegetation structure or species composition are better criteria for assessing veld condition, as environmental changes can be detected before they become irreversible. To evaluate changes in the veld condition it is either compared to baseline data or previous surveys conducted on the same site, as with a monitoring programme. Alternatively, it can be compared to a reference site or benchmark, where a benchmark is defined as the best possible botanical composition and cover in relation to prevailing climate. © Ecological Associates/ Marloth Park 34
Page 1 and 2: Ecological Associates Environmental
Page 3 and 4: THE ASSESSMENT OF AVAILABLE BROWSE
Page 5 and 6: LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Location
Page 7 and 8: LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix 1: A li
Page 9 and 10: Three different scenarios are analy
Page 11 and 12: Ecosystems disturbed by clearing op
Page 13 and 14: INTRODUCTION Although only a few ve
Page 15 and 16: Figure 1: Location of the Marloth P
Page 17 and 18: GEOMORPHOLOGY Looking down from the
Page 19 and 20: Figure 4: Geology of the Marloth Pa
Page 21 and 22: Tonalitic granite and gneiss A sect
Page 23 and 24: Figure 6: Soil depth of the Marloth
Page 25 and 26: Figure 7: Land Types of the Marloth
Page 27 and 28: Figure 8: Land use in the Marloth P
Page 29 and 30: A 610.1 B 104.0 C 7.4 D 19.9 E 39.8
Page 31 and 32: INTRODUCTION VEGETATION CLASSIFICAT
Page 33 and 34: METHOD For an initial and broad sca
Page 35 and 36: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Analysis and
Page 37 and 38: The dominant grass species are broa
Page 39: The characteristic tree species are
Page 43 and 44: Degradation gradients are models th
Page 45 and 46: The nearest grass species to each s
Page 47 and 48: Calculation of grazing capacity The
Page 49 and 50: Table 2: Contribution of ecological
Page 51 and 52: Table 3: Grazing capacities for the
Page 53 and 54: THE ASSESSMENT OF AVAILABLE BROWSE
Page 55 and 56: X Y D1 Y Dimensional measurements:
Page 57 and 58: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The browsing
Page 59 and 60: Table 6: Browsing capacities for th
Page 61 and 62: INTRODUCTION ESTIMATION OF HERBACEO
Page 63 and 64: The resulting Large Stock Units are
Page 65 and 66: INTRODUCTION GAME MANAGEMENT ON MAR
Page 67 and 68: STOCKING RATES Current stocking The
Page 69 and 70: Table 10: The current stocking dens
Page 71 and 72: Recommendations on stocking rates C
Page 73 and 74: High selectivity grazers Blue wilde
Page 75 and 76: Waterbuck Kobus ellipsiprymnus Ogil
Page 77 and 78: Space requirements: Kudu have range
Page 79 and 80: Recommendation: The range requireme
Page 81 and 82: Food preference: Steenbok utilise A
Page 83 and 84: Table 12: The potential stocking de
Page 85 and 86: Table 14: The potential stocking de
Page 87 and 88: Table 15: The recommended stocking
Page 89 and 90: The proteins may be less available
Page 91 and 92:
When urea is incorporated into a ph
Page 93 and 94:
Recommended intake for game is 150
Page 95 and 96:
Ticks The main parasite of concern
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Figure 12: Sketch of Cyphostemma /C
Page 99 and 100:
NOXIOUS AND INVASIVE WEEDS An invas
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Management plans need to be reviewe
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Ricinus communis, Solanum sisymbrii
Page 105 and 106:
Although soil treatment with chemic
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Planning errors must be expected, a
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To further reduce grazing pressure
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Lightning induced fires can also ca
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TIME OF BURNING Least damage is cau
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A low intensity fire will be achiev
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Recommendations for Marloth Park Ma
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Surface erosion will reduce water i
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Several different types of waterhol
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Stones Ground level Reinforced conc
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For safety reasons these requiremen
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Adaptive management Applying adapti
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Figure 15: Location of the monitori
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Appendix 1 (Continue) A list of tre
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Appendix 2 (Continue) A list of gra
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Appendix 3 (Continue) A list of for
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Appendix 3 (Continue) A list of for
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Appendix 4: Alien invaders found on
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Appendix 5: Frequency occurrence of
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Appendix 6: Photographs of each veg
Page 157 and 158:
Appendix 6: Photographs of each veg
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Marloth Park Management Plan. - Nkomazi Local Municipality

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