FEIR for Boitshepi Landfill Site .pdf - Zitholele.co.za

August 2010 568848In addition to the vegetation units identified above, there is an area that is currently beingused for the composting of garden waste that has piles of plant material on the ground. Thisarea is shown in the map but not classified as a vegetation type.Urban GardenThe urban garden unit comprises the area surrounding the administration buildings and theweigh bridge. In this area, several typical garden plants have been established and there issome form of vegetation management. There are also planted trees present in this area thatinclude Rhus lancea (Karree) and Combretum erythrophyllum (River Bushwillow). Gardenplants include Kikuju, Agave and some flower beds as shown below.Figure 17: Urban garden vegetation unit.Alien grassland and Barren Area with scattered AliensThe alien grassland and the barren area with scattered aliens are very similar vegetationtypes, as they are both dominated by alien plants. In the case of the alien grassland, there issome form of natural grassland vegetation returning to the habitat. The typical species aregiven in Table 9 below and shows the high number of weeds present on site.The barren area is created by the large number of salvagers / re-claimers and theiroperations on the site. Also there is very little substrate for vegetation to grow on as largeparts of the site have slag material at or near the surface. Both of these vegetation types areillustrated in Figure 18 and Figure 19 below.One species in particular is indicative of the slag in the waste body, namely Smelter’s bush.Smelter’s bush (Flaveria bidentis) is a plant that thrives on high metal content soils and inthis case the slag from nearby smelters is providing that habitat.ZITHOLELE CONSULTING