Ecosystem description and diversity of the Jurisdam–Seekoegat sections of the Mountain Zebra National Park, South Africa.

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to give an ecological description of the vegetation of the Jurisdam-Seekoegat section of the Mountain Zebra National Park in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. The effect of different land use practices on the vegetation composition was also investigated. Vegetation classifications and descriptions are of immense value to scientists and land managers and provide information on the composition, structure, diversity and effect of management on the different ecosystems present. The Braun-Blanquet approach was used to classify the different plant communities, while the veld condition was determined using the Ecological Index Method. Plant community data was analysed using the JUICE software package while diversity of the different plant communities was determined using the Shannon–Wiener and Gini–Simpson Indices. From a TWINSPAN analysis eight plant communities that can be grouped into six major communities were identified. Two plant communities not previously described for the Park were identified. The different plant communities can all be related to topography and effect of previous land use. Grasses and dwarf shrubs are the most prominent species. The plant communities of the rocky midslope areas achieved the highest species richness and diversity for the study area. The areas least affected by heavy grazing had a higher veld condition score than those heavily grazed by domestic animals in the past. The results of this study also emphasises the importance of resting overgrazed veld, while it seems that heavily grazed areas will not recover without further human intervention. A vegetation map of the different plant communities was produced using ArcGIS. Highlights • Vegetation classification improves our knowledge and understanding of complex ecosystems. • Rocky hilly areas act as refuge areas for vegetation with the highest diversity of plant species. • Resting of overgrazed veld in arid areas assists in veld condition recovery. • Wildlife has less of an impact on veld condition than domestic animals with continued grazing. • Overgrazing seems to alter nutrient structure of soil thereby altering vegetation composition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]