The Seringveld Conservancy is situated near Cullinan in an area is that is characterised by deep sandy soils. Sand mining for the building industry has become a major threat to the biodiversity of the area. The flora of the Conservancy is best described as a gradual ecotone between the grassland and savanna biomes. The fist objective of the study is to describe the vegetation of the Seringveld Conservancy, in terms of plant communities, plant species composition, habitat as well as composing a vegetation map of the area. The second objective of the study is more theoretical and is aimed at providing a definition for savannas as well as shedding light on the complexity of South African savannas and there underlying driving forces. The Braun-Blanquet approach was used for sampling and 125 relevés were compiled. The data was captured using TURBOVEG and data analysis followed in JUICE 7.0. A total of 376 species was recorded in the area. Analysis from JUICE resulted in a TWINSPAN dendogram, synoptic table and two phytosociological tables. The phytosociological tables obtained from JUICE were refined using Braun-Blanquet procedures. Ten main plant communities and two sub-communities were identified. Each plant community was described in terms of species composition, dominant species and diagnostic species, and ecologically interpreted in terms of habitat characteristics. The plant communities were also compared to communities found in other studies in close proximity of the Seringveld i.e. Ezemvelo Nature Reserve. ArcGIS was used to create various maps further highlighting the uniqueness of the area. A vegetation map indicating the distribution of the plant communities was compiled. The combined results of the phytosociological tables as well as the GIS maps indicate that the Seringveld Conservancy is a complex area containing high biodiversity. Trying to define savanna is related to scale. The study area is considered to be savanna at local scale, this study will refer to savanna as a vegetation type with a well developed grassy layer and an upper layer of woody plants, which can vary from widely spaced to 75 percent tree cover. There is a gradient present between equilibrium and non-equilibrium dynamics in savanna ecosystems of southern Africa. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Plant Science / unrestricted

M.Sc. / The Mining of sand in South Africa is rapidly growing to sustain an increasing demand of sand for building purposes. Although mining of sand is regulated by environmental legislation, such as the National Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998, previous poor mining practices have left areas of land degraded and vulnerable to erosion. These areas need to be rehabilitated by restoring the vegetation and habitats to a natural state. This study was conducted in the Seringveld Conservancy, where the mining of sand has left the landscape with a degraded and unsightly appearance, and where little rehabilitation of the original vegetation has taken place. The aim of the study was to develop rehabilitation techniques for the degraded mined soils and to develop an overall strategy of revegetation by regenerating key plant species. Techniques for regenerating indigenous tree species cover, using modified mined sludge if topsoil is not available, were used to develop a practical and cost effective strategy to be used in revegetation. A comparative trial was used to cultivate indigenous tree species in different soil mixtures. Monitoring was done weekly to determine the growth performance and to ascertain which plant species would be most suitable and easy to cultivate. The study is important as it provides new information on the rehabilitation and revegetation of sand mined areas in the Seringveld Conservancy. This study will determine if alternatives could be used to replace topsoil on mined areas where none is available. The study is needed to determine whether revegetation of the mined areas would be possible using indigenous plant species that are often difficult to grow. The overall results indicate that replacing topsoil was successful for various modified soil mixtures that could sustain the growth of indigenous vegetation on the sand mines. Different indigenous tree species require different modified soil mixtures for successful propagation. A revegetation strategy was developed to complement and enable the rehabilitation of the mined in the Seringveld Conservancy. The revegetation initiative will benefit the restructuring of the degraded mined areas in the Seringveld Conservancy and will provide a benchmark for revegetation efforts in future in similar sand mining areas.