Thesis (PhD (Botany and Zoology))—University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / Natural ecosystems provide many services that are crucial for sustainability and health of human society. Ecosystem services are the benefits people obtain from ecosystems (i.e. goods and services) and can be classified into provisioning (e.g. fibre, fuel wood); regulating (e.g. water and climate regulation); supporting (e.g. soil retention) and cultural (e.g. aesthetic value). The growing global human population and other threats place enormous stress on the natural environment reducing its capability to provide services. According to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, more than 60% of ecosystem services worldwide are being degraded or used unsustainably. The need to safeguard ecosystem services is therefore urgent. Biodiversity underpins most ecosystem services, but the functional relationship between biodiversity and services is not well known. A wide range of strategies exist for safeguarding biodiversity, but no such approaches have been developed for ecosystem services. A key conservation strategy is the use of systematic conservation planning to identify priority areas where effort should be focused. There are calls for the inclusion of ecosystem services into conservation planning geared towards biodiversity. Ecosystem services have been used for many years as an additional rationale to justify biodiversity conservation and it is often assumed that conserving biodiversity will also conserve services. However, it is unclear how different facets of biodiversity relate to different services and to what extent conserving biodiversity will safeguard services. This thesis addresses a range of issues relating to the integration of ecosystem services into conservation planning in South Africa. I first investigated the status of ecosystem services in conservation planning worldwide by reviewing the conservation planning literature from 1998 to 2005. Ecosystem services are clearly not adequately addressed in conservation assessments. A critical barrier preventing the inclusion of ecosystem services in conservation plans is the lack of spatially-explicit data. I developed a methodology for mapping ecosystem services in South Africa and mapped the distribution of five important ecosystem services (surface water supply, water flow regulation, carbon storage, soil retention and accumulation). Using the five services to examine relationships within services and between biodiversity revealed a lack of congruence between services and different levels of congruence with biodiversity features. However, including ecosystem services in a biodiversity assessment captured at least thirty percent of each of three services selected for the study. Nevertheless, a biodiversity plan may not necessarily capture adequate amounts of ecosystem services. Ecosystem services should be planned for explicitly instead of relying on biodiversity data. I identified priorities that met targets for five services in the grasslands of South Africa. This thesis provides new insights on planning for biodiversity and ecosystem services. The results have immediate applicability for conservation planning in South Africa. Keywords: Conservation planning, conservation assessments, ecosystem functions, ecosystem processes, ecosystem services, natural capital, biodiversity, soil, water, carbon.

M.Sc. (Environmental Management) / South Africa is exceptionally rich in biodiversity. South Africa has been recognized as the third most biologically diverse country in the world, and has three globally recognized biodiversity hotspots; namely the Cape floristic, the Succulent Karoo and the Maputaland-Pondoland regions (NSBA, 2004). South Africa’s seas straddle three oceans, and provide a range of habitats from cool water kelp forests, to tropical reefs and deep ocean abyss (NSBA, 2004). Unfortunately, due to various pressures, many ecosystems are in trouble: 34% of terrestrial systems, 82% of river signatures, 65% of marine biozones and 8 estuarine types are threatened (NSBA, 2004). Mining has been identified as one of the sectors impacting negatively on biodiversity; the other significant pressures being agriculture, afforestration, urban and industrial development, extractive fishing, alien invasives and climate change (NSBA, 2004). The concept of ‘biodiversity offsets’ is relatively new and there are only generic methods whichare ill suited to determine appropriate biodiversity offsets in the South African context. The rationale for biodiversity offsets in South Africa is two-fold: firstly, South Africa contains biodiversity that is unique globally; secondly, its ecosystems underpin socioeconomic development and delivery of important services such as the reliable supply of clean water, ecotourism and coastal protection. Land-intensive development poses a significant threat to the countries remaining biodiversity. South African policies have, over the past few years, increasingly prioritised the conservation of biodiversity and important ecosystem services (Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, 2007). The motivation for this is a decline in global biodiversity (WWF & ZSL, 2012). Land use changes are the main motivation for identifying the need for creating a system within the planning process that tackles unavoidable and residual impacts to biodiversity. The implementation of EIA in South Africa in terms of the National Environmental Management Act (No. 107 of 1998) allowed for the formal evaluation of impacts to habitat, wildlife and other natural considerations to be done as a prerequisite for developers to receive approval for a project to go ahead (BBOP, 2000). The aim of this study was to compare the current South African biodiversity offset approach to that of offset banking and no net loss or net gain principles as a feasible and beneficial alternative. A structured interview process was conducted to ascertain current understanding and perceptions relating to biodiversity offsets, biodiversity offset guidelines and regulations, offset banking, relevant experience and perceptions to determine the current level of understanding in the mining sector and with environmental consultants. This aided in determining whether biodiversity offset practices in its current form in South Africa were understandable, can be implemented effectively and achieves the rationale of biodiversity offset banking.

In this study, the diversity of forty Salmonella isolates from selected drinking water and wastewater sources in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa was assessed using parameters such as protein and lipopolysaccharide profile analysis, DNA fingerprinting and antibiotic susceptibility profile as test indices. Wastewater samples from Amalinda, Shornville and Fort Hare wastewater plants, and water samples from Gogogo and Tyume rivers were collected on ice and transported to the laboratory of the department of Microbiology and Biochemistry, University of Fort Hare for processing. The DNA dendograms of Salmonella and the applied UPGMA revealed 4 similarity groups of the strains. Most of the strains recovered from Amalinda, Shornville, Fort Hare wastewater plants, Gogogo and Tyume rivers show a high percentage of genetic similarity. On the other hand, protein dendograms of Salmonella isolates revealed 2 similarity groups which varied widely. Also, the lipopolysaccharide dendograms revealed three similarity groups with the first similarity groups showing a very high relatedness between strains from different water sources. The second similarity group included 16 strains which formed a rather homogenous group, and the third similarity group formed a distinct group. Of the seven antibiotics and sulfonamides tested against the Salmonella species, five namely, neomycin, chloramphenicol, kanamycin, streptomycin and cotrimoxazole were significantly inhibitory, while the bacteria showed considerable resistance to doxycycline and sulphamethoxazole. Our results based on restriction digestion, SDS/PAGE and dendogram construction show that there is a high similarity between the forty Salmonella strains studied, and that these methods are valuable tools for evaluating the relatedness ofSalmonella species. Our observations have proffered a veritable reference point on the diversity of Salmonella strains in the studied area.

Historical ad hoc allocations of land for biodiversity conservation have led to a biased representation of habitat within the Cape Floristic Region, with Protected Areas concentrated in upland areas at high altitudes and on steep slopes. The field of Conservation Planning developed to ensure that allocations of areas to Protected status no longer result in such bias and rather promotes the persistence of biodiversity. This study reviewed a recent allocation of land to biodiversity conservation within Western Cape of South Africa, using both a quantitative and qualitative approach, to determine their value to biodiversity conservation. The area was previously used for commercial forestry but now has been allocated to conservation land-uses. The allocation was based on the area’s value to the forestry industry. The qualitative approach in this study engaged with relevant stakeholder groups to map priority areas, while the quantitative approach used available data on biodiversity features to map priority areas. Neither approach determined that the area allocated is in its full extent a priority for biodiversity conservation. This indicated that in the current era of Conservation Planning, Protected Areas are still being allocated in an ad hoc manner, as a result of their limited perceived benefit to anthropocentric needs. The future allocation of land to biodiversity conservation should rather integrate expert knowledge and available quantifiable data to ensure that priority areas for biodiversity conservation are being protected.

MSc., Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, 2011 / Riparian zones harbour different species pools from the surrounding landscape and are thus important to biodiversity conservation. However, riparian zones are highly variable. Network characteristics, morphology, flow-sediment interactions, biophysical connectivity and biological characteristics all vary along the length of a river. It could therefore be expected that the biodiversity characteristics of different riparian zones may also be variable. To investigate this, this study quantified compositional and structural diversity in 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, and 7th stream order rivers in south-western Kruger National Park (KNP). A suite of measures, chosen to encompass the variety, balance, and disparity properties of diversity, was used to quantify woody vegetation and bird compositional and structural diversity within each stream order. Woody plant species richness and species diversity was highest in the 7th order river and similar in the 1st through 5th order rivers. Likewise the woody vegetation community composition of the 7th order river was distinct from those in the other stream order rivers. Bird species diversity was similar in all five stream orders considered. Bird community composition of the 7th order river was distinct from the bird community composition of the 4th and 5th order rivers, which in turn was distinct from the bird community composition of the 2nd and 1st order rivers. Woody vegetation height, canopy width and diameter diversity tended to be highest in the 4th and 5th order rivers, while number of stem (NoS) diversity was generally highest in the 1st order rivers and decreased along the stream order sequence to the 7th order river. Bird body mass diversity was highest in the middle of the stream order sequence, while bird wing length/body length (WL/BL) and leg length diversity was similar along the entire stream order sequence. Overall, a variety of patterns of change in biodiversity along the stream order sequence were observed The lack of a consistent pattern along the stream order sequence among the different elements of compositional and structural diversity illustrates that no single measure can properly characterise the biodiversity of an area, and thus researchers and managers need to be explicit about which aspect of biodiversity they are aiming to study/conserve. Additionally, the unique combination of biodiversity found in each of the stream orders illustrates that each contributes importantly to overall regional biodiversity, and thus there is need to consider the role of entire drainage networks in the landscape, rather than simply focusing on perennial rivers. Finally, this study illustrates the need to consider the heterogeneous nature of biodiversity itself.

Thesis (MSc)--University of Stellenbosch, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The current biodiversity crisis requires creative initiatives for mitigating further biodiversity loss. The use of ecological networks (ENs) is such an initiative. The South African forestry industry recognizes that there is loss of biodiversity at the smaller patch scale, while attempting to mitigate this loss at the landscape scale by implementing largescale ENs. The aim of this study was to determine how representative grassland biodiversity in ENs are of similar habitat in a nature reserves (NR). The study was conducted in the northeast of the KwaZulu-Natal Province, adjacent iSimangaliso Wetland Park, which is a natural World Heritage site. A systematic approach compared a wide range of taxa, namely plants, decomposition macrofungi, vertebrates (birds and large mammals) and faunal manifestations (e.g. molehills, dung and ant nests) between the EN and nature reserve, while controlling for differences in disturbance regime. Species richness was compared using Mann-Whitney U tests, while differences in species composition were determined using Correspondence Analyses, Multi-Dimensional Scaling and Analyses of Similarity. Grassland ENs had significantly less plant species. In addition, there were differences in plant and fungi species composition. Differences were probably caused by (1) degree of isolation i.e. proximity to source habitat patches in the surrounding matrix, and (2) habitat quality. Habitat quality was determined by local disturbance regimes (e.g. grazing and fire) and plantation-induced drought for plants, and size and amount of coarse woody debris for fungi. In addition, significant differences in abundances of mole hills (NR>EN) and small mammal burrows (EN>NR) might have had an effect on succession and regeneration of plant communities. There were differences in plant species composition between grassland EN and that at the adjacent nature reserve. However, differences between EN and NR were small when compared to differences between habitat types at the landscape spatial scale. It is concluded that grassland ENs among forestry plantations contribute to biodiversity conservation in the commercially-productive landscape. This approach to land use planning should be explored for other commercial land uses. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die huidige biodiversiteitskrisis vereis kreatiewe strategieë om ‘n verdere verlies in biodiversiteit te bekamp. Ekologiese Netwerke (EN’e) is een voorbeeld van sulke kreatiewe strategieë. Die Suid Afrikaanse bosbou-industrie erken die verlies in biodiversiteit wat kenmerkend in plantasies gevind word. Implementering van grootskaalse EN’e kan egter die verlies aan biodiversiteit, wat in plantasies ondervind word, temper. Die doel van hierdie studie was om vas te stel hoe goed biodiversiteit in grasveld EN’e soortgelyke habitat in ‘n nabygeleë natuurreservaat verteenwoordig. Die studie was uitgevoer in die noordooste van KwaZulu-Natal, langs iSimangaliso Wetland Park wat ‘n wêrelderfenisgebied is. Ons het ‘n stelselmatige benadering gevolg waartydens ‘n wye verskeidenheid taksa, naamlik plante, makro-fungi, vertebrate (groot soogdiere en voëls) en tekens van diere-aktiwiteit (bv. miersneste, dieremis en molshope), in die EN vergelyk is met die van ‘n natuurreservaat terwyl ons vir verskillende versteuringe gekontrolleer het. Spesiesrykheid is vergelyk met Mann-Whitney U toetse terwyl verskille in spesiessamestelling vasgestel is met Correspondence Analyses, Multi-Dimensional Scaling en Analyses of Similarity. Daar was ‘n statisties beduidende verskil in die hoeveelheid spesies tussen grasveld EN’e en die natuurreservaat. Grasveld EN’e het minder plant spesies gehad. Boonop was daar verskille in die samestelling van plant en fungi gemeenskappe. Verskille was waarskynlik veroorsaak deur (1) isolasie of die hoeveelheid nabygeleë habitatbronne in die omliggende omgewing, en (2) habitat kwaliteit. Habitat kwaliteit word bepaal deur versteuringe (bv. brand en beweiding) en die uitdrogingseffek van plantasies vir plante, en die hoeveelheid en grootte van growwe houtagtige puin vir fungi. Daar was ook beduidende verskille in die hoeveelheid molshope (NR>EN) en klein soogdier gate (EN>NR), wat moontlik ‘n effek kon hê op suksessie en herstel van plantgemeenskappe. Daar was verskille in plantspesiessamestelling tussen grasveld EN’e en die van die langsliggende natuurreservaat. Hierdie verskille was egter klein wanneer dit vergelyk word met die verskille tussen verskillende soorte habitatte in die landskap. Daarom kom ons tot die gevolgtrekking dat grasveld EN’e tussen bosbouplantasies bydra tot die bewaring van biodiversiteit in kommersiële landskappe. Hierdie benadering tot grondgebruik behoort verder verken te word vir ander kommersiële bosbou en boerderypraktyke.

The Kruger National Park (KNP) management has recently made considerable progress in enacting new policies to address biodiversity conservation and management challenges. However, the interlinkages among the new policies to support biodiversity conservation and management have not been evaluated, particularly the principles and approaches, and how these interact in terms of policy decision-making at the economic and political levels. This study seeks to evaluate the interlinkages among the new policies and how they affect one another, as an avenue to promote a more integrated and comprehensive policy implementation. These policies include the tourism policy, the elephant management policy, and the water provision policy. At policy-making level, the integration of these three policies enhances the possibilities for balancing and controlling the pressures exerted on environmental resources. At the implementation level, it offers a framework for the coordination of the interventions of the policies in space so as to recognise and capitalize on their synergies. Given the inevitably multifarious and departmentalized nature of policy formulation in the KNP, there is a need for the analysis of interlinkages amongst policies. The conceptual framework underpinning this study derives much from Briassoulis’ (2004) policy integration. The research utilizes both qualitative and quantitative research methods, and focuses on selected camp sites within the Park. The findings indicate that current procedures for tourism policy-making and implementation are weak, and little is done by way of impact assessment. This has been attributed to the lack of capacity at the KNP. The findings also reconfirm that policy-making is too fragmented. As a result, policy coordination and cooperation among park managers is weak. This study suggests that an environmental policy integration approach can lead to improved policy-making and implementation. Informed by the data collected from interviews, questionnaires and document analyses, a management framework has been developed to demonstrate how an integrated approach to Environmental Policy Integration (EPI) or management can help sustain the practice of wildlife tourism and support biodiversity conservation. It is concluded that greater realisation of integrated policy-making and implementation in the KNP can be achieved by establishing a formal coordinating office. However, a special feature of KNP policy-making is its widespread consultation system that can provide a fertile ground for enhancing EPI.

This study investigated the vegetation and soil characteristics in relation to distance from water points under different land management systems in semi-arid rangelands of South Africa. Six study sites, two each from communal grazing, commercial farming and game reserves were selected. Two watering points were selected in each study site. Two 500 m transects were laid from the selected watering points. Each transect was divided into sub-transects at 25 m, 50m, 100m, 200m, 300m and 500m from water points. A 100 m2 plot was marked in each sub-transect to record grass biomas, species composition, structure and distribution of woody vegetation and physical and chemical soil properties. Data were collected for two seasons 2012/13 (winter and summer). Thirty and 41 grass and woody species respectively were identified in all study areas. The most common and dominating grass species include Cynodon dactylon, Digitaria eriantha, Eragrostis obtusa, Setaria sphacelata and Sporobolus fimbriatus. Cynodon dactylon and S. sphacelata occurred more abundantly (p < 0.05) in the game reserves than in the other land management catergories. All the grass species had similar (p > 0.05) abundance along distance gradient from water points. Grass dry matter (GDM) showed significant differences (p < 0.05) between and within land management systems. However, GDM was not significantly affected by season, location of water point within each farm or reserve and distance along water points. Acacia karoo, Coddia rudis and Ehretia rigida were the most dominant woody species. Tree equivalent (TE) density of all encroaching woody plants combined was significantly (p < 0.05) higher on the communal area (1732 TE ha-1) than the commercial ranches (1136 TE ha-1) and game reserves (857 TE ha-1), but with no marked variations along distance from water points under all the land management systems. The electric conductivity (EC) was significantly (P < 0.01) higher in game reserves than in communal grazing areas and ranches. Soil organic matter percentage showed greatest and lowest values in the game reserves and commercial respectively. Soil pH and bulk density did not vary but soil organic matter (SOM), EC, bulk density and soil compaction were significant different with no increasing or decreasing trends. Soil properties were affected by herbivore pressure and trampling around water points with inconsistence magnitude and direction. In conclusion, grass species composition and GDM did not respond to distance from water points because either grazing gradient was absent or the length of transects was not enough to explain the absence or presence of gradients. High proportion of A. karoo and high densities of seedlings and saplings would seem as very good indicators of the woody vegetation changes in the different land management systems and distance from water points. The soil quality indicators around the water-points showed that livestock and game affected soil parameters.

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the Degree of Masters of Technology: Tourism and Hospitality, Durban University of Technology, 2011. / The current biodiversity and extinction crisis has ignited global concern for human and planetary well-being, culminating in the declaration by the United Nations of 2010 as the International Year of Biodiversity. Concomitant with these developments has been the steady ascent of the ecotourism industry, a subset of the travel and tourism industry that holds some promise for the conservation and enhancement of natural areas. A third strand that may be added that weaves them all together for mutual benefit, is the use of interpretation as a communication strategy that enhances the travel experience for the visitor, stimulating interest and enriching their knowledge of local natural resources. This study examines the role of interpretation within one of the largest protected areas in the Durban area, Shongweni Reserve. Rich in faunal and floral diversity, the reserve hosts a range of active and passive recreational pursuits for local and international visitors. This study examines the range of natural, historic and cultural resources within the Shongweni Reserve and then develops appropriate themes for interpretive print material to effectively provoke and stimulate visitor interest in local biodiversity. Print samples were attractively designed to showcase interesting facets of plant and animal wildlife in the reserve. The samples integrated aspects of floral and faunal conservation status together with Zulu cultural use in the narrative and text. Findings from the survey revealed that most visitors were interested in learning more about local biodiversity and found the interpretation material to have a high degree of personal relevance. This has significance in terms of encouraging reserve management to communicate effectively with their visitors using interpretive media as a vehicle and stimulus for biodiversity conservation.

Thesis (MSc (Botany and Zoology))--University of Stellenbosch, 2005. / South Africa is one of the most biodiverse countries in the world and even with conservation initiatives in place continues to face biodiversity loss. There is a need to prioritise areas for conservation as resources for conservation purposes are limited in South Africa. From prioritisation methods reviewed it was found that prioritisation indices normally use one or a combination of variables that measure stock; and/or variables that measure threat.