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Table 2 Species (fauna and flora) of conservation importance at Mkambati Nature Reserve, their conservation status according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red list of threatened species, their ecological characteristics relevant to fire management, and potential impacts of fire regimes.

From: Characterizing a Poacher-Driven Fire Regime in Low-Nutrient Coastal Grasslands of Pondoland, South Africa

Species

Status

Ecological characteristics

Potential impacts of fire regimes

Brunia trigyna (Schltr.) Class.-Bockh. & E.G.H. Oliv.

Critically endangered5

Slow-growing large woody shrub; subpopulations are extremely fragmented5

Sensitive to frequent fires (grows in sites protected from fire)5

Watsonia pondoensis Goldblatt

Endangered5

Geophyte

Sensitive to frequent fire and overgrazing5

Leucospermum innovans Rourke

Endangered5

Resprouting shrub; myrmecochorous, thus requires high fire intensities to stimulate seed germination1

Too-frequent fire may result in inadequate seed production and poor recruitment5

Kniphofia drepanophylla Baker

Vulnerable5

Geophyte

Sensitive to frequent fires associated with heavy grazing and trampling5

Leucadendron spissifolium (Salisb. ex Knight) I. Williams ssp. oribinum

Vulnerable5

Slow-growing woody shrub; dioecious; serotinous; resprouter1

Too-frequent fire may result in inadequate seed production and poor recruitment5

Leucadendron spissifolium ssp. natalense (Thode & Gilg) I. Williams

Near threatened5

Slow-growing woody shrub; dioecious; serotinous; resprouter1

Too-frequent fire may result in inadequate seed production and poor recruitment5

Hyperolius poweri Loveridge

Not assessed (due to recent taxonomic change)8

Frog associated with emergent vegetation on the margins of swamps8

Sensitive to habitat loss as a result of regular fire (loss of cover)3

Breviceps bagginsi Minter

Endangered6

Frog favoring habitat associated with grassland8,4

Sensitive to habitat loss as a result of regular fire (loss of cover)3

Bradypodion caffer Boettger

Endangered8

Chameleon represents a grassland ecomorph of B. caffer; only occurs in natural grassland8

Require long fire free intervals to facilitate dispersal8

Insecta (73 species found are endemic to South Africa, and at least 18 species endemic to Mkambati)

21 species not yet assessed by IUCN and thus listed as endangered2

Burning is known to influence invertebrate communities, but further research is required in this diverse group2

Burning positively influences species richness; highest numbers of endemic species were found in unburned vegetation2,7

  1. 1Rebelo (1995)
  2. 2Hamer and Slotow (2017)
  3. 3Masterson et al. (2008)
  4. 4du Preez and Carruthers (2009)
  5. 5Raimondo et al. (2015)
  6. 6South African Frog Re-Assessment Group (SA-Frog) (2010)
  7. 7Dippenaar-Schoeman et al. (2011)
  8. 8Venter and Conradie (2015)