biomes (ls)

biodiversity

refers to the wide range of species within communities and the number of organisms making up each species

endemism

describes the number and range of species that are endemic to an area

endemic species

species that occur naturally in only one specific area in the world

indigenous species

species that occur naturally within an area

exotic/alien species

species that do not occur naturally in a specific area. they have been introduced to that area

savana biome

• Largest biome in South Africa, also known as the Bushveld.

Temperature:

Hot, wet summers and cool, dry winters.

Soil:

Sandy soils with a moderate amount of nutrients, fairly infertile.

Plant Itie:

7 000+ species which includes grasses, trees and shrubs.

Obvious trees are the Marula, Baobab and Acacia (umbrella thorn trees).

Animal life:

The most amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals of all the biomes.

Mammals include the Big 5' - lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and rhino.

grassland biome

Occurs in the major parts of Gauteng, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, Free State, Lesotho and Swaziland.

Temperature:

Varies in different areas. Winters are cold with frost while other parts are cold with SnOW.

Summers are warm.

Rainfall:

Summer rainfali, 400 mm to 1.200 mm.

Soil:

Soils have a high humus content but in the high rainfall areas the soils are easily leached and becomes acidic

Plant life:

Most of the plants are grasses (the most successful vegetation type on earth). The most important and widely distributed grass is Themeda triandra.It is a climax grass in most grasslands.

Animal life:

Large herds of blesbok, black wildebeest and springbok occur.

A wide variety of birds occur.

nama karoo biome

("Karoo' - Khoi word for 'dry')

2nd largest biome in South Africa.

Occurs in the major part of the Northern Cape, the north-eastern parts of the Western Cape, the southwestern parts of the eastern Cape and the western parts of the Free State.

Temperature:

Summer temperatures reach higher than

400C and winter temperatures can drop below -90C.

Rainfall:

Regarded as a semi-desert area.

Less than 500 mm of rain per year.

Soil:

The soil, which contains mudstones and sandstones, is rich in nutrients.

plant life:

Dominated by grasses and dwarf shrubs.

2 147 plant species of which 386 are endemic.

Plants survive by storing water in their thick leaves or root systems.

Some plants show camouflage that make it difficult to distinguish them from the environment. The stone plant (Lithops) is an example of a plant that shows camouflage - it looks like the pebbles around it.

Animal life:

The Riverine rabbit, Cinnamon-breasted warbler and Sclater's lark are endemic to the Nama Karoo. (See the pictures on the next page)

Common insects in this area are the Karoo caterpillar, brown locust and harvester termite.

Camouflage and mimicry in animals also make it difficult to distinguish them from their environment.

Body colour and patterns of lizards, geckos and snakes enable them to blend in with their surroundings.

Some insects, including grasshoppers and locusts, look like dry twigs or leaves.

succulent karoo biome

It occurs along the west coast of the Northern Cape as well as in the northern parts of the western Cape.

Temperature:

It varies from -50C in the winter to over 40C in the summer.

Rainfall:

50 mm to 350 mm per year.

Fog is an important source of moisture, especially in areas where the rainfall is less than 100 mm per year.

Soil:

The soil types vary from very fertile, red clay with rocks in between to large plates of shale while white pebbles can be seen in some parts.

Plant life:

• Dominated by dwarf shrubs.

+5 000 different plant species occur of which 40% are endemic to the area.

The Namaqualand region is world-famous for its colourful wild flowers which occur naturally in early August to mid-September.

Annual plants:

Evade the dry periods by germinating, growing, flowering and setting seeds during the moist winter and spring.

They then die off with the seeds surviving to germinate again the next winter when it rains again.

The perennial plants:

Succulent plants tolerate the dry conditions by using water which is stored in their leaves and stems. They reduce water loss through transpiration by having a thick cuticle on the leaves and reducing the number of stomata.

Non-succulent perennials have very small leaves to reduce water loss by transpiration. Plants with large leaves drop their leaves during the dry months.

animal life:

The animal life in this biome is not as rich as the plant life.

65 species of mammals (of which 3 are endemic), 252 species of birds, 12 species of amphibians (of which 1 is endemic) and 108 species of reptiles (of which & are endemic occur in the Succulent Kargo biome.