Drakensberg lower regions
Drakensberg montane grasslands, woodlands and forests ecoregion
WWF AT1004
Map
Also see Drakensberg Mountains higher than
2'500m
Lower part of the Drakensberg mountains.
- Location
- Elevation
- Area
- Nature Reserves
- Climate
- Geology
- Vegetation
- Mammals
- Birds
- Amphibians
- Reptiles
Location
The ecoregion covers the medium altitude areas of the Drakensberg Mountains in South Africa and Swaziland, and the lower slopes of the high altitude Lesotho Plateau.
Other grassland areas include:
- Stormsberg Mountains
- Mount Andersson
- Soutpansberg
- Blouberg Mountains
Elevation
1'800 m to 2'500 m
Area
202'200 square kilometers
Nature Reserves
Nature Reserves found in this ecoregion are:
- Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park
- Giant’s Castle Reserve
Climate
- Rainfall
- 450 mm per year in the southwest
- over 1,100 mm in the northeast
- highest altitudes often receiving 1,900 mm
- Cold and wet conditions occur
- Lesotho Plateau (in the rain shadow): drought can occur
- Temperature
- –13°C to 40°C, averaging 15°C
- little snow, severe frost
Geology
- sandstone and shale from the Karoo sequence
- dolerite intrusions
- soils (mostly lithosols) are typically leached because of the high rainfall
Vegetation
Mainly grassland on the wet exposed slopes, with isolated conifer forests. In valleys there are forest patches. The southeasterly slope turns into thickets, forests, and bushveld savanna.
- grass species on leached, rocky, shallow soils on the moist, cool, and
steep Drakensberg mountain slopes
- Monocymbium ceresiiforme
- Diheteropogon filifolius
- Sporobolus centrifugus
- Harpochloa falx
- Rendia altera
- Cymbopogon dieterlenii
- Eulalia villosa
- grass species on the lower slopes of the Drakensberg
- Poa annua
- Hyparrhenia hirta
- Aristida diffusa
- Trachypogon spicatus
- grasses in the forest belt on the mountains
- Elionurus argenteus
- Exotheca abyssinica
- Loudetia simplex
- Monocymbium ceresiiforme
- Themeda triandra
- Andropogon
- Brachiaria
- Digitaria
- Hyparrhenia
- Pennisetum
- Setaria
- Non-grassy
- Helichrysum cerastioides
- Helichrysum oreophilium
- Helichrysum spiralepis
- Rhus discolor
- Selago galpinii
- Clutia monticola
- Sebaea dedoides
- Rhus dentata
- Leucosidea serice
Coniferous forests
Large coniferous forests are found in the Vryheid region with
- Podocarpus
- Widdringtonia
Mammals
The largest populations of ungulates (hoofed mammals) in southern Africa are found here:
- eland (Taurotragus oryx)
- reedbuck (Redunca arundinum)
- mountain reedbuck (Redunca fulvorufula)
- grey rhebok (Pelea capreolus)
- black wildebeest (Connochaetes gnou)
- oribi (Ourebia ourebi)
- endemic
- Myosorex tenuis
- Ambloysomus gunningi
- near-endemic
- Pronolagus crassicudatus
- elephant
- lion
- black rhino
- white rhino (Ceratotherium simum)
- buffalo
- leopard
- cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus)
- wild dogs (Lycaon pictus)
Birds
- Near-endemic birds:
- bush blackcap (Lioptilus nigricapillus)
- Drakensberg siskin (Pseudochloroptila symonsi)
- forest canary (Serinus scotopus)
- yellow-breasted pipit (Anthus chloris, VU)
- orange-breasted rockjumper (Chaetops aurantius)
- buff-streaked chat (Oenanthe bifasciata)
- and Rudd’s lark (Heteromirafra ruddi, CR)
- Endemic:
- lammergeier (Gypaetus barbatus)
Amphibians
- Endemic frogs:
- Breviceps sylvestris
- Leptopelis xenodactylus
- Breviceps maculates
- Breviceps verrucosus
- Cacosternum poyntoni
- Rana dracomontana
Reptiles
In this region 24 reptile species are strictly endemic, while 38% of the reptiles are near-endemic.