H. Bezuidenhout et al., A CLASSIFICATION OF THE VEGETATION OF THE WESTERN TRANSVAAL DOLOMITE AND CHERT GRASSLAND, SOUTH-AFRICA, South African journal of botany, 60(3), 1994, pp. 152-161
Relatively little is known about the vegetation of the western Grassla
nd Biome in South Africa. The classification of the dolomite and chert
grassland in the western Transvaal (Fa land type) forms part of a res
earch programme on the syntaxonomic and synecological synthesis of the
vegetation of the western Grassland Biome. Using a numerical classifi
cation technique (TWINSPAN) as a first approximation, the classificati
on was refined by applying Braun-Blanquet procedures. The result is a
phytosociological table from which two new alliances, six new associat
ions, two new sub-associations and two new communities without syntaxo
nomic rank are recognized. The new syntaxa are ecologically interprete
d as well as described. Associated gradients in habitat were identifie
d by using an ordination algorithm (DECORANA). This study should contr
ibute to the present knowledge and ecological understanding of the veg
etation of the western Transvaal.