Floristic assessment of an Afromontane grassland fragmentation experiment in a pine plantation

Twenty-four grassland fragments were established in an area of high botanic al diversity planted with Pinus patula plantations. This area is representa tive of the eastern Drakensberg escarpment, containing a large number of en demic plant taxa. The experimental fragments comprise six replicates of two fragment sizes (0.25 and 1.5 ha), with a similar grouping of control plots in adjacent undisturbed grassland designated for conservation. The plots f orm the basis of a long-term study on fragmented plant and animal communiti es. Vegetation surveys were performed using nearest neighbour step point an d Braun-Blanquet techniques. Analysis of similarity (ANOSIM) indicates that in neither the large nor small fragments do the control plots differ signi ficantly in floristic structure from the experimental fragments. Five varia tions of the Themeda triandra-dominated grassland were identified, correspo nding to slight variations in ground moisture. The experimental fragments a nd control plots were sufficiently similar to be analysed as replicates wit hin the fragmentation study. This forms the foundation for the long-term an alysis of plant communities within the fragments, as well as for analyses o f insect and vertebrate communities within the fragments.