Wetland vegetation in the North-Eastern Sandy Highveld, Mpumalanga, South Africa

Abstract

The wetland vegetation of the high mountain grasslands of Mpumalanga was sampled by using stratification based on geology and land types. Floristic data were classified by TWlNSPAN procedures and refined by using the Braun-Blanquet method. This resulted in the recognition of four major wetland plant communities which are subdivided into eleven minor plant communities. The major communities include the Phragmites australis Wetland occurring in relatively deep water, the Miscanthus junceus Wetland from moist river banks and wet drainage lines, the Eragrostis biflora-Stiburus allopecuroides Moist Grassland restricted to moist, poorly drained soils with a high water table, and Arundinella nepalensis Moist Grasslands on black vertic soils.