Reactions of grass communities to grazing and fire in the sub-humid lowlands of Zululand

Abstract

A stratified sample of 350 plots was used to record grass species presence, the physical conditions of grasses and forbs, and to assess grazing usage. Normal association-analysis of the sample data identified and characterized the grass communities present which, on a plant successional basis, were found to be part of a retrogressive sequence induced by increasing grazing usage and the elimination of veld fires.

Keywords: grass communities|grazing|fires|Zululand|grass species|physical conditions|grasses|forbes|grazing areas|assessments|analyses|plant succession|uncontrolled bushfires|Umfolozi Game Reserve|large herbivores