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Abiotic and PHYSIOGRAPHIC & ECONOMIC FACTORS Refrencing:

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Abiotic and PHYSIOGRAPHIC & ECONOMIC FACTORS Refrencing:

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&rarr;, V., 2021. Biomes of South Africa Thicket. [online] DeVos Education. Available at: < https://pbhslifescience.wordpress.com/2015/09/07/biomes-of-south-africa-thicket/#:~:text=Subtropical%20thicket%20occupies%20landscapes%20of,that%20is%20rich%20in%20lime.
.> [Accessed 10 March 2021].

Erskin, V., 2021. 6 Best South African National Parks | Bookmundi. [online] Bookmundi.com. Available at: <https://www.bookmundi.com/t/6-best-national-parks-in-south-africa> [Accessed 9 March 2021].

https://www.google.com/search?q=coasts+of+kwazulu+natal&oq=coasts+of+kw&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j33i22i29i30l9.8246j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Images:
https://www.google.com/search?q=thicket+biome+in+the+winter&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwiSpq2l36jvAhXJEGMBHV3VDz8Q2-cCegQIABAA&oq=thicket+biome+in+the+winter&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQAzoECAAQQzoCCAA6BggAEAcQHjoECAAQGDoECAAQHjoGCAAQBRAeUMOcBliEywZg48wGaABwAHgAgAGKBogBtCuSAQsyLTIuNi4yLjIuMZgBAKABAaoBC2d3cy13aXotaW1nwAEB&sclient=img&ei=nlBKYJLfMcmhjLsP3aq_-AM

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http://pza.sanbi.org/vegetation/forests

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A forest is usually an area filled with trees is tall and densely packed. The canopy cover of forests is constant, comprising mostly evergreen trees, and beneath it the vegetation is multi-layered. Forests are central to all human life because they provide a diverse range of resources: they store carbon, aid in regulating the planetary climate, purify water and mitigate natural hazards such as floods. Forests rarely burn, mainly due to the high humidity, but under extremely hot and dry conditions fires may occur and destroy the forest structure. Forest soils are normally low in nutrients. The forest floor is dominated by shade dominate plant, mosses and fungi. The forest dynamics are very competition driven and aids in high speciation and adaptation. Plants and animals are wildly adapted to overcome competition and cope in this frequent competition driven system.

Cape fruit bat ( Rousettus aegyptiacus)

Diagnostic characteristics: R.aegyptiacus is a medium sized bat with dark grayish brown color. They have a distinctive yellowish chest. The males have well developed stiff hair along the throat that lacks in the females. They have quite large ears and they have very large black eyes that help them to flay at night. There are claws present on the first two digits of the front limbs and 5 toes on the hind limbs. R.aegyptiacus can grow up to 15 cm and weigh about 150g with a wingspan of 60cm.

Biological information: R.aegyptiacus is fruit eaters and they only go and feed under the cover of dark. They use echolocation to successfully maneuver in the dark between one another. They form large colonies where grooming is common and roosts together during the day in caves, while smaller colonies have been seen roosting in trees. R.aegyptiacus is a polygamous species and females give birth to a single pup that is altricial. The pups are solely care for by the mother for up to 9 months when they large enough. These bats can live to be 22 years of age.

Importance: In the competition driven dynamics of a forest system these bats are well adapted to survive. They are nocturnal and dominate the skies at night and do not have to deal or out compete other species, except for themselves. They tend to get aggressive when feeding. These bats are very important in the forest ecosystem as they are the main seed dispersing agent for trees as well as pollinators for trees that flower at night.

Bush pigs (Poromachoerus porcus)

Diagnostic characteristics: P.porcus is a large heavy pig with thick rough hair that differ n color variation from geographical region. Fur color varies from reddish to brow and even black. Some pigs have distinctive white facial masks. These pigs grow up to 1m and can weigh as heavy as 130kg. Both the male and female have small tusk, those on the top jaw pointing upwards and those on the bottom jaw pointing downwards. Male pigs have distinctive warts above their eyes.

Biological information: P.porcus are monogamous and both sexes provide parental care for their young. The mother gives births once annually to up to 6 pigs (average of 4) that they hind in a large nest that the mother makes out of grass. P.porcus are social animals will old males are normally solitary. Males mark their territory by leaving a scent from their facial glands as well as scraping of bark from trees. They are mostly active during the night and will spend the day time in burrows between dense vegetation. They are considered as food generalists and consume a wide variety of foods.

Importance: These pigs feed at night and on a variety of foods types including bulbs, insects and lizards. They are generalists and do not have to compete for their food. They are normally found on the edges of the forest and have to travel over large distances to consume enough food to sustain their large stature.

Vervet monkey ( Chlorocebus aethiops)

Diagnostic characteristics: The vervet monkey is a relatively small monkey compared to the other monkey species, they reach a height between 400 to 600 mm. They have a long tail (300 - 500mm) that allows superior arboreal locomotion along with a light weight body (between 3-5kg). The males are larger than the females, and all sexes have moderate length gray hair over the whole body except for the face which is black, as well as long white whiskers. A defining character of this species is the presence of green color on the top of the face. The males have blue colored scrotum with a red penis.

Biological information: Vervet monkeys very social animals and they live in large groups. They tend to groom one another which increase their relationships. They exhibit sexual dimorphism with the males larger than the female. They are omnivores are eat a variety of foods including insects, vegetable matter and sometimes small mammals and birds but mostly feed on fruits. During the breeding season dominant males will show their dominance by adapting a dominant stance over the less dominant males by pointing their tails straight up into the air. Females are ready to breed when the vulva swells up. They fall prey to larger mammals like leopards and even baboons. At the first sign of a predator the males will alert the group with loud calls.

Importance: These monkeys feed during the day on the ground as well as in the trees. The fill a variety of niches and do not have to compete with other species for food. They are also important in the forest system in seed dispersal and will keep some populations of other animals at sustain densities.

Terrestrial bulbul ( Phyllastrephus terrestris)

Diagnostic characteristics: The bulbuls are small conspicuous mostly brown bird with white under parts and a reddish eye. They have a small beak with large nostrils. It is quite hard to see because it spends most of its time in thick vegetation.

Biological information: These birds form monogamous breeding pairs, and the female with lay eggs between Octobers to January. Communal breeding has not been noticed in this species. They form large flocks with other bird's species when they eat, but the terrestrial bulbul seems to be the dominant species in those flocks.

Importance: This species of bird feeds on the ground on fallen seeds and fruits not to compete with other birds that feed in the other forest strata.

White pear ( Apodytes dimidiate)

Diagnostic characteristics: A.dimidiate is a small bushy evergreen tree that can reach up to 20m in a forest. They have bright green leaves and smooth pale gray bark. A.dimidiate forms small white flowers blooms that have a sweet fragrant. These flowers give rise to small black flattened bean shaped fruit. A.dimidiate has black seeds and a non invasive root system.

Biological information: The highly fragrant flowers attract lots of pollinators that aid in pollination. The seeds take very long to germinate (up to half a year) and the seedling is slow growing. The larger the tree gets the faster it will grow.

Importance: In a forest system plants have to have unique adaptations to out compete other plant species. A.dimidiate has leathery leaves that limit water los and will protect the leaves form excessive radiation from the sun. The leaves end with a pointed tip to help with water runoff. The wood is of economic value and the leaves have medicinal properties.

Yellow wood (Podocarpus latifolius)

Diagnostic characteristics: P.latifolius grows upright and can reach a height of 22m with a canopy cover as wide as 10m. P.latifolius have simple complete linear evergreen leaves that are blue-green in color. Flowers are very inconspicuous and not showy and do not attract wild life. The bark is smooth and grayish with longitudinal fissures.

Biological information: P.latifolius is a unisexual plant. Males produce cone like structures while the female develops round gray/blue seeds on the ends of fleshy receptacles. P.latifolius produces small berry like fruit that attract birds and other arboreal mammals. P.latifolius is very slow growing and can live for many years. They grow well in areas of full sun with well drained loamy clay soils.

Importance: P.latifolius is wind pollinated and is not very effective due to the large distance between species and the dens canopies through which the pollen must travel. These trees grow over most off the other species exposing their leaves to the sun and allowing the pollen to be transported over large distances.

Cape primrise ( Streptocarpus johannis)

Diagnostic characteristics: S.johannis is a perennial herb that has a horizontal underground stem from which multiple large green slightly pubescent leaves grow. S.johannis have no stems. This plant is unique in terms that each leave is a individual plant having its own flower. The flowers have a unique shape, the petals are semi-fused and make a "S" shape The asymmetrical flowers are white and sometimes have a yellow tint inside the flower petals. S.johannis produces long thin spirally woody fruit that unwinds to release the fine dark seeds when ripe..)

Biological information: S.johannis are sometimes found growing from trees or out of rocks. The seeds are dispersed via wind. They cannot tolerate high temperatures and need sufficient light. Some aphids and whiteflies are known pests for S.johannis.

Importance: S.johannis has very large leaves that creates a large surface area for the capture of sun light in areas where sun light is limited. There is also a purple pigment underneath the leave that reflects the sun light back after it has passed through the leaves, to maximize photosynthesis.

Lily ( Cyrtanthus purpureus)

Diagnostic characteristics: C.purpureus is a evergreen herbaceous plant with an underground bulb that grow about 50cm tall. They have bisexual actinomorphic flowers with flowers whorls arranged in 6 (6stamens, 6 petals) that are grouped into a umble inflorescence. Each red flower are tubular in shap and are about 7cm long. They produce a berry fruit from a superior ovary.

Biological information: C.purpureus are mainly pollinated by moths at night. The flowers are sweetly scentedThey have perennial bulbs that ghrow in shallow well drained soils in sun or shaded areas.

Importance: C.purpureus will live for a long time due to the presence of the underground bulb form which C.purpureus can resprout after unfavorable conditions

Leather leaf fern ( Rumohra adiantiformis)

Diagnostic characteristics: R.adiantiformis is a evergreen perennial herbaceous fern that have triangular shaped odd-pinnate leaves comprising out of several leaflets that are has a fine texture and dark green in color and grow directly out of the ground, they do not have a stem. R.adiantiformis can reach up to 3 feet in height and spread out as far as 5 feet. R.adiantiformis is slow growing and very dense. R.adiantiformis does not produce any flowers or fruit. Under the leaves are numerous sori (clusters of sporangia) that are about 2.2mm in diameter.

Biological information: R.adiantiformis spreads through stolons. These ferns are well adapted to grow in the shade and are the forest dwellers occurring in moist areas. They sometimes also occur on rock. These ferns are very fast growers and can establish it's self within 7 weeks.

Importance: R.adiantiformis leaves are arrange in a light trapping mosaic allowing most of the leave surface to be exposed to shattered sun light for photosynthesis.

The trapdoor spider ( Ummidia spp)

Diagnostic characteristics: Ummidia spp is a small black spider with long legs that are shinny on top but hairy at the lower part of the legs. They have a hairy abdomen and thorax, that houses 2 main eyes and just below them are 4 secondary eyes. Ummidia spp chelicerae are large and strong and well adapted for digging.

Biological information: Ummidia spp construct elaborate burrows along natural insect pathways, which they line with a coating of a mixture of ground and saliva followed by a layer of silk. They also make a roof which is camouflaged with rocks and twigs, that they can flip open with hinges to jump out and catch their prey. The burrows also act as a nussary where the female lays her eggs. She will stay with the small spiders until they are large enough to despurse via a technique called ballooning. Prey include arthropods and small lizards. They are well hidden from predators in their burrow, but there is one parasitic wasp (Pompilidae) that is able to chew through the roof and parasitize Ummidia spp.

Importance: Ummidia spp fills a special niche within the forest system. They have adapted to dig burrows and to live under ground.

Black rain frog ( Brevisceps fuscus)

Diagnostic characteristics: B.fuscus is a short fat bodied frog with a glandular skin with protruding eyes that are black. B.fuscus has a cleft tongue and does not have a tail and can fold their legs underneath the body

Biological information: B.fuscus live in shallow tunnels in the forest floor. This frog species is endemic to South Africa. During the mating season the females will secrete a sticky substance on her back to keep the male from falling off; this is known as adhesive amplexus. The breeding season starts around September and the froglets grow up without ever coming in contact with water like most frogs. When these frogs are disturbed that will puff up and enlarge their bodies and adopted a more aggressive behavior.

Importance: These frogs are well adapted to live under ground and are mostly nocturnal ground dwellers. They full a special niche in the forest ecosystem and do not have to compete extensively with other species.

Boom slang (Dispholidus typus)

Diagnostic characteristics: D.typus has long slender bodies with a large variation ion body color depending on geographic range. They are normally green in color with a lighter color on their bellies. They have small stubby heads with large black eyes. An adult D.typus can reach up to 1.5 m in length. D.typus is a poisonous snake and when they bite it resembles a chewing action and can open their mouths 180 degrees.

Biological information: D.typus are mostly solitary diurnal snakes that exhibit sexual dimorphism. They live in low lying trees and shrubs and will sometimes venture on the ground to souk up the sun and to hunt. Primarily they will hunt birds and chameleons in the trees. During the breeding season the female will lay up to 14 eggs in pile of rotting stumps or leaves. They mate in the trees and the sex of the offspring in determined by the temperature of the environment. There are no parental care and the young sakes use an egg tooth to break through the egg shell. They use their tough to pickup chemical signals to interoperate their environment.

Importance: These snakes are adapted to an arboreal life style and do not have to compete with other arboreal predators.

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A forest is usually an area filled with trees is tall and densely packed. The canopy cover of forests is constant, comprising mostly evergreen trees, and beneath it the vegetation is multi-layered. Forests are central to all human life because they provide a diverse range of resources: they store carbon, aid in regulating the planetary climate, purify water and mitigate natural hazards such as floods.

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The following is an extract of text from Low & Rebelo (1996) for Forests. The forests mapped in Mucina & Rutherford have a limited extent compared to those mapped by Low & Rebelo.

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Forest- Forest threats have been occurring as it is a continuous Cycle and have long been threatened by a variety of destructive agents, but the main ones are:
1.  Frequency and time of fire events.
2. Hurricanes
3. Droughts
4. Insect outbreaks which cause global climate change, making the forests ecosystems prone to damage.

Thicket- The thicket biome’s main threat is bush-clearing, thicket is extremely dense making it unsuitable for goat farming and as a result clearing for agriculture is the main land use activity.

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Characteristics of  plant species in a Thicket:

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Characteristics of  plant species in a Thicket:

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Thicket biome
characterized by sparse dense ,spiny evergreen ,shrub vegetation

Including short trees ,low intertwining shrubs and vines but they are no distinct layer of trees and shrubs. The vegetation ranges from shrub-land to low forest. There are many evergreen and succulent trees and shrubs. Many of the plants have spines.

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thicket :closed shrub land dominated by evergreen
-the biome itself is filled with a variety of shrubs, vines and stem vines with a little herbaceous cover -when the there's an overlap of vegetation graze the succulent species then are first to disappear then bush lumps remain .

forests
-occur in patches
-continuous canopy cover
-comprising in mostly evergreen trees ,herbaceous plants such as ferns
- dominated by trees and woody vegetation
-moderate climates
-rich in soil nutrients

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Thicket- Summer rainfalls are much Rainer than Winter rainfalls
Forest- almost an equal amount of Rainfall in summer and the Winter seasons.

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Forests serve as our natural water collection, storage and delivering it into streams. The eastern part does not have much water as it does not rain all the time, which sometimes leads to lack of access of water.

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Forest Biome=

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economic importance of both thicket an forest biome: 

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economic importance of both thicket an forest biome: 

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forest biome :forests found in Mpumalanga, Knysna kwa Zulu natal (all in south africa )...provide good wood ,timber raw materials ,vegetables and fruits which then add economic  value

ex: timber used for construction and furniture making whereas the wood is used for paper and other essential products

thicket biome : The thicket plays a big role when having a variety of different species of plants and Birds, the Thicket has rare bird species that can only be found in the biome which is then used as a “ site seeing “

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Thicket biome :

African savannah elephant

Albany adder

Tree daisie

Addo dung beetle

forest biome :

Samango monkey

Cape parrot

Gaboon adder

Rumohra fern

Blue duiker

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-Knysna sea horse
Small delicate creature with a head like a horse and a tail with a perfect tails it’s a specie that is part of the estuaries and the South African fishing industry development the species major threat is habitat loss caused from deforestation

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characteristics of plant species in a Forest:

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characteristics of plant species in a Forest:

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There's 3 levels of plants found in a forest biome  which include the 3 most common  plant species such as:

Stinkleaf-semi woody well branched perennial shrub the colors range from  pink to dark blue they plants have a  unique dotted pattern on the petals

Yellow wood -a tree that grows upright and can grow up to 22m up height with a canopy of covering 10m.the colors on the leaves vary evergreen leaves that also form a bluish green color the bark of the tree itself is smooth greyish and has no longitudinal . the tree grow over other species as they collect sun allowing pollen to be transported as the leaves of the trees are exposed to other species

White pear-bright green leaves and smooth pale gray bark ,they tend to form white flowers that bloom with a sweet fragrant the flower seeds rise with a black flattened bean shaped fruit -the larger the tree the faster it will grow -the wood from the tree also has economic value and the leaves have medicinal properties

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Kruger National Park, Golden Gate Highlands National park, Kgaladi Transfrontier Park.

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Capital or important cities in the Biome:

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Capital or important cities in the Biome:

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Forest- Mpumalanga, Limpopo and Knysna
Thicket- Coast of Eastern Cape eg: Port Edward, Coast of KwaZulu-Natal Eg: Elephant Coast, Vallets of the Gamtoos, The fish River

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Thicket Biome=

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Type of soil
Thicket: occupies poor and fertile soil and variable topographic position, The soil is often quite shallow and varies from sandy to clay soil that is rich in lime.
Forest: Forest soils form where it is not too hot, and not too cold. Soils that formed under deciduous forests are very fertile and productive agricultural lands because of the decomposing leaves at the soil surface. However, soils formed under pine trees are usually more acidic and sandy, and are less suited to growing crops.
Ph   Forest: pH value of less than 7 and
Thicket: Ph value ranges from 4.8 to 7.0

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Forest Biome - occurs in patches, in areas such as Knysna of the Western Cape as well as KwaZulu Natal, the Eastern Cape, Limpopo and Mpumalanga.
Thicket Biome- occurs along the coasts of KwaZulu Natal and the Eastern Cape.

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Forests- are restricted to frost-free areas.
Thickets- The frost is has an occurrence and is the primary driver of the boundary in the thicket biome of south Africa.

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Thicket Biome is about 2-3m
Forest Biome is range in altitude from sea level to above 2000 meters.

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characteristics of mammals: 4 main mammal species found forest biome 

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characteristics of mammals: 4 main mammal species found forest biome 

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ape fruit bat -medium sized bat with greyish brown color -with a distinctive yellow chest they have quite large ears and large black eyes to help see in the might times they roost in the trees.the bats are important to the forest as they are the main seed dispersing agent to trees as well as the pollinators for the trees tat pollinate in the nighttime

Bush pigs -large heavy pigs with rough hair that differ in both color and length variation  the fur color varies from reddish to a brown and vene black dominant color .the pigs can weigh up to 180kg . their found in the edges of the forest and travel over long distances to consume enough food .they also feed on insects bulbs and lizards

Vervet monkey -relatively small monkey compared to other monkey species and only reach 400 to 600 mm of height and very long tails they have a presence of a green color on the top of the face while the males  have a blue colored scrotum with a red penis -important to the forest system as they also have system of seed dispersal and maintain some populations of animals to sustain densities

Birds -paradise flycatcher -small bird reaching the height of only 17cm -brown maroon coloured wings and back with dark velvety blue heaf and chest area feed on the the ground or higher up the canopy

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There's a huge diversity of  reptiles ranging from ;snakes ,crocodiles, lizards ,turtles  ,frogs
4 common species include the:

Boom slang ;snake with a very long slender bodies they have a common green body color while having a lighter color on the bellies they reach to a length of 1.5m .they live in low located trees/shrubs and will also lay on th grounds of the forests to absorb sun light

black rain frog :short black  fat bodied frog with glandular skin with protruding black eyes

knysna dwarf chameleon : small chameleon with a rough bodied scales have fused eyelids

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Average rainfall/ precipitation for the year:

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Average rainfall/ precipitation for the year:

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Forest Biome:  It has a mean annual rainfall of more than 525mm in the winter rainfall region and more than 725 mm rainfall in the summer rainfall region.
Thicket Biome: Has a precipitate of 200-950 mm per annum.

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Thickets- The climate is very dry, but the maximum temperature is 25.9 degrees Celsius and the minimum is 12.8 degrees Celsius.
Forests- The maximum temperature is about 25 degrees Celsius and the minimum is 17-16 degrees Celsius.

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Climate factors:
Climate classification
Forest-  Temperate Climate.
Thicket- Sub tropical Climate