Veld management:
Owing to the site's very close proximity to the suburbs of Treverton, with several homes abutting the site to the north and northwest, the inclusion of fire as a tool to manage the veld's quality is currently out of the question due to the associated risk to life and property. This sadly entails a threat to the site as the vegetation will eventually degrade past maturity (it's current age) and in a few years time, become increasingly senescent. Evidence of this change is already present in the form of many naturalized exotics, including species of Verbena, Oenothera, and Tagetes, beginning to encroach in abundance in the lower and upper regions of the slope catena where seasonal moisture is most prevalent and widespread. Some property owners to the south occasionally burn (atleast once every 2 years) their fields near the riverbank to promote fresh graze for their livestock. It would be beneficial to convince these landowners to extend their burns to atleast the southern most limits of the project site (burning any further would most likely require a trained crew to contain the fire within the grassland). However, as the ownership status of the plot is still uncertain, this is currently unfeasible
Pollution:
There are certain area's within the project site where construction rubble is dumped, likely relating to the maintenance of nearby Eskom electricity pilons. There are also several areas where household refuse and garden litter is dumped, the latter posing a threat to the biological integrity of the site from alien invasive organisms
Livestock:
Seasonal grazing occurs within the project site each year, predominantly between the months of October and February where the grazing value of the grassland in the site reaches its peak. Due to the size of the herds passing through here (>100 goats, >25 cattle), there is a risk to the plant life within the site should it be exposed for too long a period to grazing
Other Threats:
Other threats which do not pose a direct danger to the site but contribute to harmful factors such as continuing fragmentation include wood harvesting, as well as a lesser degree of light pollution owing to the site's geographical location between settlements
Plants:
The site is made up of several plant families and growth forms. The largest component is that of Asteracea, which range from hemicryptophytic plants such as Macledium anomala and Helichrysum herbaceum, annual stragglers and herbs inhabiting moist pockets amongst the middle, rocky section of the slope; to perennial, woody based branching shrublets such as Helichrysum cooperi and Senecio latifolius in the lower and upper catena's of the slope where the soil is either prone to longer, fluctuating periods of moisture or dryness
Not only is the species level diversity high in this site for Genera such as Helichrysum and Senecio, but diversity of Genera is itself high especially on the moister south-western slopes. With many species growing not just on these cooler, rockier slopes but elsewhere in the site, particularly amongst smaller outcroppings near the peak of the hill and lower down near the floodplain where the soil's clay content is higher, it can be said that there is broader Beta diversity at species level and a more concentrated Alpha diversity in the intermediate band of the hillside where rock outcroppings are most prevalent. This can be attributed to many of the Genera being habitat specialists. There are exceptions to this however, and species specific habitat specialists such as the central Drakensberg endemic Hermannia malvifolia, as well as a possible new ecotype of the Scrophulariaceae member: Zaluzianskya elongata, were found in the southwestern corner of the site, only in area's where the rocky ridges and structure of the vegetation created suitable niches or microhabitats
A SANBI Redlisted plant species has also been discovered at this site, namely Helichrysum oligopappum. This is of great importance in the effort to afford this site some level of protection as this species is only known from 2 other distant localities in the KZN Midlands and is very under-collected
All 3 major pollinator orders are present in this site, namely: Lepidoptera; Diptera; and Coleoptera. The largest and arguably most diverse taxon of predators within this grassland is that of the Family Thomisidae (Flower Crab Spiders) [Class: Arachnida]
There is a wide range of trophic interactions between taxa of these 3 groups (and others) at various levels. Some of these interactions involve, but are not limited to, the following:
1. Micro-Predation by Mimicry: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/71814665
2. Pollinivory: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/72634219
3. Floravory: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/71814659
4. Parasitism:
- Necrotrophic zoophagy: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/71299658
- Necrotrophic frugophagy: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/71299665
- Biotrophic phytophagy: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/71299663
There are a number of records of mating behaviour in both pollinator and predator species:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/72370744
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/71568414
There is also an important nursery site for the Koppie Foam Grasshopper (Dictyophorus sp.) and other Orthopteran species amongst the large, localised population of the plant Eucomis autumnalis, which grows prolifically amongst rocky outcroppings. The eggs are laid in the moist, conical leaf bases where water often collects after rain. Once the eggs hatch, the nymphs feed on the broad leaves of the plant whilst they mature
There is evidence of Termite activity in this hill owing to the presence of Termitomyces mushrooms as well as sightings of winged adults: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/72370739
Given the altitude at which the site is situated (>1400m asl), this is a unique feature of this grassland and, asides from the scattered rocky terrain and endemic climate of extreme high and low temperatures, is possibly one of the causal factors of the high, localised pockets of plant and insect biodiversity to be found in this site
All of the above is evidence of the fact that this site, specifically the rocky, southern grassland slopes, are an important nesting ground for a diverse array of insects
