FIRST RENOSTERVELD LAND PURCHASE IN THE OVERBERG!

We are VERY excited to announce that WWF-SA has purchased the first piece of renosterveld in the Overberg and we, the OLCT, will be managing this land as a nature reserve. We also hope to establish a research centre on the land. This is the result of nearly five years of collaborative efforts between us and WWF and finally, we have our first piece of land, secured forever for conservation.

 

The farm is called Haarwegskloof and comprises about 500 ha of Eastern Ruens Shale Renosterveld, just north of De Hoop Nature Reserve. This special veld contains several quartz patches, which are where we have found many of our new and threatened species - most notably, it contains the only known population of Polhillia curtisiae.

 

Thank you to our colleagues at WWF for never giving up and for persisting until this deal was closed. This is a hugely significant step forward for renosterveld conservation in the Overberg.  

Polhillia curtisiae, CR, only one known population in the world

        Gibbeaum haaglenii (EN) growing at Haarwegskloof

 

Haarwegskloof with quartz patches in the foreground. This farm is linked with large, adjacent patches, making it part of the largest pristine lowland renosterveld remaining on earth.

New Mazda Wildlife Vehicle for the OLCT!!

Mazda has treated us to a brand new vehicle and replaced the 'old' one with the new BT50 double-cab, 2.5, diesel bakkie. It is awesome!! Much lighter on fuel and a pleasure to drive. And it's beautiful :) Thank you Mazda!!

Overberg Lowlands Conservation Trust: our first newsletter!

Please go to www.overbergrenosterveld.org.za and sign up to receive our quarterly newsletters if you would like to do so! :)

Evan Eifler's Blog

Please note that you can now follow Evan Eifler's posts on his Blog:
www.evanrenosterveld.blogspot.com

Evan is our American volunteer, who will be working with us for the year.

He is photographing as many plants and animals in renosterveld as he can over this period and uploading many of these images onto I-Spot (www.ispot.org.za) for adding to the central database, as well as getting assistance with IDs.

The idea is that we develop our renosterveld database in a way that will guide us for future conservation action in the Overberg's lowlands.

In our spring surveys, we have found new populations of several threatened species, which is very exciting!!
 

For example, this is Gladiolus vandermerwei, Endangered.
 

Then there is Moraea tricolor, a real little gem...

 

And this wonderful little Klein Karoo (Robertson) Chameleon...

 



The remains of the renosterveld

The remains of the Renosterveld
Farmer's Weekly | 5 July 2013

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Overberg Lowlands Conservation Trust director Odette Curtis talks about the value of fragments in this threatened ecosystem and the exciting discovery of six previously unknown botanical species. Fertile, low-lying habitats of the world have always been the most suitable for cultivation... read more

 

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South African Journal of Botany

A conservation and floristic assessment of poorly known species rich quartz–silcrete outcrops within Rûens Shale Renosterveld (Overberg, Western Cape), with taxonomic descriptions of five new species
 
By O.E. Curtis, C.H. Stirton, A.M. Muasya

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Article history:

Received 31 December 2012. Received in revised form 20 March 2013. Accepted 25 March 2013

  
ABSTRACT

Quartz fields are islands of distinct vegetation in southern Africa. Such habitats differ from surrounding shale substrate in geomorphological and climatic attributes, and are dominated by a predominantly succulent flora with between 14% and 91% endemism. Previous studies have identified and surveyed quartz fields within the Succulent Karoo biome, but little is known about the Overberg quartz–silcrete fields located in the Renosterveld vegetation (Fynbos biome). This study maps the occurrence of quartz–silcrete fields in the Overberg (Eastern and Central Rûens Shale Renosterveld) and investigates if such fields support distinct vegetation compared with surrounding shales. Forty-seven plant species were recorded, 19 of which are endemic to the quartz–silcrete patches, including several newly discovered species in vascular plant families Cyperaceae (Ficinia), Iridaceae (Hesperantha) and Fabaceae (Aspalathus, Otholobium, Polhillia, Xiphotheca).



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Five species among these are described in this paper: Aspalathus quartzicola C.H.Stirt. & Muasya, Aspalathus microlithica C.H.Stirt. & Muasya, Ficinia overbergensis Muasya & C.H.Stirt., Otholobium curtisiae C.H.Stirt. & Muasya, and Polhillia curtisiae C.H.Stirt. & Muasya. Detailed floristic composition of 25 quartz fields is surveyed,together with their conservation status. The Overberg Quartzveld is a critically endangered vegetation type that is the sole locality for 18 Red Listed plant species; which include seven new taxa. It is a distinct vegetation unit embedded within Rûens Shale Renosterveld in the eastern Overberg region of South Africa. These quartz patches have been overlooked in the past and we emphasize the need for further research and conservation attention of these habitats.

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Kickstarter project - 30 days to raise $10 000!!

The Overberg Lowlands Conservation Trust needs your help!! We are working with an American student on a project for which we need to raise $10 000 within 30 days (and it's all or nothing!) to make it happen. This project forms a critical component of what we are doing as a Trust and this is a real opportunity for you to help us achieve our objectives towards saving renosterveld. Please take 5 minutes and follow the link below and see how YOU can make an enormous difference to our cause!!
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1929410349/recognizing-the-renosterveld

Please note that you can also follow up on Facebook now.... www.Facebook.com/OverbergRenosterveld

Camera traps in renosterveld

We have started setting out camera traps in renosterveld remnants and here is what we have found so far.... caracal, African Wild Cat, Egyptian Mongoose (also known as Large Grey Mongoose) and Porcupine. This is all from one site. Watch this space for more, as we have just set two cameras up on a new farm...