**1. Introduction**

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274 Biodiversity - The Dynamic Balance of the Planet

The Maputaland Coastal Plain (MCP) is located on the eastern seaboard of southern Africa in KwaZulu-Natal. This area is renowned for its distinct geological history, rich biodiversi‐ ty, diverse ecosystems, and internationally recognized wetlands (Figure 1). The KwaZulu-Natal Province has the second highest wetland surface area in South Africa [1], and the MCP itself contains a very rich collection of surface water bodies. This includes rivers, floodplains, estuaries, swamps, pans, and coastal lakes [2]. Land use on the MCP is mainly dominated by protected areas, agricultural practices and rural areas. There are currently few urbanized areas. Despite this few wetlands are still intact. Although wetlands play an important role for especially the local inhabitants on the MCP, its value is still underestimat‐ ed, and little has been done for the promotion of conservation and sustainable utilization of these sensitive ecosystems.

Even though the vegetation of the MCP is remarkably diverse, few vegetation studies have been done on wetlands in the area. The major vegetation types of the MCP have been broadly described by Moll [3,4], and Morgenthal [5]. Tinley [6, 7, 8] conducted vegetation surveys along the coast, while Lubbe [9] conducted a detailed vegetation study of the coastal strip. Many detailed local vegetation studies have been conducted in the protected areas on the MCP but very little in the unprotected areas of the MCP. None of the studies mentioned above provide detailed descriptions of the wetland vegetation and their species richness. The only vegetation study focusing exclusively on wetlands is on the Mfabeni mire in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park [10].

© 2014 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

This study aims to elucidate the relationship between vegetation communities, plant species richness, and their environmental setting within the various wetland types on the MCP, in

The Ecology and Species Richness of the Different Plant Communities Within Selected…

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/58219

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The MCP is demarcated by the Mozambican border in the north; the town Mtunzini in the south; the Indian Ocean in the east; the Lebombo Mountains in the north-west; and the N2 on

The MCP has a subtropical climate with very hot summers and mild winters. The area receives 60% of its rainfall during summer and 40% during winter, with a mean annual precipitation of 963 mm [13]. Rainfall decreases sharply from east to west, with an approximate mean of 1200 mm at the coast, and 800 mm – 1000 mm at the crest of the Lebombo Mountains [13]. Aeolian distributed sands from the Tertiary and Quaternary period dominate most parts of the MCP. These sands are relatively infertile and of low-productivity [14]. The study area is characterized by undulating dune topography located up to roughly 70 m above sea-level [15]. In the east the Plain is separated from the Indian Ocean by an uninterrupted barrier dune system [14]. A long, relatively flat coastal plain stretches between the Lebombo Mountain Range and the coastal barrier dunes. Dune cordons occurring sporadically all over the MCP are interspersed with various wetland types such as floodplains, lakes, fens, swamp forests and pans [16]. Groundwater is the principal source of water for most of the lakes and wetlands in Maputaland [17], and moves rapidly through the system due to high permeability, high rainfall, and low water gradients. Two primary porosity aquifers are present on the MCP-a shallow, unconfined aquifer and a deeper, confined aquifer [18]. The shallow, unconfined aquifer is driven by rainfall which infiltrates and percolates through the sandy soil until it reaches the impermeable Kosi-Bay Formation, where after the water then moves laterally to

In terms of biodiversity the MCP fall within the Maputaland Centre of Endemism Centre. This is one of Africa's most important biodiversity and endemism hotspots, and is located at the southern end of the African tropic where many plant and animal species reach the limit of their range. An assortment of diverse ecosystems and many broad ecological zones such as thicket,

Most of the wetlands occurring outside conservation areas are degraded. Local inhabitants of the area utilise the wetland areas extensively for subsistence agriculture due to the infertile nature of the sandy soil. A recent threat to the health of wetlands is the informal plantations that have sprung up all over the MCP during the past 20 years. These *Eucalyptus* plantations have a marked effect on the water table and the subsequent dynamics of the wetlands systems in the area*.* The MCP is rich in peatlands and contains about 60% of the estimated peat resources of South Africa [20]. This region contains the largest and highest density of peatlands of all the Peat Eco-Regions. It is estimated that 60 – 80% of these peatlands are currently being utilised

grassland, bushveld, forest, sand forest and swamp forest occur here [19].

by the local community for subsistence agriculture and other uses [21].

the south-west. This study focuses on the northern parts of the MCP only (Figure 1).

order to contribute to the understanding of wetland zones.

exit the aquifer in the form of a surface water source.

**2. Study area**

**Figure 1.** Locality of Maputaland within the South African context

Furthermore, the delineation of wetlands on the aeolian derived sandy soils associated with the MCP is regarded as problematic when using the soil form and-wetness indicators described by the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF 2005) [11]. However, the distinct changes in plant species composition along the wetness gradient of a wetland provide an indication of wetland zoning [12, 11] and therefore guides the delineation procedure.

This study aims to elucidate the relationship between vegetation communities, plant species richness, and their environmental setting within the various wetland types on the MCP, in order to contribute to the understanding of wetland zones.
