Kalahari Desert

Semi-arid sandy savanna in Southern Africa

"Kalahari" redirects here. The term may also refer to Kalahari Resorts.

Kalahari Desert

A satellite image of the Kalahari by NASA WorldWind

Kalahari Desert (maroon)
Kalahari Basin (orange)

Length| 4,000 km (2,500 mi)
Area| 900,000 km2 (350,000 sq mi)
Geography
Countries|

* Botswana
* Namibia
* South Africa

State/Province| Southern Region
Coordinates| 23°S 22°E﻿ / ﻿23°S 22°E﻿ / -23; 22
River| Orange River

The Kalahari Desert is a large semi-arid sandy savanna in Southern Africa extending for 900,000 square kilometres (350,000 sq mi), covering much of Botswana, as well as parts of Namibia and South Africa.

It is not to be confused with the Angolan, Namibian, and South African Namib coastal desert, whose name is of Khoekhoegowab origin and means "vast place".

## Etymology

[edit]

Kalahari is derived from the Tswana word Kgala, meaning "the great thirst", or Kgalagadi, meaning "a waterless place";[1] the Kalahari has vast areas covered by red sand without any permanent surface water.

## History

[edit]

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (April 2021)

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The Kalahari Desert was not always a dry desert. The fossil flora and fauna from Gcwihaba Cave in Botswana indicates that the region was much wetter and cooler at least from 30 to 11 thousand BP (before present), especially after 17,500 BP.[2]

## Geography

[edit]

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Kalahari in Namibia

Bird's eye view of the Kalahari in Namibia: the darker dots are camel thorns

Kalahari claypan near Onderombapa

Drainage of the desert is by dry black valleys, seasonally inundated pans, and the large salt pans of the Makgadikgadi Pan in Botswana and Etosha Pan in Namibia. The only permanent river, the Okavango, flows into a delta in the northwest, forming marshes that are rich in wildlife. Ancient dry riverbeds—called omuramba—traverse the central northern reaches of the Kalahari and provide standing pools of water during the rainy season.

A semi-desert, with huge tracts of excellent grazing after good rains, the Kalahari supports more animals and plants than a true desert, such as the Namib Desert to the west. There is little rainfall, and the summer temperature is very high. The driest areas usually receive 110–200 millimetres (4.3–7.9 in) of rain per year,[1] and the wettest just a little over 500 millimetres (20 in). The surrounding Kalahari Basin covers over 2,500,000 square kilometres (970,000 sq mi) extending farther into Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa, encroaching into parts of Angola, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Numerous pans exist within the Kalahari, including the Groot-vloer Pan and Verneukpan, where evidence of a wetter climate exists in the form of former contouring for capturing water. This and other pans, as well as river bottoms, were written about extensively at Sciforums by an article by Walter Wagner regarding the extensive formerly wet areas of the Kalahari. The Kalahari is extensive and extends farther north, where abandoned extensive roadways also exist.[3][unreliable source?]

## Climate

[edit]

The climate is sub-humid rather than semi-arid in the north and east, where the dry forests, savannahs, and salt lakes prevail. South and west, where the vegetation is predominantly xeric savanna or even a semi-desert, the climate is "Kalaharian" semi-arid. The Kalaharian climate is subtropical (average annual temperature greater than or equal to 18 °C, at peaks reaching 40 °C and above, with mean monthly temperature of the coldest month strictly below 18 °C), and is semi-arid with the dry season from April to September, the coldest six months of the year. It is the southern tropical equivalent of the Sahelian climate with the wet season during summer. The altitude has been adduced as the explanation why the Kalaharian climate is not tropical; its altitude ranges from 600 to 1600 meters (and generally from 800 to 1200 meters), resulting in a cooler climate than that of the Sahel or Sahara. For example, winter frost is common from June to August, rarely seen in the warmer Sahelian regions.[4] For the same reason, summer temperatures certainly can be very hot, but not in comparison to regions of low altitude in the Sahel or Sahara, where some stations record average temperatures of the warmest month around 38 °C, whereas the average temperature of the warmest month in any region in the Kalahari never exceeds 29 °C, though daily temperatures occasionally reach up to close to 45 °C (113 °F) (44.8 °C at Twee Rivieren Rest Camp in 2012).[5]

Heavy thunderstorm near Stampriet

The dry season lasts eight months or more, and the wet season typically from less than one month to four months, depending on location. The southwestern Kalahari is the driest area, particularly a small region toward the west-southwest of Tsaraxaibis (Southeast of Namibia). The average annual rainfall ranges from around 110 mm (close to aridity) to more than 500 mm in some north and east areas. During summertime in all regions, rainfall may go with heavy thunderstorms. In the driest and sunniest parts of the Kalahari, over 4,000 hours of sunshine are recorded annually on average.

In the Kalahari, there are three main mechanisms of atmospheric circulation, dominated by the Kalahari High anticyclone[6] in winter, and by the Kalahari Heat Low in summer:[7]

* The North and Northwest of the Kalahari are subject to the alternation "Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ)/"Continental Trade winds". The ITCZ is the meeting area of the boreal trade winds with their austral counterparts what meteorologists call "Meteorological equator" and the sailors "Doldrum" or "Pot-au-noir" : the ITCZ generates rains in the wet season, whereas the continental trade winds cause the dry season;
* The rest of the Kalahari is subject to the maritime trade winds that largely shed their moisture as they cross up and over the Southern African Great Escarpment before arriving over the Kalahari.
* In the southern hemisphere summer (from December to February), a low-pressure system develops over the Kalahari, which is driven by strong surface heating (known as a Thermal Low). The low-pressure system helps to control the moisture-bearing easterly wind emanating from the Indian Ocean,[8] thus influencing rainfall across southern Africa.[9]

There are huge subterranean water reserves beneath parts of the Kalahari; the Dragon's Breath Cave, for example, is the largest documented non-subglacial underground lake. Such reserves may partly be the residues of ancient lakes; the Kalahari Desert was once a much wetter place. The ancient Lake Makgadikgadi dominated the area, covering the Makgadikgadi Pan and surrounding areas, but it drained or dried out some 10,000 years ago. It may have once covered as much as 120,000 square kilometres (46,000 sq mi).[10] In ancient times, there was sufficient moisture for farming, with dikes and dams collecting the water. These are now filled with sediment, breached, or no longer in use, though they can be readily seen via Google Earth.[11]

The Kalahari has had a complex climatic history over the past million or so years, in line with major global changes. Changes in the last 250,000 years have been reconstructed from various data sources, providing evidence of former extensive lakes and drier periods. During the latter, the area of the Kalahari has expanded to include parts of western Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Angola.[12]

## Vegetation and flora

[edit]

Devil's thorn flower (Tribulus zeyheri) growing in the Kalahari Desert Camel thorn scattered on dunes in the Kalahari Desert

Due to its low aridity, the Kalahari supports a variety of flora. The native flora includes acacia trees and many other herbs and grasses.[13] The kiwano fruit, also known as the horned melon, melano, African horned cucumber, jelly melon, or hedged gourd, is endemic to a region in the Kalahari Desert (specific region unknown).[14]

Even where the Kalahari "desert" is dry enough to qualify as a desert in the sense of having low precipitation, it is not strictly speaking a desert because it has too dense a ground cover. The main region that lacks ground cover is in the southwest Kalahari (southeast of Namibia, northwest of South Africa, and southwest of Botswana) in the south of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. For instance, in the ZF Mgcawu District Municipality of South Africa, total vegetation cover may be as low as 30.72% on non-protected (from cattle grazing) farmlands south of Twee Rivieren Rest Camp and 37.74% in the protected (from cattle grazing) South African side of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park:[15] these southernmost Kalahari xeric savanna areas are truly semi-deserts. However, in all the remaining Kalahari, except on salt pans during the dry season, the vegetation cover can be denser, up to almost 100%, in some limited areas.

In an area of about 600,000 km2 in the south and west of the Kalahari, the vegetation is mainly xeric savanna. This area is the ecoregion identified by World Wide Fund for Nature as Kalahari xeric savanna AT1309. Typical savanna grasses include Schmidtia, Stipagrostis, Aristida, and Eragrostis; these are interspersed with trees such as camelthorn (Acacia erioloba), grey camelthorn (Acacia haematoxylon), shepherd's tree (Boscia albitrunca), blackthorn (Acacia mellifera), and silver cluster-leaf (Terminalia sericea).

In certain areas where the climate is drier, it becomes a true semi-desert with ground not entirely covered by vegetation: "open" as opposed to "closed" vegetation. Examples include the north of the ZF Mgcawu District Municipality, itself in the north of South Africa, and the Keetmanshoop Rural in the southeast of Namibia. In the north and east, dry forests cover an area of over 300,000 km2 in which Rhodesian teak and several species of acacia are prominent. These regions are termed Kalahari Acacia-Baikiaea woodlands AT0709.[16]

Outside the Kalahari "desert", but in the Kalahari basin, halophytic vegetation to the north is adapted to pans, lakes that are completely dry during the dry season, and maybe for years during droughts, such as in Etosha (Etosha Pan halophytics AT0902) and Makgadikgadi (Zambezian halophytics AT0908).[16]

A totally different vegetation is adapted to the perennial fresh water of the Okavango Delta, an ecoregion termed Zambezian flooded grasslands AT0907.[16]

## Fauna

[edit]

The Kalahari is home to many migratory birds and animals. Previously havens for wild animals from elephants to giraffes, and for predators such as lions and cheetahs, the riverbeds are now mostly grazing spots. However, leopards and cheetahs can still be found. The area is now heavily grazed, and cattle fences restrict wildlife movement. Among deserts of the Southern Hemisphere, the Kalahari most closely resembles some Australian deserts in its latitude and mode of formation.

Although there are few endemic species, a wide variety of species are found in the region, including large predators such as the lion (Panthera leo), cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus), leopard (Panthera pardus), spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta), brown hyena (Parahyaena brunnea), and African wild dog (Lycaon pictus pictus). Birds of prey include the secretarybird (Sagittarius serpentarius), martial eagle (Polemaetus bellicosus) and other eagles, the giant eagle owl (Bubo lacteus) and other owls, falcons, goshawks, kestrels, and kites. Other animals include wildebeest, springbok, gemsbok and other antelopes, Cape porcupines (Hystrix africaeaustralis), and ostriches (Struthio camelus).[17]

Some of the areas within the Kalahari are seasonal wetlands, such as the Makgadikgadi Pans of Botswana. This area, for example, supports numerous halophilic species, and in the rainy season, tens of thousands of flamingos visit these pans.[18]

The biggest threat to wildlife are the fences erected to manage herds of grazing cattle, which also removes the plant cover of the savanna itself. Cattle ranchers will also poison or hunt down predators from the rangeland, particularly targeting jackals and wild dogs.[citation needed]

* Oryx gazella

* A meerkat in the Kalahari

* The endangered African wild dog in Central Kalahari Game Reserve

## Protected areas

[edit]

The following protected areas were established in the Kalahari:

* Central Kalahari Game Reserve
* Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
* Khutse Game Reserve
* Tswalu Kalahari

## Population

[edit]

San man collecting devil's claw (2017)

The San people have lived in the Kalahari for 20,000 years as hunter-gatherers.[19] They hunt wild game with bows and poisoned arrows and gather edible plants, such as berries, melons and nuts, as well as insects. The San get most of their water requirements from plant roots and desert melons found on or under the desert floor. They often store water in the blown-out shells of ostrich eggs. The San live in huts built from local materials—the frame is made of branches, and the roof is thatched with long grass. Most of their hunting and gathering techniques replicate pre-historic tribes. Bantu-speaking Tswana, Kgalagadi, and Herero and a small number of European settlers also live in the Kalahari desert. The city of Windhoek is situated in the Kalahari Basin.

## Kalahari, San and diamonds

[edit]

See also: Ancestral land conflict in Botswana

In 1996, De Beers evaluated the potential of diamond mining at Gope. In 1997, the eviction of the San and Bakgalagadi tribes in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve from their land began.[20] In 2006, a Botswana High Court ruled in favor of the San and Bakgalagadi tribes in the reserve, finding their eviction unlawful. The Government of Botswana granted a permit to De Beers' Gem Diamonds/Gope Exploration Company (Pty) Ltd. to conduct mining activities within the reserve.[21]

## Settlements within the Kalahari

[edit]

Botswana

* Gaborone
* Ghanzi
* Orapa
* Tshabong
* Tshane

Namibia

* Gobabis
* Mariental

South Africa

* Upington
* Noenieput
* Rietfontein

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## See also

[edit]

* Karoo
* Kgalagadi (disambiguation)
* Thar desert
* Sahara
* Hot deserts
* Climate change in Namibia

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "The Kalahari-Basin". 15 July 2010. Archived from the original on 25 July 2015.
2. ^ Robbins, L. H.; Murphy, M. L.; et al. (1996). "Paleoenvironment and Archaeology of Drotsky's Cave: Western Kalahari Desert, Botswana". Journal of Archaeological Science. 23 (1): 7–22. doi:10.1006/jasc.1996.0002.
3. ^ "Ancient Namibian Freeway overlays Ancient Agriculture System". www.sciforums.com.
4. ^ (in French) Les milieux désertiques, Jean Demangeot, Edmond Bernus, 2001. Editor: Armand Colin. ISBN 9782200251970, page 20 in particular.
5. ^ "World Record Temperatures -Highest Lowest Hottest Coldest temperatures-". www.mherrera.org.
6. ^ (in French) Tropicalité Jean Demangeot Géographie physique intertropicale, pages 44–45, Figure 19, source: Leroux 1989.
7. ^ P. D. Tyson FRSSAf & S. J. Crimp (1998) THE CLIMATE OF THE KALAHARI TRANSECT, Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa, 53:2, 93-112, DOI: 10.1080/00359199809520380
8. ^ P. D. Tyson FRSSAf & S. J. Crimp (1998) THE CLIMATE OF THE KALAHARI TRANSECT, Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa, 53:2, 93-112, DOI: 10.1080/00359199809520380
9. ^ Reason, C.J.C. (2017). "Climate of Southern Africa". Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Climate Science. doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780190228620.013.513. ISBN 978-0-19-022862-0.
10. ^ Goudie, Andrew (2002). Great Warm Deserts of the World: Landscapes and Evolution. Oxford University Press. p. 204.
11. ^ "Ancient Dikes, Dams and Reservoirs of the Kalahari Region". www.sciforums.com.
12. ^ Thomas, D.S.G. and Shaw, P.A. 1991 'The Kalahari Environment'. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
13. ^ Martin Leipold, Plants of the Kalahari
14. ^ "How to Eat a Kiwano (Horned Melon)". wikiHow.
15. ^ Wasiolka, Bernd; Blaum, Niels (2011). "Comparing biodiversity between protected savanna and adjacent non-protected farmland in the southern Kalahari". Journal of Arid Environments. 75 (9): 836–841 [Table 2 on p. 838]. Bibcode:2011JArEn..75..836W. doi:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2011.04.011.
16. ^ a b c "Deserts and xeric shrublands - Biomes - WWF". World Wildlife Fund. Archived from the original on 15 March 2018. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
17. ^ "Kalahari xeric savanna - Ecoregions - WWF". World Wildlife Fund.
18. ^ Hogan, C. Michael (2008). Makgadikgadi, Megalithic Portal, ed. A. Burnham.
19. ^ Marshall, Leon (16 April 2003), "Bushmen Driven From Ancestral Lands in Botswana", National Geographic News, Johannesburg, archived from the original on 24 October 2005, retrieved 22 April 2009
20. ^ Workman, James (2009). Heart of Dryness. Walker Publishing. p. 323.
21. ^ "UN report condemns Botswana's treatment of Bushmen". Survival for Tribal Peoples. 3 March 2010. Retrieved 31 March 2013.

## Further reading

[edit]

* Main, Michael (1987). Kalahari : life's variety in dune and delta. ISBN 1868120015.

## External links

[edit]

* Media related to Kalahari at Wikimedia Commons
* "Cry of the Kalahari"
* Kalahari desert's forgotten influence on carbon levels

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* List of bacteria of South Africa
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Ecoregions

* List of ecoregions in South Africa

| Tropical and subtropical
moist broadleaf forests|

* Knysna–Amatole montane forests
* KwaZulu–Cape coastal forest mosaic
* Maputaland coastal forest mosaic

|

Tropical and subtropical grasslands,
savannas, and shrublands|

* Kalahari Acacia-Baikiaea woodlands
* Southern Africa bushveld
* Zambezian and mopane woodlands

Montane grasslands
and shrublands|

* Drakensberg alti-montane grasslands and woodlands
* Drakensberg montane grasslands, woodlands and forests
* Highveld grasslands
* Maputaland–Pondoland bushland and thickets

Mediterranean forests,
woodlands, and scrub|

* Albany thickets
* Lowland fynbos and renosterveld
* Montane fynbos and renosterveld

Deserts and xeric shrublands|

* Kalahari xeric savanna
* Nama Karoo
* Succulent Karoo

Tundra|

* Southern Indian Ocean Islands tundra

Mangroves|

* Southern Africa mangroves

Marine ecoregions|

* Agulhas ecoregion
* Benguela ecoregion
* Delagoa ecoregion
* Natal ecoregion
* Southeast Atlantic ecoregion
* Southwest Indian ecoregion

Biomes and Vegetation classification

* List of vegetation types of South Africa

| Savanna|

* Andesite Mountain Bushveld
* Aoub Duneveld
* Barberton Serpentine Sourveld
* Bhisho Thornveld
* Cathedral Mopane Bushveld
* Central Sandy Bushveld
* Delagoa Lowveld
* Dwaalboom Thornveld
* Dwarsberg-Swartruggens Mountain Bushveld
* Eastern Valley Bushveld
* Gabbro Grassy Bushveld
* Gauteng Shale Mountain Bushveld
* Ghaap Plateau Vaalbosveld
* Gold Reef Mountain Bushveld
* Gordonia Duneveld
* Gordonia Kameeldoring Bushveld
* Gordonia Plains Shrubland
* Granite Lowveld
* Gravelotte Rocky Bushveld
* Kaalrug Mountain Bushveld
* Kathu Bushveld
* Kimberley Thornveld
* Koranna-Langeberg Mountain Bushveld
* Kuruman Mountain Bushveld
* Kuruman Thornveld
* Kuruman Vaalbosveld
* KwaZulu-Natal Hinterland Thornveld
* KwaZulu-Natal Sandstone Sourveld
* Lebombo Summit Sourveld
* Legogote Sour Bushveld
* Limpopo Ridge Bushveld
* Limpopo Sweet Bushveld
* Loskop Mountain Bushveld
* Loskop Thornveld
* Lowveld Rugged Mopaneveld
* Madikwe Dolomite Bushveld
* Mafikeng Bushveld
* Makatini Clay Thicket
* Makhado Sweet Bushveld
* Makuleke Sandy Bushveld
* Malelane Mountain Bushveld
* Mamabolo Mountain Bushveld
* Marikana Thornveld
* Molopo Bushveld
* Moot Plains Bushveld
* Mopane Basalt Shrubland
* Mopane Gabbro Shrubland
* Musina Mopane Bushveld
* Ngongoni Veld
* Norite Koppies Bushveld
* Northern Lebombo Bushveld
* Northern Zululand Sourveld
* Nossob Bushveld
* Nwambyia-Pumbe Sandy Bushveld
* Ohrigstad Mountain Bushveld
* Olifantshoek Plains Thornveld
* Phalaborwa-Timbavati Mopaneveld
* Pilanesberg Mountain Bushveld
* Polokwane Plateau Bushveld
* Postmasburg Thornveld
* Poung Dolomite Mountain Bushveld
* Pretoriuskop Sour Bushveld
* Roodeberg Bushveld
* Schmidtsdrif Thornveld
* Schweizer-Reneke Bushveld
* Sekhukhune Mountain Bushveld
* Sekhukhune Plains Bushveld
* South Eastern Coastal Thornveld
* Southern Lebombo Bushveld
* Soutpansberg Mountain Bushveld
* Springbokvlakte Thornveld
* Stella Bushveld
* Swaziland Sour Bushveld
* Tembe Sandy Bushveld
* Thukela Thornveld
* Thukela Valley Bushveld
* Tsende Mopaneveld
* Tshokwane-Hlane Basalt Lowveld
* Tzaneen Sour Bushveld
* Vaalbos Rocky Shrubland
* VhaVenda Miombo
* Waterberg Mountain Bushveld
* Western Maputaland Clay Bushveld
* Western Maputaland Sandy Bushveld
* Western Sandy Bushveld
* Zeerust Thornveld
* Zululand Coastal Thornveld
* Zululand Lowveld

|

Grassland|

* Aliwal North Dry Grassland
* Amathole Mistbelt Grassland
* Amathole Montane Grassland
* Amersfoort Highveld Clay Grassland
* Barberton Montane Grassland
* Basotho Montane Shrubland
* Bedford Dry Grassland
* Besemkaree Koppies Shrubland
* Bloemfontein Dry Grassland
* Bloemfontein Karroid Shrubland
* Carletonville Dolomite Grassland
* Central Free State Grassland
* Drakensberg Afroalpine Heathland
* Drakensberg Foothill Moist Grassland
* Drakensberg-Amathole Afromontane Fynbos
* East Griqualand Grassland
* Eastern Free State Clay Grassland
* Eastern Free State Sandy Grassland
* Eastern Highveld Grassland
* Egoli Granite Grassland
* Frankfort Highveld Grassland
* Income Sandy Grassland
* Ithala Quartzite Sourveld
* KaNgwane Montane Grassland
* Karoo Escarpment Grassland
* Klerksdorp Thornveld
* KwaZulu-Natal Highland Thornveld
* Leolo Summit Sourveld
* Lesotho Highland Basalt Grassland
* Low Escarpment Moist Grassland
* Lydenburg Montane Grassland
* Lydenburg Thornveld
* Mabela Sandy Grassland
* Midlands Mistbelt Grassland
* Mooi River Highland Grassland
* Mthatha Moist Grassland
* Northern Drakensberg Highland Grassland
* Northern Escarpment Afromontane Fynbos
* Northern Escarpment Dolomite Grassland
* Northern Escarpment Quartzite Sourveld
* Northern Free State Shrubland
* Northern KwaZulu-Natal Moist Grassland
* Northern KwaZulu-Natal Shrubland
* Northern Zululand Mistbelt Grassland
* Paulpietersburg Moist Grassland
* Queenstown Thornveld
* Rand Highveld Grassland
* Sekhukhune Montane Grassland
* Senqu Montane Shrubland
* Southern Drakensberg Highland Grassland
* Southern KwaZulu-Natal Moist Grassland
* Soutpansberg Summit Sourveld
* Soweto Highveld Grassland
* Steenkampsberg Montane Grassland
* Stormberg Plateau Grassland
* Strydpoort Summit Sourveld
* Tarkastad Montane Shrubland
* Tsakane Clay Grassland
* Tsomo Grassland
* uKhahlamba Basalt Grassland
* Vaal Reefs Dolomite Sinkhole Woodland
* Vaal-Vet Sandy Grassland
* Vredefort Dome Granite Grassland
* Wakkerstroom Montane Grassland
* Waterberg-Magaliesberg Summit Sourveld
* Western Free State Clay Grassland
* Western Highveld Sandy Grassland
* Western Lesotho Basalt Shrubland
* Winburg Grassy Shrubland
* Wolkberg Dolomite Grassland
* Woodbush Granite Grassland
* Xhariep Karroid Grassland
* Zastron Moist Grassland

Fynbos|

* Agulhas Limestone Fynbos
* Agulhas Sand Fynbos
* Albertinia Sand Fynbos
* Algoa Sandstone Fynbos
* Atlantis Sand Fynbos
* Bokkeveld Sandstone Fynbos
* Boland Granite Fynbos
* Breede Alluvium Fynbos
* Breede Quartzite Fynbos
* Breede Sand Fynbos
* Breede Shale Fynbos
* Canca Limestone Fynbos
* Cape Flats Sand Fynbos
* Cape Winelands Shale Fynbos
* Cederberg Sandstone Fynbos
* Central Coastal Shale Band Vegetation
* Central Inland Shale Band Vegetation
* De Hoop Limestone Fynbos
* Eastern Coastal Shale Band Vegetation
* Eastern Inland Shale Band Vegetation
* Elgin Shale Fynbos
* Elim Ferricrete Fynbos
* Garden Route Granite Fynbos
* Garden Route Shale Fynbos
* Graafwater Sandstone Fynbos
* Greyton Shale Fynbos
* Grootrivier Quartzite Fynbos
* Hangklip Sand Fynbos
* Hawequas Sandstone Fynbos
* Hopefield Sand Fynbos
* Kamiesberg Granite Fynbos
* Kango Conglomerate Fynbos
* Knysna Sand Fynbos
* Kogelberg Sandstone Fynbos
* Kouebokkeveld Alluvium Fynbos
* Kouebokkeveld Shale Fynbos
* Kouga Grassy Sandstone Fynbos
* Kouga Sandstone Fynbos
* Leipoldtville Sand Fynbos
* Loerie Conglomerate Fynbos
* Lourensford Alluvium Fynbos
* Matjiesfontein Quartzite Fynbos
* Matjiesfontein Shale Fynbos
* Montagu Shale Fynbos
* Namaqualand Sand Fynbos
* North Hex Sandstone Fynbos
* North Kammanassie Sandstone Fynbos
* North Langeberg Sandstone Fynbos
* North Outeniqua Sandstone Fynbos
* North Rooiberg Sandstone Fynbos
* North Sonderend Sandstone Fynbos
* North Swartberg Sandstone Fynbos
* Northern Inland Shale Band Vegetation
* Olifants Sandstone Fynbos
* Overberg Sandstone Fynbos
* Peninsula Granite Fynbos
* Peninsula Sandstone Fynbos
* Piketberg Sandstone Fynbos
* Potberg Ferricrete Fynbos
* Potberg Sandstone Fynbos
* Robertson Granite Fynbos
* South Hex Sandstone Fynbos
* South Kammanassie Sandstone Fynbos
* South Langeberg Sandstone Fynbos
* South Outeniqua Sandstone Fynbos
* South Rooiberg Sandstone Fynbos
* South Sonderend Sandstone Fynbos
* South Swartberg Sandstone Fynbos
* Southern Cape Dune Fynbos
* Stinkfonteinberge Quartzite Fynbos
* Suurberg Quartzite Fynbos
* Suurberg Shale Fynbos
* Swartberg Altimontane Sandstone Fynbos
* Swartberg Shale Fynbos
* Swartland Alluvium Fynbos
* Swartruggens Quartzite Fynbos
* Swellendam Silcrete Fynbos
* Tsitsikamma Sandstone Fynbos
* Western Altimontane Sandstone Fynbos
* Western Coastal Shale Band Vegetation
* Winterhoek Sandstone Fynbos

Renosterveld|

* Baviaanskloof Shale Renosterveld
* Breede Alluvium Renosterveld
* Breede Shale Renosterveld
* Central Mountain Shale Renosterveld
* Central Ruêns Shale Renosterveld
* Ceres Shale Renosterveld
* Eastern Ruêns Shale Renosterveld
* Hantam Plateau Dolerite Renosterveld
* Humansdorp Shale Renosterveld
* Kango Limestone Renosterveld
* Langkloof Shale Renosterveld
* Matjiesfontein Shale Renosterveld
* Montagu Shale Renosterveld
* Mossel Bay Shale Renosterveld
* Namaqualand Granite Renosterveld
* Nieuwoudtville Shale Renosterveld
* Nieuwoudtville-Roggeveld Dolerite Renosterveld
* Peninsula Shale Renosterveld
* Robertson Granite Renosterveld
* Roggeveld Shale Renosterveld
* Ruêns Silcrete Renosterveld
* Swartberg Shale Renosterveld
* Swartland Alluvium Renosterveld
* Swartland Granite Renosterveld
* Swartland Shale Renosterveld
* Swartland Silcrete Renosterveld
* Uniondale Shale Renosterveld
* Vanrhynsdorp Shale Renosterveld
* Western Ruêns Shale Renosterveld

Succulent
Karoo|

* Aggeneys Gravel Vygieveld
* Agter-Sederberg Shrubland
* Anenous Plateau Shrubland
* Bushmanland Inselberg Shrubland
* Central Knersvlakte Vygieveld
* Central Richtersveld Mountain Shrubland
* Citrusdal Vygieveld
* Die Plate Succulent Shrubland
* Doringrivier Quartzite Karoo
* Eastern Little Karoo
* Eenriet Plains Succulent Shrubland
* Goariep Mountain Succulent Shrubland
* Hantam Karoo
* Kamiesberg Mountains Shrubland
* Klawer Sandy Shrubland
* Knersvlakte Dolomite Vygieveld
* Knersvlakte Quartz Vygieveld
* Knersvlakte Shale Vygieveld
* Koedoesberge-Moordenaars Karoo
* Kosiesberg Succulent Shrubland
* Lekkersing Succulent Shrubland
* Little Karoo Quartz Vygieveld
* Namaqualand Arid Grassland
* Namaqualand Blomveld
* Namaqualand Coastal Duneveld
* Namaqualand Heuweltjie Strandveld
* Namaqualand Heuweltjieveld
* Namaqualand Inland Duneveld
* Namaqualand Klipkoppe Shrubland
* Namaqualand Shale Shrubland
* Namaqualand Spinescent Grassland
* Namaqualand Strandveld
* Northern Knersvlakte Vygieveld
* Northern Richtersveld Scorpionstailveld
* Northern Richtersveld Yellow Duneveld
* Oograbies Plains Sandy Grassland
* Piketberg Quartz Succulent Shrubland
* Platbakkies Succulent Shrubland
* Prince Albert Succulent Karoo
* Richtersveld Coastal Duneveld
* Richtersveld Red Duneveld
* Richtersveld Sandy Coastal Scorpionstailveld
* Riethuis-Wallekraal Quartz Vygieveld
* Robertson Karoo
* Roggeveld Karoo
* Rooiberg Quartz Vygieveld
* Rosyntjieberg Succulent Shrubland
* Southern Namaqualand Quartzite Klipkoppe Shrubland
* Southern Richtersveld Inselberg Shrubland
* Southern Richtersveld Scorpionstailveld
* Southern Richtersveld Yellow Duneveld
* Steytlerville Karoo
* Stinkfonteinberge Eastern Apron Shrubland
* Swartruggens Quartzite Karoo
* Tanqua Escarpment Shrubland
* Tanqua Karoo
* Tatasberg Mountain Succulent Shrubland
* Umdaus Mountains Succulent Shrubland
* Upper Annisvlakte Succulent Shrubland
* Vanrhynsdorp Gannabosveld
* Vyftienmyl se Berge Succulent Shrubland
* Western Bushmanland Klipveld
* Western Gwarrieveld
* Western Little Karoo
* Willowmore Gwarrieveld

Albany
Thicket
and
Strandveld|

* Albany Arid Thicket
* Albany Bontveld
* Albany Mesic Thicket
* Albany Valley Thicket
* Baviaans Valley Thicket
* Bethelsdorp Bontveld
* Blombos Strandveld
* Buffels Mesic Thicket
* Buffels Valley Thicket
* Cape Flats Dune Strandveld
* Crossroads Grassland Thicket
* Doubledrift Karroid Thicket
* Eastern Gwarrieveld
* Elands Forest Thicket
* Escarpment Arid Thicket
* Escarpment Mesic Thicket
* Escarpment Valley Thicket
* Fish Arid Thicket
* Fish Mesic Thicket
* Fish Valley Thicket
* Gamka Arid Thicket
* Gamka Valley Thicket
* Geluk Grassland Thicket
* Goukamma Dune Thicket
* Gouritz Valley Thicket
* Grahamstown Grassland Thicket
* Grassridge Bontveld
* Groot Brak Dune Strandveld
* Hamburg Dune Thicket
* Hartenbos Dune Thicket
* Kasouga Dune Thicket
* Koedoeskloof Karroid Thicket
* Lambert's Bay Strandveld
* Langebaan Dune Strandveld
* Mons Ruber Fynbos Thicket
* Motherwell Karroid Thicket
* Nanaga Savanna Thicket
* Oudshoorn Karroid Thicket
* Overberg Dune Strandveld
* Saldanha Flats Strandveld
* Saldanha Granite Strandveld
* Saldanha Limestone Strandveld
* Saltaire Karroid Thicket
* Sardinia Forest Thicket
* St Francis Dune Thicket
* Subtropical Dune Thicket
* Sundays Arid Thicket
* Sundays Mesic Thicket
* Sundays Valley Thicket
* Thorndale Forest Thicket
* Umtiza Forest Thicket
* Vanstadens Forest Thicket
* Western Gwarrieveld
* Willowmore Gwarrieveld

Nama
Karoo
and
desert|

* Albany Broken Veld
* Blouputs Karroid Thornveld
* Bushmanland Arid Grassland
* Bushmanland Basin Shrubland
* Bushmanland Sandy Grassland
* Eastern Lower Karoo
* Eastern Upper Karoo
* Gamka Karoo
* Kalahari Karroid Shrubland
* Lower Gariep Broken Veld
* Lower Karoo Gwarrieveld
* Northern Upper Karoo
* Upper Karoo Hardeveld
* Western Upper Karoo
* Alexander Bay Coastal Duneveld
* Eastern Gariep Plains Desert
* Eastern Gariep Rocky Desert
* Helskloof Canyon Desert
* Kahams Mountain Desert
* Kwaggarug Mountain Desert
* Namib Lichen Fields
* Noms Mountain Desert
* Northern Nababiepsberge Mountain Desert
* Richtersberg Mountain Desert
* Richtersveld Sheet Wash Desert
* Southern Nababiepsberge Mountain Desert
* Western Gariep Hills Desert
* Western Gariep Lowland Desert
* Western Gariep Plains Desert

Azonal|

* Albany Alluvial Vegetation
* Albany Dune Strandveld
* Algoa Dune Strandveld
* Arid Estuarine Salt Marshes
* Bushmanland Vloere
* Cape Estuarine Salt Marshes
* Cape Inland Salt Pans
* Cape Lowland Alluvial Vegetation
* Cape Lowland Freshwater Wetlands
* Cape Seashore Vegetation
* Cape Vernal Pools
* Drakensberg Wetlands
* Eastern Temperate Freshwater Wetlands
* Fynbos Riparian Vegetation
* Highveld Alluvial Vegetation
* Highveld Salt Pans
* Lesotho Mires
* Lower Gariep Alluvial Vegetation
* Muscadel Riviere
* Namaqualand Riviere
* Namaqualand Salt Pans
* Namaqualand Seashore Vegetation
* Namib Seashore Vegetation
* Southern Kalahari Mekgacha
* Southern Kalahari Salt Pans
* Southern Karoo Riviere
* Subantarctic Kelp Bed Vegetation
* Subtropical Alluvial Vegetation
* Subtropical Dune Thicket
* Subtropical Estuarine Salt Marshes
* Subtropical Freshwater Wetlands
* Subtropical Salt Pans
* Subtropical Seashore Vegetation
* Tanqua Wash Riviere
* Upper Gariep Alluvial Vegetation

Forest
and
Coastal
belt|

* KwaZulu-Natal Coastal Belt
* Maputaland Coastal Belt
* Maputaland Wooded Grassland
* Pondoland-Natal Sandstone Coastal Sourveld
* Transkei Coastal Belt
* Ironwood Dry Forest
* Lowveld Riverine Forest
* Mangrove Forest
* Northern Afrotemperate Forest
* Northern Coastal Forest
* Northern Mistbelt Forest
* Sand Forest
* Scarp Forest
* Southern Afrotemperate Forest
* Southern Coastal Forest
* Southern Mistbelt Forest
* Swamp Forest

Subantarctic
biome|

* Subantarctic Biotic Herbfield and Grassland
* Subantarctic Cinder Cone Vegetation
* Subantarctic Coastal Vegetation
* Subantarctic Drainage Line Vegetation
* Subantarctic Fellfield
* Subantarctic Fernbrake Vegetation
* Subantarctic Mire
* Subantarctic Polar Desert

not on
VEGMAP|

* List of forests of South Africa
* List of forests of the Eastern Cape
* Forests of KwaZulu-Natal
* KwaZulu-Natal Dune Forest
* KwaZulu-Natal coastal lowland forest
* List of forests of the Western Cape

Protected areas of South Africa

* Index of protected areas of South Africa

| South
African
National
Parks|

* Addo Elephant National Park
* Agulhas National Park
* Augrabies Falls National Park
* Bontebok National Park
* Camdeboo National Park
* Garden Route National Park
* Tsitsikamma National Park
* Wilderness National Park
* Golden Gate Highlands National Park
* Karoo National Park
* Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
* Kruger National Park
* Mapungubwe National Park
* Marakele National Park
* Mokala National Park
* Mountain Zebra National Park
* Namaqua National Park
* Table Mountain National Park
* Tankwa Karoo National Park
* West Coast National Park
* ǀAi-ǀAis/Richtersveld Transfrontier Park

|

Biosphere
reserves|

* Cape Winelands Biosphere Reserve
* Gouritz Cluster Biosphere Reserve
* Kogelberg Nature Reserve
* Kruger to Canyons Biosphere
* Magaliesberg Biosphere Reserve
* Waterberg Biosphere

Marine
protected
areas of
South
Africa|

| Coastal|

* Addo Elephant National Park Marine Protected Area
* Amathole Marine Protected Area
* Betty's Bay Marine Protected Area
* Bird Island Marine Protected Area
* De Hoop Marine Protected Area
* Dwesa-Cwebe Marine Protected Area
* Goukamma Marine Protected Area
* Helderberg Marine Protected Area
* Hluleka Marine Protected AreaI
* iSimangaliso Marine Protected Area
* Jutten Island Marine Protected Area
* Langebaan Lagoon Marine Protected Area
* Malgas Island Marine Protected Area
* Marcus Island Marine Protected Area
* Namaqua National Park Marine Protected Area
* Pondoland Marine Protected Area
* Robben Island Marine Protected Area
* Rocherpan Marine Protected Area
* Robberg Marine Protected Area
* Sardinia Bay Marine Protected Area
* Sixteen Mile Beach Marine Protected Area
* Stilbaai Marine Protected Area
* Table Mountain National Park Marine Protected Area
* Trafalgar Marine Protected Area
* Tsitsikamma Marine Protected Area
* uThukela Banks Marine Protected Area
* Walker Bay Whale Sanctuary

|

Offshore|

* Agulhas Bank Complex Marine Protected Area
* Agulhas Front Marine Protected Area
* Agulhas Muds Marine Protected Area
* Aliwal Shoal Marine Protected Area
* Amathole Offshore Marine Protected Area
* Benguela Bank Marine Protected Area
* Benguela Muds Marine Protected Area
* Browns Bank Complex Marine Protected Area
* Browns Bank Corals Marine Protected Area
* Cape Canyon Marine Protected Area
* Childs Bank Marine Protected Area
* iSimangaliso Offshore Marine Protected Area
* Namaqua Fossil Forest Marine Protected Area
* Orange Shelf Edge Marine Protected Area
* Prince Edward Islands Marine Protected Area
* Protea Banks Marine Protected Area
* Southeast Atlantic Seamounts Marine Protected Area
* Southwest Indian Seamount Marine Protected Area
* Port Elizabeth Corals Marine Protected Area
* uThukela Banks Marine Protected Area

Management
organisations|

* CapeNature
* City of Cape Town
* Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries
* Department of Science and Innovation
* Eastern Cape Parks
* Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife
* iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority
* Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality
* South African National Parks

Biodiversity research in SA

* Bolus Herbarium
* Iziko South African Museum
* National Research Foundation
* South African National Collection of Fungi

| Research
organisations|

* Animal Demography Unit
* BirdLife South Africa
* South African Association for Marine Biological Research
* South African Environmental Observation Network
* South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity
* South African National Biodiversity Institute

|

Research
projects|

* African Coelacanth Ecosystem Programme
* National Biodiversity Assessment
* National Vegetation Map Project
* Reef Atlas Project
* SeaKeys

Citizen science
databases|

* iNaturalist
* iSpot
* Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology Virtual Museum

Botanical
gardens|

* Durban Botanic Gardens
* Free State National Botanical Garden
* Garden Route Botanical Garden
* Hantam National Botanical Garden
* Harold Porter National Botanical Garden
* Johannesburg Botanical Garden
* Karoo Desert National Botanical Garden
* Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden
* KwaZulu-Natal National Botanical Garden
* Lowveld National Botanical Garden
* Makana Botanical Gardens
* Manie van der Schijff Botanical Garden
* North-West University Botanical Garden
* Pretoria National Botanical Garden
* Stellenbosch University Botanical Garden
* University of KwaZulu-Natal Botanical Garden
* Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden

Taxonomists|

* List of authors of South African botanical taxa
* List of authors of South African animal taxa

Related

* Biodiversity
* Biosphere
* Ecotourism
* Encyclopedia of Life
* Environmental impact of recreational diving
* Low impact diving
* International Union for Conservation of Nature
* Marine protected area
* National park
* Nature conservation
* Nature reserve
* Scuba diving tourism
* South African Sustainable Seafood Initiative
* World Register of Marine Species
* World Wide Fund for Nature

| Regional biodiversity|

* Biodiversity of Cape Town
* List of nature reserves in Cape Town

|

Legislation|

* Marine Living Resources Act, 18 of 1998
* National Environmental Management Act, 1998
* National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, 10 of 2004
* National Environmental Management: Integrated Coastal Management Act, 24 of 2008
* National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act, 57 of 2003

Publications|

* List of field guides to South African biota

* Categories: Biodiversity of South Africa
*   * Index

Authority control databases

International|

* WorldCat

National|

* Germany
* Israel
* Japan
* Czech Republic

Other|

* IdRef

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