overview of landscapes & habitats
From a natural history point of view, the province of Mpumalanga can be divided into four primary landscapes. These are a result of the topography, underlying geology, soils, elevation, rainfall and climate.
The Highveld Plateau
From 1500m to 1800m ASL, the Highveld Plateau is dominated by grasslands and is largely devoid of native trees except along some rivers and sheltered hillsides. Winter fires and frosts have maintained these grasslands over the centuries, but large scale agriculture (mostly maize) and timber plantations have altered much of the landscape.
The Drakensberg Escarpment
From 1800m to 2500m ASL, the Drakensberg Escarpment is also dominated by grassland, with Afromontane cloud forest on the upper eastern slopes, and protea woodland on exposed crests. Much of this magnificent landscape has been sacrificed to timber plantations, but some extensive areas remain.
The Escarpment Foothills
From 1500m to 600m ASL, the Escarpment Foothills is a region of hills, valleys and boulder outcrops, with pockets of forest, thicket and broad-leaved woodlands. Fast flowing rivers and waterfalls are a feature during the wet season. Again, timber and agriculture (including sub-tropical fruit orchards) have transformed much of this landscape.
The Lowveld
Below 500m ASL, the Lowveld is a more or less flat savanna of mixed bushveld. Plant communities differ in relation to underlying soil types and average rainfall, with acacia woodland and broad-leaved woodland dominating in places. Sugarcane and citrus orchards occupy much of the area south of the Crocodile River, but most of this region is conserved within the Kruger National Park and adjacent private reserves.
Within these four landscapes are a variety of habitats each of which support distinct plant and bird communities.
Moist Highveld Grassland
Extends across eastern Mpumalanga at an altitude of between 1400m and 1800m ASL. In its natural state, this habitat is dominated by Themeda triandra, with many other grass species including Eragrostis, Heteropogon and Cymbopogon.
An average of 700mm to 950mm of rain falls during the summer months, when daytime temperatures are about 22°C but often rising to 30°C or more. In the dry winter months, temperatures regularly plummet below zero at night, causing heavy morning frosts.
Characteristic birds of this habitat include Long-tailed Widowbird, Southern Red Bishop, Cape Longclaw, Black-shouldered Kite, Blue Crane and Rufous-naped Lark. Prized endemics such as Rudd's Lard, Botha's Lark and Yellow-breasted Pipit occur in pristine pockets of this habitat.
Mountain Grassland
The Mountain grasslands stretch from south to north on the high ground of the Drakensberg escarpment at altitudes from 1500 to 2000m ASL. A wide variety of grass species, as well as an extra-ordinary variety of flowering plants are present. Many of these plants are endemic and of great conservation significance.
This is the wettest part of South Africa, with summer rainfall averaging from 700 to 1100mm per year. Temperatures are somewhat cooler than in Moist Highveld Grassland, with snow falling in some years. Winter fires and frost are regular and thick mists are frequent.
Characteristic birds of this habitat include Buff-streaked Chat, Blue Swallow, Drakensberg Prinia, Gurney's Sugarbird and Cape Eagle-owl.
Afromontane Forest
Small patches of evergreen forest exist in sheltered ravines and kloofs in the eastern escarpment. Closed-canopy forest includes trees such as Podocarpus, Curtisia, Nuxia and Trichocladus, where ferns and mosses are abundant in the shady understorey.
Rainfall typically exceeds 1100mm per annum, with additional moisture in the form of regular mists. Fire and frost prevents this forest from extending into adjacent grassland.
Characteristic birds include Chorister Robin-Chat, Olive Woodpecker, Cape Batis, Knysna Turaco, Narina Trogon and African Crowned-eagle.
Sour Lowveld Bushveld
An open tree savanna, characterized by widely-spaced Acacia sieberiana, Pterocarpus anglolensis and Parinari curatellifolia in tall grassland, extends along the foothills of the escarpment at an altitude between 550 and 800m ASL.
Summer rainfall varies from 600 to 1000mm, with summer temperatures rising into the high thirties. Winter frosts are confined to drainage lines, but fires are frequent.
Characteristic birds include Purple-crested Turaco, Gorgeous Bush-shrike, Tambourine Dove, Bar-throated Apalis and Long-crested Eagle.
Mixed Lowveld Bushveld
Flat to undulating land in the southern Kruger National Park at altitudes from 170 to 500m ASL. Flat plains with heavier soils are dominated by open tree savannah, with Acacia nigrescens, Combretum imberbe, Sclerocarya birrea and Spirotachys Africana among common trees. Denser woodland dominated by various Combretum species occur on sandy soild of hill crests.
Summer rainfall varies from 450 to 600mm per annum, with temperatures rising to 40°C. Winter bushfires are common, but this is a frost-free area.
Characteristic birds include Bateleur, Southern Ground Hornbill, Crested Francolin, African Scops-owl, Lilac-breasted Roller and White-crested Helmet-shrike.
Highveld Wetlands and Rivers
The Highveld plateau is sprinkled with pan systems which fill up during the wet summer season and typically hold water into winter. These ephemeral wetlands are a magnet for waterfowl, with ducks, geese, herons, cormorants and others often in abundance. Blue, Grey Crowned and Wattled Cranes breed in these natural wetlands, while plovers and migratory sandpipers forage on mudflats.
Highveld rivers are sometimes fringed by trees such as Celtis Africana and Combretum erythrophyllum, but exotic Weeping Willow and invasive poplars are now more common along these drainage lines.
Lowveld Rivers
The Komati, Crocodile, Sabie and Olifants rivers flow strongly only during the wet summer months, but hold waer throughout the year. Green-backed Heron, African Finfoot, Black Crake and Pied Kingfisher are characteristic birds.
These rivers and their tributaries are lined by riparian forest, with Diospyros Mespiliformis, Ficus sycomorus and Lonchocarpus capassa among typical trees, and Africa Green-pigeon, White-browed Robin-chat and Sombre Greenbul common birds. African White-backed Vulture and Wahlberg's Eagle often nest in tall riverine trees.
Man-made habitats
Highveld roadsides and farmlands
Bird-watching can be enjoyed along roadsides where verges, fences, telephone poles and croplands attract conspicuous species such as Black-shouldered Kite, Stonechat, Pied Starling, Common Fiscal and Black-headed Heron. Summer migrants such as European Bee-eater, Amur Falcon and Steppe Buzzard are frequently seen on telephone wires and poles.
Artificial wetlands
Most Highveld farms are dotted with man-made dams that are detrimental to the natural hydrology of river catchments. Older, mo-established dams provide permanent or seasonal habitat for common species such as Little Grebe, Egyptian Goose, Red-knobbed coot, Yellow-billed Duck and Malachite Kingfisher.
Suburban gardens
Highveld gardens with trees and shrubberies provide sheltered habitat for birds such as Cape Robin-chat, Cape White-eye and Fiscal Flycatcher. Lowveld gardens are typically planted with subtropical plants that attract species such as White-browed Rob-chat, Purple-crested Turaco and Collared Sunbird.
Timber plantations
These artificial "forests" are virtually devoid of bird life, but raptors such as Black Sparrowhawk, African Goshawk, African Crowned Eagle and Long-crested Eagle use larger trees for nesting purposes. Africa Olive Pigeon, Speckled Mousebird and Fork-tailed Drongo are adaptable species of plantation fringes.