CAPE Lowlands Renosterveld – Special Habitats. Silcrete and quartz patch locations were derived from the Cape Lowlands Renosterveld vegetation map (see attached metadata). Only those with remaining natural vegetation were included. Wetlands were derived from the WCNCB ‘sensitive wetlands’ GIS layer and the Freshwater GIS component of C.A.P.E. Note that the wetland layer is not complete – many wetlands that are present on the ground are not represented in this layer as they are currently not mapped anywhere. Silcrete patches, quartz patches, and wetlands in the Cape Lowlands Renosterveld Project’s central domain. Note that NO special features occurring in the buffer area (see planning domain infosheet) are included.

Renosterveld Priorities Clusters for the Cape Agulhas, De Hoop Management Area, Overstrand, Drakenstein Municipality, Swartland, Swellendam and Theewaterskloof Municipalities. Layer designating renosterveld conservation priority clusters and the area surrounding the natural vegetation up to 500m (a 500m buffer). The patches of remaining lowland habitat within priority clusters were identified by the Cape Lowlands Renosterveld Project as critical for conserving biodiversity pattern and ecological processes of lowland renosterveld.

CAPE Lowlands Renosterveld – Ecological Processes (Coastal Interior Gradient). Gradients linking the coast to inland regions through natural vegetation/river corridors. Such gradients capture ecological processes operating at a larger scale such as biota migration and adaptation to climate change. Coast-interior gradients were identified where coastal habitats could be linked to habitats located in the Cape’s interior along corridors of connected vegetation (patches of natural vegetation that are within 500 m of each other were considered to be connected).

CAPE Lowlands Renosterveld – Priority Clusters. This data layer shows ecosytem status for vegetation types occurring in the Cape Lowlands Renosterveld planning domain (see separate infosheet for planning domain). Ecosystem status indicates whether a particular vegetation type is ‘critically endangered’, ‘endangered’, ‘vulnerable’ or ‘least threatened’. These categories are based on biodiversity targets (calculated for the National Spatial Biodiversity Assessment, NSBA, 2004) and on the extent (% area) of natural vegetation remaining for that particular vegetation type.

Renosterveld Priorities Clusters for the Cape Agulhas, De Hoop Management Area, Overstrand, Drakenstein Municipality, Swartland, Swellendam and Theewaterskloof Municipalities. Layer designating renosterveld conservation priority clusters and the area surrounding the natural vegetation up to 500m (a 500m buffer). The patches of remaining lowland habitat within priority clusters were identified by the Cape Lowlands Renosterveld Project as critical for conserving biodiversity pattern and ecological processes of lowland renosterveld.

Renosterveld Priorities Clusters for the Cape Agulhas, De Hoop Management Area, Overstrand, Drakenstein Municipality, Swartland, Swellendam and Theewaterskloof Municipalities. Layer designating renosterveld conservation priority clusters and the area surrounding the natural vegetation up to 500m (a 500m buffer). The patches of remaining lowland habitat within priority clusters were identified by the Cape Lowlands Renosterveld Project as critical for conserving biodiversity pattern and ecological processes of lowland renosterveld.

Layer designating renosterveld conservation priority clusters and the area surrounding the natural vegetation up to 500m (a 500m buffer). The patches of remaining lowland habitat within priority clusters were identified by the Cape Lowlands Renosterveld Project as critical for conserving biodiversity pattern and ecological processes of lowland renosterveld.

CAPE Lowlands Renosterveld Domain

Renosterveld Priorities Clusters. Layer designating renosterveld conservation priority clusters and the area surrounding the natural vegetation up to 500m (a 500m buffer). The patches of remaining lowland habitat within priority clusters were identified by the Cape Lowlands Renosterveld Project as critical for conserving biodiversity pattern and ecological processes of lowland renosterveld.

Represents land cover for the Witzenberg Local Municipality and adjacent district municipality. Landcover is categorized into 6 land cover types: Natural, Near Natural, Degraded, Cultivated and Transformed.