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Used as a feature in the conservation plan.

Data Capture Source: Holness 2009

Areas of potential climate change resilience and climate refuges based on a multi-scale modelled assessment of landscapes of high topographic diversity. These topographically diverse areas are important for a number of reasons:

• The representation of rare or unique features that are not encountered more widely in the landscape.

• Associated with keystone ecological process features such as inselbergs, cliff faces, springs and caves.

• Are an important refuge habitat in the face of climate change

• These areas also include important altitude, temperature and moisture gradients which need to be protected to allow climate change adaptation.

The 90m resolution SRTM Digital Elevation Model was used as the basis for the assessment. This layer was processed in IDRISI according to the following method:

? The data were filtered at a variety of scales: 7x7, 15x15, 25x25, 45x45 pixels.

? A standard deviation was calculated at each scale.

? Areas with a top quartile SD at any of these scales were classified as having high topographic variability.

? A combined multiscale layer of areas of high topographic variability was produced by combining these layers. Small areas were removed (>100ha).

A 30% target for these rivers was set for the first CBA run, while the remaining unselected areas were included as Ecological Support Areas if they were not transformed.

Available documentation:

Central Karoo District Biodiversity Assessment (August 2009)

SANS 1878

FGDC-STD-001-1998