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For use in the C.A.P.E. Fine-Scale Biodiversity Plans. These plans are to serve as the primary spatial biodiversity informant guiding proactive conservation action and directing land-use planning and reactive decision-making in local, provincial and national spheres of government.

These are the core sets of FSP biodiversity informants (GIS files) for this municipality, and these should be used in conjunction:

• CBA_Terrestrial_Saldanha

• CBA_aquatic_Saldanha

The CBA_Terrestrial_Saldanha shapefile contain the following categories:

• Protected Areas,

• Critical biodiversity Areas,

• Other Natural Areas and,

• No Natural Remaining.

The CBA terrestrial shapefile should be used in conjunction CBA aquatic shapefile for CBA coverage of the entire municipality. Note that CBAs fall exclusively outside of protected areas and FSP landcover information such that “Other Natural Areas” and “No Natural Remaining” can be discerned; recommend FSP 10m summarized landcover product.

Yes copyright exists with the Western Cape Nature Conservation Board (WCNCB). Where the data is used as basis for or as an insertion in a project, acknowledgement must be made of the source of the (CapeNature, C.A.P.E. Fine-Scale Biodiversity Planning Project) as well as the copyright of CapeNature

The planning domains (Saldanha Peninsula and Northwest Sandveld) were divided into planning units based on summarized landcover data, wetlands, and protected areas, via eCognition software. Planning units averaged 23 ha in size, and ranged from 0.25 ha to 390 ha. Features representing the broad array of biodiversity elements present in the planning domain were determined, and 4 relevant data gathered.

Biodiversity pattern features included:

• Vegetation types

• Critically Endangered (CR) vegetation remnants

• Endangered (EN) vegetation remnants

• Indigenous forest patches

• Wetland types

• River types*

• Indigenous fish species*

• Red Data Listed plant taxa

• Restricted plant taxa

• Focal animal species

• Subcatchments*

Biodiversity processes features included:

• Coastal corridor

• Edaphic interfaces (important transitions between soil or geology types)

• Significant seep (wetland) clusters with either threatened or focal amphibian species present

• Upland-lowland gradients

• Fire-dependent ecosystems

• Regional corridors

• Key landscape linkages (fine-scale corridors)

Where possible, the abundance (amount of) each biodiversity feature in each planning unit was calculated. An overall conservation target (the desired quantity to be maintained in a natural state in the long term, based on national targets, guidelines, or regulations) was established for each feature (e.g., 24% of the original extent of the vegetation type), or an overall objective was stated (e.g., where there are options, choose corridors which connect uplands and lowlands).

Those planning units falling within formal Protected Areas were noted as “conserved” and thus their contributions to targets accounted for at the outset. All 100% urban (as per FSP landcover data) planning units were excluded from analysis. All planning units containing a feature (or a portion thereof) with a target of 100% (e.g., all rank 1 wetlands, river reaches identified in the river analysis* as CBAs, known habitat for a locally endemic and threatened plant species) were “earmarked” for 5 inclusion as CBAs.

The conservation planning support software Marxan was then used (via CLUZ interface software) to generate the best spatial solutions (i.e., most efficient selection of planning units required) for meeting all remaining conservation targets. At first, the only planning units marked as “available” for meeting targets were those within ecological process areas. The most frequently selected of these units (as per their summed selection score) formed the foundation of the CBA network and informed the design of fine-scale corridors. In other words, at the foundation of the CBA network are sites required for meeting both biodiversity pattern and process targets, as well as key landscape linkages. The final CBA network was then developed in an iterative fashion, building on the foundation, whereby Marxan was run and re-run as high-scoring units were selected to meet targets.

All intact CR and EN vegetation remnants were also added to the final CBA layer/network directly from the fine-scale landcover data. These were added separately only because not all of them were represented as exact planning units but were rather embedded within planning units containing agricultural lands or degraded lands. Adding them separately ensured that only natural veld was highlighted as being of critical importance.

*A separate analysis was conducted for rivers, using subcatchments as planning units and including features such as river types and indigenous fish species. The results were integrated into this assessment and are thus presented via this set of final layers (CBA, CESA, and OESA layers, as well as the final subcatchment layer). However, the original layers are also available by request, as is the Technical Report describing that methodology.

The following files (with polygon count) were used to derive this single 201CCBA_Terrestrial_Saldanha” shapefile and/or to populate its attribute table:

earmarked_output26.shp, 12288 (final planning units selected for Saldanha)

portfolio_output2_final5.shp, 7419 (final planning units selected for Sandveld)

wc_cr_rems_cba_final.shp, 6834 (all Critically Endangered vegetation remnants)

wc_en_rems_cba_final.shp, 18989 (all Endangered vegetation remnants)

sld_sign_intact_patches.shp, 33 (entire intact patches of significant size in Saldanha)

Irreplaceable_spp_habitat.shp, 25 (restricted, endemic plant habitat; used to populate

attributes)

red_data_list_spp_habitat_final.shp, 37 (Red Data List plant habitat; used to populate

attributes)

interior_habitat.shp, 4320 (natural habitat qualifying as “interior”; used to populate attributes)

all_wetlands_final.shp , 2356 (all mapped wetlands with ranking; used to populate attributes)

Where duplicate polygons occurred, the attribute data was merged in a new polygon with

REASONS updated. There are instances where polygons overlap and where the SOURCE file refers to only part of the data source following a data merge. Where the source did not match the planning units (e.g., a Critically Endangered remnant within a planning unit) the intersecting planning units were updated.

Available documentation:

Pence, Genevieve Q.K. 2008 (in prep). C.A.P.E. Fine-Scale Systematic Conservation Planning Assessment: Technical Report. Produced for CapeNature. Cape Town, South Africa.

Project Name:

Fine-Scale Biodiversity Planning project, as part of Component 5.1 of Cape Action Plan for People and the Environment (C.A.P.E.)

Creator Organisation:

Genevieve Q.K. Pence, Conservation Planner

Consultant

SANS 1878

FGDC-STD-001-1998