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Peatland Types and Tropical Swamp Forests on the Maputaland Coastal Plain (South Africa)

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The Wetland Book

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Abstract

The Maputaland Coastal Plain (MCP) is on the north-eastern seaboard of the KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. It hosts a variety of wetlands and mire types that range from rare tropical swamp forest and calcareous fens to various inter-dune settings with groundwater-fed to surface water fed fens and floodplains. The MCP peatland areas are important not only for biodiversity (e.g. many endemic species) and supporting subsistence cultivation but they also host the largest and thickest peat deposits found in South Africa. The peatlands on the MCP developed in a drowned dune landscape and the peat thickness vary from 0.5 to 11 m. Threats and future challenges on the peatlands in Maputaland include the effects of land-use practices: plantations, agriculture and urbanization. Attempts to conserve swamp forests are often frustrated by the different management frameworks of provincial conservation agencies and the national government.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Water Science Programme, Agricultural Research Council – Institute for Soil, Climate and Water, 600 Belvedere, Private Bag X79, 0001, Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa

    Althea T. Grundling

  2. Centre for Energy and Environmental Studies, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 6, 9747 AG, Groningen, The Netherlands

    Ab P. Grootjans

  3. Centre for Environmental Management, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa

    Piet-Louis Grundling

  4. Department of Geography and Environmental Management, University of Waterloo, 200 University Ave W., Waterloo, ON, Canada

    Althea T. Grundling & Jonathan S. Price

  5. Applied Behavioural Ecology and Ecosystem Research Unit, University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa

    Althea T. Grundling

  6. Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    Ab P. Grootjans

Authors
  1. Althea T. Grundling
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  2. Ab P. Grootjans
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  3. Piet-Louis Grundling
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  4. Jonathan S. Price
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Althea T. Grundling .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Land, Water and Society, Charles Sturt University, Albury, New South Wales, Australia

    C. Max Finlayson

  2. Department of Natural Resources, Kentville, Nova Scotia, Canada

    G. Randy Milton

  3. Nature Management Services, Cambridge, United Kingdom

    R. Crawford Prentice

  4. Institute for Land, Water and Society, Charles Sturt University, Albury, New South Wales, Australia

    Nick C. Davidson

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Grundling, A.T., Grootjans, A.P., Grundling, PL., Price, J.S. (2018). Peatland Types and Tropical Swamp Forests on the Maputaland Coastal Plain (South Africa). In: Finlayson, C., Milton, G., Prentice, R., Davidson, N. (eds) The Wetland Book. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4001-3_166

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