The Rich Biodiversity of Maputaland

At the southernmost tip of East Africa's great coastal plain, formed during the turbulent birth of the Great Rift Valley around 140 million years ago lies the vast and sparely inhabited region of Maputaland.
Framed by the Mozambican boundary in the north, the Ubombo Mountains in the west, by the vast St Lucia Lake system in the south, and the warm waters of the Indian Ocean in the east - lie 8,000 square kilometres of some of the most intricate and spectacular ecosystems in Africa.

It is here that the magnificent Pongola River spills onto fertile alluvial soils of the Makatini flats, attracting hundreds of amaThonga tribes people each winter on traditional fish drives (see Photo of Isifonya drive). Here too, lies Lake Sibaya, southern Africa's largest freshwater lake - a haven for waterbirds, Hippos and crocodiles. Along the unspoilt shores of Maputaland's Coastal Forest Reserve, the rare Loggerhead Turtles and giant Leatherback Turtles hatch their eggs, returning to the same locality each year, after swimming thousands of kilometres through the Indian Ocean.

Offshore, lie the southernmost coral reefs in the world - a Mecca for scuba divers. Inland, a wide variety of wildlife, including the endangered Black Rhino, elephant, buffalo, lion and leopard, roam the diverse ecosystems, the focus of a long cherished dream of conservationists - to establish the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park. Today a reality, the consolidated park is now a World Heritage Site boasting some of the greatest biodiversity Africa.

Located across the transition between the tropical and sub-tropical regions, this southern-most portion of the Mozambique plain contains a complex mosaic of different vegetation types characterised by abrupt patterns of local change due to the rapid changes in topography, climate and soils, resulting in a very large number of species and high proportion of endemics. 

No other part of southern Africa has the diversity of ecosystems and habitats found here - coral-encrusted offshore reefs, marine beaches, mangrove-edged estuarine lagoons, some of the highest forested coastal dunes in the world, coastal lakes, swamp forest, coastal forest, palm savannah, alluvial floodplain, riverine forest, acacia savannah, mountain bushveld and ravine thicket.  Six distinct ecological systems are recognised. (Create link to six ecosystems)

The diversity of plants and animals in Maputaland is extraordinary for such a relatively small area. The approximately 2000 species of vertebrate recorded in Maputaland is far higher that the approximately 800 species recorded in the Kruger National Park, which is more than three times the size of the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park.
Larger mammals include Black and White Rhinoceros, Hippopotamus, African Elephant, Buffalo, Blue Wildebeest, fifteen species of antelope including the largest - Kudu and the smallest the diminutive Suni and the Blue Duiker.  And predators such as Lion, Leopard, and Spotted Hyena are resident.

Maputaland is world renowned for its wide variety of bird life, boasting almost 500 species of the total of some 900 occurring in South Africa. This includes large flocks of flamingos, pelicans, cormorants, herons, sandpipers, plovers, storks, spoonbills and duck, with a high proportion of migrant species. Raptors such as the distinctive African Fish Eagle and the rare Palmnut Vulture, as well as rarely seen birds such as the Pinkthroated Longclaw, Rudd's Apalis, African Broadbill, Green Coucal and the Scalythroated Honeyguide are resident here.

A total of 1200 marine fish species have been recorded off the Maputaland coast, rivalling the Australian Great Barrier Reef. These include the prehistoric Coelacanth, long thought to be extinct, the giant Blue Marlin, Giant Kingfish, barracuda, Leopard Moray, and various species of shark and rays, butterfly fish, parrot fish, trigger fish and angel fish, to list only a few. Sixteen species of stony coral occur off Maputaland. The fresh water fishes of Maputaland represent one of the most interesting and diverse aquatic communities in southern Africa with over 60 species being identified to date. Many of these species are important sources of protein for the local inhabitants, who use a variety of traditional methods in catching them - from thrust baskets (isifonya), valve baskets, fish kraals and barriers. Fishing is an important part of the daily and seasonal routine, and many cultural and social events revolve around this activity.

The great diversity and habitat types that exist in Maputaland offers wide scope to support a large number of species of amphibia, with over 45 species recorded to date; there is still considerable scope to identify additional species in the many as yet unexplored areas in the region. Similarly, there is a remarkable diversity of reptiles (over 112 species), including the rare Gaboon Adder, African Rock Python, Nile Crocodile, one species of tortoise: the Leopard Tortoise, and five species of turtle (the second largest reptile in the world - the Leatherback, with a mass in excess of 700 kgs; Green Turtle; Hawksbill Turtle; Loggerhead Turtle; and Olive Ridley Turtle), two of which (the Leatherback and Loggerhead) nest along the beaches of the Maputaland Marine Reserve. A remarkable lizard known as Bouton's Snake-eyed Skink, which only occurs at in South Africa at Black Rock, is an excellent swimmer and feeds on small invertebrates and fish among intertidal rocks at low tide.
Insects too are diverse, although less work has been done in this area, and much scope exists to identify many known but as yet undescribed species.

Ecological zones 

The six ecological systems include the following:

Ubombo Mountain Zone

The Ubombo Mountain zone (called Lebombo north of the Pongola River) is characterised by a very rocky environment derived from the rhyolite lavas of the Stormberg series and containing geodes of amethyst crystals resulting from a volcanic period around 140 million years ago. The rocky soils are generally shallow and vegetation ranges from forested gorges with canopies, 10 m to 35 metres high, inhabited by a diverse range of species, including the Fluted Milkwood (Chrysophyllum viridifilium); Brown Ironwood (Homalium dentatum); a wide range of Bushwillow and Fig species (Combretum and Ficus sp.); Wild Plum (Harpephyllum caffrum); Natal Bush Milkwood (Vitellariopsis marginata); Zulu Milkberry (Manilkara concolor), Keiapple (Dovyalis caffra); Zulu False thorn (Albizia suluensis); False Soap-berry (Pancovia golungensis); Common Wild Pear (Dombeya rotundifolia); Weeping Boer-bean (Scotia brachypetala); Jacket-plum (Pappea capensis) and the ever recognisable Marula (Sclerocarya birrea).
Pongola and Mkuze Floodplain.

The vast alluvial floodplains of the Pongola, Mkuze and Kube Yini's Msunduze river are characterised by forested riverine thickets and trees of up to 35 m high, such as the Sycamore Fig (Ficus sycamorus); Quinine Tree (Rauvolvia caffra); Water Pear (Syzygium guineense); Buffalo-thorn (Ziziphus mucronata); Sausage Tree (Kigelia africana); Natal Mahogany (Trichelia emetica); Wild Honeysuckle (Turaea floribunda); Tamboti (Spirostachys africana) and ever recognisable Fever tree (Acacia xanthophloea). Farther from the waters edge the vegetation thins to stands of the Umbrella Thorn (Acacia tortilis); Scented Thorn (Acacia nilotica); and the pink and yellow-blossomed Sickle Bush (Dichrostachys cinera). The vast areas of the upper Mkuze swamps and pans are colonised by reeds and sedges including Papyrus (Cyperus papyrus). 

 
Sand Forest Zone

This zone is a mosaic of patches of Sand forest in a matrix of open woodland with a grass understorey. Sand forest is a unique type of vegetation, rich in woody species with a canopy of between 10 to 25 m high. Common species include Green Thorn (Balanitis maughamii);  Lebombo Wattle (Newtonia hilderbrandtii); False Tamboti (Cleistanthus schlechteri);  Red-heart Tree (Hymenocardia ulmoides); Sneezewood (Pteroxylon obliquum); Sherbet Tree (Dialium schlechteri); Swazi Ordeal Tree (Erythrophleum lasianthum); and Zulu Coshwood (Cola greenwayi). 

Palm Zone

Lala palms (Hyphaene coriacea) are most common and used extensively by local inhabitants in house construction as a roofing material and the xylem sap is collected and allowed to ferment to form a potent brew (ubuSulu), which is an essential ingredient in the diet, producing yeast cells, vitamin B, riboflavin and nicotinic acid. Also prevalent are patches of the Wild Date Palm  (Phoenix reclinata), and the Pink and yellow blossomed Sickle Bush (Dichrostachys cinera) and Black Monkey Orange (Strychnos madagascariensis). The palm zone covers extensive areas of the Maputaland coastal plain and extends into Mkuzi Game Reserve and includes the area surrounding Mozi Pan, large areas within Phinda Reserve and neighbouring reserves.

Coastal lake Zone

This zone incorporates the interlocking fresh and salt water Kosi lake system and Lake Sibaya and salt marshes Lake St Lucia and adjoining Sodwana Bay, where reeds (Phragmites sp.), rushes (Typha sp.) and papyrus (Cyperus papyrus) are abundant. Swamp forest fringes include Swamp fig (Ficus trichpoda); Waterberryor Umdoni (Syzygium cordatum); Wild Frangipani (Voacanga thouarsii); Quinine tree (Rauvolfia caffra). The salt water areas such as Kosi Bay, Mgobezeleni and lake St Lucia contain Mangroves. Strictly speaking there are only three species of the mangrove family (Rhizophoraceae). However, trees from other families and genera grow as mangroves being the Lumnitzera (Combretaceae) and Avicennia (Verbenaceae).  Kosi Bay is the only place in South Africa where all five species grow. Both the Tonga Mangrove (Lumnitzera racemosa) and the Indian Mangrove (Ceriops tagal) are at the southern-most limit of their range, which means that Kosi bay is the only place in South Africa where they grow. In addition, the Black Mangrove (Bruguiera gymnorrhiza); Red Mangrove (Rhizophora mucronata), and White Mangrove (Avicennia marina) grow in Maputaland. The Brackwater Mangrove (Barringtonia racemosa) is also very salt-tolerant species and grows interspersed with mangroves.      

Coastal Dune and Coastal Zone

The longest unspoilt strech of coastal dune forest and coastline in southern Africa stretches between Lake St Lucia and the Mozambique border. Rising steeply from the coast, these forested dunes reach a high of over 200 metres and deflect the moist onshore winds giving rise to an annual precipitation of over 1,200 mm that nourishes this unique coastal dune forest. Dominant species are Guarri tree species (Euclea sp.); Natal Wild Banana (Strelitzia nicolai); Milk Plum species (Mimusops sp.); Milkberry species (Manikara sp.) and rare Cycads (Encephalartos sp.)