The ecological impact of roads on savanna soil and vegetation near Skukuza, Kruger National Park

- Roads are major landscape features that are known to have some degree of impact on a vegetation structures in a variety of habitats, and that higher traffic correlates with increased impact. Little work has been conducted assaying the impact that roads have on the vegetation in the Kruger National Park (KNP). In this study, we sought to quantify changes in vegetation structure, soil composition, and incident light between sites near and 30 m from tar and dirt roads using plot and transect analyses. We found that roads near Skukuza, KNP have had little impact on general vegetation structure and their respective drivers. However, there is evidence that grasses grow taller close to dirt roads compared to tar roads, and that disturbance tolerant species may preferentially colonize roadsides. In a park that receives over 1 million visitors per year, studies such as this are important tools in aiding wildlife managers to determine the impact that tourism has on the landscape.