Assessment of Woody Vegetation TPCs in the Riverine Forests of Kruger National Park, South Africa

The impact of herbivory, especially elephant activity, upon vegetation composition and structure can greatly affect the population demographics of many species in the Kruger National Park. This study focused on riverine systems, which are most vulnerable to structural changes in vegetation due to elephant activity. We examined three riverine-dominant species, Acacia robusta, Diospyros mespiliformis, and Combretum imberbe, in order to assess how elephants impact the riverine forest near the Nwatshitshaka River. Sampling of 340 individuals was conducted over three days in order to assess their height, diameter, elephant utilization, and regenerative ability. Our results indicate that each species exhibits differing population demographics, bottlenecks, levels of damage, seedling dispersal, and ability to regenerate. A. robusta and D. mespiliformis exhibited healthy population dynamics while sustaining significant amounts of elephant damage. C. imberbe, however, did not display much elephant damage but lacked a healthy population dynamic as it contained very few seedling. These different life history strategies indicate that it is necessary to introduce a more species-specific approach towards creating TPC policies.