Cathedral Peak research catchments - South Africa

Basic Information
Site Name
Cathedral Peak research catchments
Short name
CPRC
Country
South Africa
Web Address
SAEON, Grasslands Node
Operating Organisation
Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife (EZKNW)
Site Manager
Susan Janse van Rensburg
Site Description
The Cathedral Peak research catchments in the northern uKhahlamba Drakensberg mountains, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa have been a focus of observation research since the 1940’s. The Drakensberg mountains which fall in the grasslands biome, are a crucial water source area for South Africa, owing to the relatively high rainfall and ratio of rainfall to runoff conversion in this region. This portion of southern Africa's grassland biome also supports phenomenal levels of biodiversity. The research catchments themselves are primary, headwater catchments that fall within a protected area. The catchments were initially established to investigate the influence of various land management treatments on water but over time the research has ...
Show more ...
Last modified
2024-10-16 13:10:33

CC-BY-NC Logo

General Characteristics and Status
Site Status
Operational
Year Established
1935
Observed properties
atmospheric parameterecosystem parametersoil parameterchemical parameterwater parameterbiological parameterremote sensing parameterenvironmental parameterlandscape parameterairhumidityairparameterairtemperatureairvaporpressuredeficitairwatervapourconcentrationairwatervapourpressureatmosphericpressurecarbondioxideconcentrationdaylightlengthdewpointdiffuseradiationintensitydiffusereflectancediffusesolarradiationintensitydirectradiationintensityheatfluxincomingradiationintensitylongwaveradiationmaximumtemperaturemeanannualairtemperaturemeanannualprecipitationmeanannualtemperaturemethaneconcentrationminimumtemperaturenetradiationirradiancenetsolarradiationirradianceprecipitationintensityrelativehumiditysaturatedwatercontentsoilcarbondioxidefluxsolarradiationsunshinedurationtotalradiationirradiancevaporpressurevaporpressuredeficitwinddirectionwinddirection(meanandgust)windspeedwindspeed(meanandgust)abovegroundbiomassbioticdiversitycanopycoverratecanopyheightcanopystructurecanopytemperaturechangeinpopulationsizeovertimegroundwaterlevelhabitatdegradationhabitatdisturbancehabitatheterogeneitymicrobialbiomasscarbonmicrobialdiversitymicrobialrespirationplantcoverplantdiversityplantnutrientplantspeciesabundanceplantspeciescompositionplantspeciespresenceplantspeciesrichnesspopulationchangesovertimerootbiomassrootdensitysoilmicrobialdiversityspeciesabundancespeciescompositionspeciesgroupabundancespecieslistspeciespresencespeciesrichnessspeciesturnovertotalcarbonvegetationlayercompositionvegetationlayerstructurevegetationlayertypevegetationpatterninorganiccarboncontentinorganicnitrogencontentmineralnitrogenmineralisedfromhumusmineralnitrogenmineralisedfromorganicmatterpercentcarbonpercentnitrogenpercentorganiccarbonrespirationratesoilaciditysoilalkalinitysoilbasesaturationsoilbulkdensitysoilcarbonstoragesoilclassificationsoildepthsoildrybulkdensitysoilgasfluxsoilmicrobialdiversitysoilmoisturecontentsoilmoisturefieldcapacitysoilnitrogensoilnutrientsoilorganiccarbonsoilorganicresidualsoilparticlesizesoilpHsoilrespirationsoiltemperaturesoiltexturesoilvolumetricwatercontentsoilwatercontentthicknessofsoilhorizontotalcarbontotalorganiccarboncarbondioxideconcentrationcarbondioxidefluxpersoilhorizonchemicalcompositionofwaterdissolvednutrientdissolvedorganiccarboninsoildissolvedorganiccarboninwaterdissolvedorganicnitrogendissolvedorganicphosphorusinorganiccarboncontentinorganicnitrogencontentinorganicnutrientcontentinsolubleorganiccarboncontentpercentcarbonpHvalueofwaterplantnutrientsoilcarbonstoragesoilgasfluxsoilnitrogensoilnutrientsoilorganiccarbonsoilpHsuspendedsolidstotalaciditytotalalkalinitytotalcarbontotalorganiccarbonwateraciditywateralkalinitywatersalinitywaterturbidityammoniumcontentammoniumnitrateconcentrationammoniumnitrogencontentavailablephosphoruscarbondioxideconcentrationcurrentdirectioncurrentspeeddissolvedorganiccarboninwaterdissolvedorganicnitrogendissolvedorganicphosphoruselectricalconductivitygroundwaterleveloxygenconcentrationoxygensaturationpercentcarbonpotentialevaporationrainfallvariabilityrivertemperaturerunoffamountstageheightstreamordersurfacerunofftotalcarbontotalorganiccarbonwaterlevelwaterqualitywatertemperaturewatervolumebiologicaldiversitycanopyheightchangeinpopulationsizeovertimecommunitypatterncommunitystructurefireresistancefunctionaldiversityplantcoverplantdensitypopulationstructurerootbiomassrootdensityrootdryweightspeciestraitincomingradiationintensitylongwaveradiationnetfarinfraredradiationirradiancenetradiationirradiancenetsolarradiationirradiancesolarradiationtotalradiationirradianceabioticheterogeneityaltitudinalgradientelevatedtemperatureenvironmentalheterogeneitygroundsurfacetemperaturelandcoverlanduselanduseintensitylandusepattern
Affiliation and Network Specific Information
Affiliation
ILTER✔This site is a verified "ILTER" member.
SAEON✔ (LTER-SAF-ZA-14)This site is a verified "SAEON" member.
GERI✔This site is a verified "GERI" member.
Photos
Looking towards the distant Cathedral Peak research catchments from a communal portion of the landscape.
Looking towards the distant Cathedral Peak research catchments from a communal portion of the landscape.
Geographic
500 m
2000 ft
View in site map
Centroid/Representative Coordinates

Latitude: -28.99485 Longitude: 29.23851

Size
ca. 1105.18ha
Elevation (average)
2141.00msl
Elevation (min)
1367.00msl
Elevation (max)
3068.00msl
Download

Site information [.json]

Centroid/representative coordinates [.shp] [.kml]
Bounding Box [.shp] [.kml]
Boundaries [.shp] [.kml]
GEO-BON Biome
Fresh water rivers
Terrestrial
Biome
Grasslands
Ecosystem Type
Agricultural
Forest
Chaparral
Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests
Grasslands
Montane grasslands and shrublands
Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands
Rivers
Fresh Water Rivers
Large river headwaters
Small rivers
EUNIS habitat
Grasslands and lands dominated by forbs, mosses or lichens (E)
Grasslands and lands dominated by forbs, mosses or lichens (E) » Seasonally wet and wet grasslands (E3)
Grasslands and lands dominated by forbs, mosses or lichens (E) » Seasonally wet and wet grasslands (E3) » Moist or wet eutrophic and mesotrophic grassland (E3.4)
Air Temperature: Average Annual
13.80°C
Precipitation Annual
1380.00mm
Landforms
Mountain
Geology
The catchments are underlain by basaltic lavas, which overlie Clarens Sandstone. Three post-Karoo dolerite dykes, each 3 m wide, run through the research area but they are assumed to exert no hydrological influence.
Vegetation
Primarily C4 grasslands, occasional with forest patches, wetlands and C3 grasslands at higher altitude.
Soils
The soils of the catchments are acidic, highly leached and are classified as Lateritic Red and Yellow earths, grading into heavy black soils (Katspruit and Champagne) in the saturated zones and along the stream banks. The mean soil depth in the catchments is approximately 0.80 m, with an A-horizon depth of 0.20 m. However the mean soil depth of catchment VI is 0.50 m with an A-horizon depth of 0.25 m. The depth of the soil profile is at least 1.5 m with Hutton and Griffin forms occurring frequently on the gentler slopes of the catchments.
Hydrology
Approximately 49 % of the rainfall is converted to streamflow, with two thirds of the streamflow yield occurring during the four months from January to April.
Protection Level (IUCN category)
Category VI – Protected Area with sustainable use of natural resources
Site Type
Stationary land-based site
Design of Experimentation
no experimentation
Scale of Experimentation
not applicable
Design of Observation
mainly observation
Scale of Observation
sub-catchment within catchment
Permanent Power Supply
No
Equipment
Observation devices » Measurement tower » Less than 10 m above canopy
Observation devices » Open-top chambers
Observation devices » Probe continuous measurements
Data infrastructure » Data services » Data portal
Data infrastructure » Data storage » Structured file
Data infrastructure » Data storage » Relational database
Supporting infrastructure » Transportation » Vehicle 4WD
Supporting infrastructure » Staff room at site » Unknown number of places
Supporting infrastructure » Lodging at site » 6 - 10 beds
Energy and data transmission infrastructure » Data transmission » Data Transmission Type (from site) » Other transmission types
Energy and data transmission infrastructure » Data transmission » Data Transmission Type (from site) » GMS/UMTS
Equipment notes
Eddy-covariance system; streamflow stilling ponds & v-notch weirs with pressure transducers; automatic weather stations; raingauges; surface renewal systems
Accessible All Year
Yes
All parts of Site Accessible
Yes
Access Type
dirt road (4WD)
Permanent Operation
Yes
Site Visit Interval
30
Maintenance Interval
30
General Data Policy
Formal acknowledgement of the dataset providers
The dataset provider is given a complete list of all products that make use of the dataset
Data Policy URL
https://repository.saeon.ac.za/index.php/s/nscR6iaHcy4LYds
LTER Site Classification
Regular