{"title":"SAEON St Lucia site - South Africa","id":{"prefix":"https:\/\/deims.org\/","suffix":"c792fdbf-837a-455e-94b7-ef9d285f1972"},"type":"site","created":"2024-10-11T15:14:03+02:00","changed":"2025-08-15T09:33:14+02:00","attributes":{"affiliation":{"networks":[{"network":{"name":"GERI","id":{"prefix":"https:\/\/deims.org\/networks\/","suffix":"c3abdc60-49f1-49db-81fe-863b7dbb21d3"}},"siteCode":null,"verified":true},{"network":{"name":"ILTER","id":{"prefix":"https:\/\/deims.org\/networks\/","suffix":"1aa7ccb2-a14b-43d6-90ac-5e0a6bc1d65b"}},"siteCode":null,"verified":true},{"network":{"name":"SAEON","id":{"prefix":"https:\/\/deims.org\/networks\/","suffix":"bce17afa-e548-4410-99d2-4eade740c9a9"}},"siteCode":null,"verified":true}],"projects":[{"label":"Ramsar Convention on Wetlands","uri":"https:\/\/www.ramsar.org"},{"label":"UNESCO World Heritage Site","uri":"https:\/\/whc.unesco.org\/en\/about\/"}]},"contact":{"siteManager":[{"type":"person","name":"Susan Janse van Rensburg","email":"sue@saeon.ac.za","orcid":null}],"operatingOrganisation":[{"type":"organisation","name":"South African Environmental Observation Network (SAEON)","url":"http:\/\/www.saeon.ac.za\/","ror":"https:\/\/ror.org\/041j42q70"}],"metadataProvider":[{"type":"organisation","name":"South African Environmental Observation Network (SAEON)","url":"http:\/\/www.saeon.ac.za\/","ror":"https:\/\/ror.org\/041j42q70"}],"fundingAgency":[{"type":"organisation","name":"National Research Foundation","url":"http:\/\/www.nrf.ac.za\/","ror":"https:\/\/ror.org\/05s0g1g46"}],"siteUrl":null},"general":{"abstract":"This site falls partly with the iSimangaliso wetland park as well as within forestry areas on its boundary. SAEON is building on a \u003E40 year groundwater record and has added rain gauges to the site. It is a complimentary site to the SAEON MCP site assessing the relative impacts of land use land cover and climate on the ecosystem services in the area. \r\nThreats to Lake St Lucia Ramsar Site from proposed open cast mining operations in 1992 (CES, 1992) prompted a national and international outcry culminating in an international petition to \u201cSave St Lucia\u201d that led to its declaration as a World Heritage Site. This culminated in the proclamation and development of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park that protects the marine and coastal environments from Cape St Lucia to the  Mozambique Border. The conservation policy in terms of the 1992 Conservation Development Plan was to protect a diversity of habitats such as coastal dune forests, coastal grasslands, hygrophilous grassland,  coastal woodlands and shrublands. This vegetation mix would allow for the required habitat and feeding area for priority St Lucia animal species ...\u201d (CES, 1992). Consequently, the St Lucia system, with its rich  diversity of habitats, will be protected by national and international legislation for long-term global prosperity.","citation":null,"relatedIdentifiers":null,"status":{"label":"Operational","uri":"http:\/\/vocabs.lter-europe.net\/elter_cl\/10772"},"yearEstablished":2012,"yearClosed":null,"relatedSites":[{"typeOfRelationship":{"label":"groups with","uri":"null"},"listOfSites":[{"type":"site","title":"SAEON Maputaland Coastal Plain site - South Africa","id":{"prefix":"https:\/\/deims.org\/","suffix":"721de4a4-87ee-47b8-a74e-b5adf0053b9d"},"changed":"2025-05-14T12:01:00+0200"}]}],"siteName":"SAEON St Lucia site","shortName":"St Lucia","siteType":"Platform","protectionLevel":[{"label":"Category V \u2013 Protected Landscape\/Seascape\/Area","uri":"http:\/\/dd.eionet.europa.eu\/vocabularyconcept\/cdda\/IucnCategoryValue\/V"}],"landUse":[{"label":"accommodation and food services","uri":"https:\/\/inspire.ec.europa.eu\/codelist\/HILUCSValue\/3_1_3_AccommodationAndFoodServices"},{"label":"commercial services","uri":"https:\/\/inspire.ec.europa.eu\/codelist\/HILUCSValue\/3_1_CommercialServices"},{"label":"community services","uri":"https:\/\/inspire.ec.europa.eu\/codelist\/HILUCSValue\/3_3_CommunityServices"},{"label":"cultural entertainment and recreational services","uri":"https:\/\/inspire.ec.europa.eu\/codelist\/HILUCSValue\/3_4_CulturalEntertainmentAndRecreationalServices"},{"label":"cultural services","uri":"https:\/\/inspire.ec.europa.eu\/codelist\/HILUCSValue\/3_4_1_CulturalServices"},{"label":"entertainment services","uri":"https:\/\/inspire.ec.europa.eu\/codelist\/HILUCSValue\/3_4_2_EntertainmentServices"},{"label":"forestry","uri":"https:\/\/inspire.ec.europa.eu\/codelist\/HILUCSValue\/1_2_Forestry"},{"label":"forestry based on short rotation","uri":"https:\/\/inspire.ec.europa.eu\/codelist\/HILUCSValue\/1_2_1_ForestryBasedOnShortRotation"},{"label":"open air recreational areas","uri":"https:\/\/inspire.ec.europa.eu\/codelist\/HILUCSValue\/3_4_4_OpenAirRecreationalAreas"},{"label":"other commercial services","uri":"https:\/\/inspire.ec.europa.eu\/codelist\/HILUCSValue\/3_1_4_OtherCommercialServices"},{"label":"other community services","uri":"https:\/\/inspire.ec.europa.eu\/codelist\/HILUCSValue\/3_3_5_OtherCommunityServices"},{"label":"other recreational services","uri":"https:\/\/inspire.ec.europa.eu\/codelist\/HILUCSValue\/3_4_5_OtherRecreationalServices"},{"label":"other uses","uri":"https:\/\/inspire.ec.europa.eu\/codelist\/HILUCSValue\/6_5_AreasWithoutAnySpecifiedPlannedUse"},{"label":"permanent residential use","uri":"https:\/\/inspire.ec.europa.eu\/codelist\/HILUCSValue\/5_1_PermanentResidentialUse"},{"label":"primary production","uri":"https:\/\/inspire.ec.europa.eu\/codelist\/HILUCSValue\/1_PrimaryProduction"},{"label":"residential use","uri":"https:\/\/inspire.ec.europa.eu\/codelist\/HILUCSValue\/5_ResidentialUse"},{"label":"tertiary production","uri":"https:\/\/inspire.ec.europa.eu\/codelist\/HILUCSValue\/3_TertiaryProduction"},{"label":"transitional areas","uri":"https:\/\/inspire.ec.europa.eu\/codelist\/HILUCSValue\/6_1_TransitionalAreas"}],"images":null},"environmentalCharacteristics":{"airTemperature":{"yearlyAverage":22,"monthlyAverage":null,"unit":"\u00b0C","referencePeriod":{"label":"Other, non-standardised or incomplete reference period","uri":null}},"precipitation":{"yearlyAverage":1039,"monthlyAverage":null,"unit":"mm","referencePeriod":{"label":"Other, non-standardised or incomplete reference period","uri":null}},"biogeographicalRegion":null,"biome":"coastal","ecosystemType":[{"label":"Coastal","uri":null},{"label":"Flooded grasslands and savannas","uri":null},{"label":"Forest","uri":null},{"label":"Fresh Water Rivers","uri":null},{"label":"Grasslands","uri":null},{"label":"Lakes","uri":null},{"label":"Mangroves","uri":null},{"label":"Mixed Forest","uri":null},{"label":"Rivers","uri":null},{"label":"Small lakes","uri":null}],"eunisHabitat":[{"label":"Broadleaved evergreen woodland (G2)","uri":null},{"label":"Coastal dunes and sandy shores (B1)","uri":null},{"label":"Coastal habitats (B)","uri":null},{"label":"Coniferous woodland (G3)","uri":null},{"label":"Coppice and early-stage plantations (G5.7)","uri":null},{"label":"Estuaries (X01)","uri":null},{"label":"Grasslands and lands dominated by forbs, mosses or lichens (E)","uri":null},{"label":"Habitat complexes (X)","uri":null},{"label":"Highly artificial broadleaved evergreen forestry plantations (G2.8)","uri":null},{"label":"Highly artificial coniferous plantations (G3.F)","uri":null},{"label":"Lines of trees (G5.1)","uri":null},{"label":"Lines of trees, small anthropogenic woodlands, recently felled woodland, early-stage woodland and coppice (G5)","uri":null},{"label":"Mires, bogs and fens (D)","uri":null},{"label":"Recently felled areas (G5.8)","uri":null},{"label":"Seasonally wet and wet grasslands (E3)","uri":null},{"label":"Sedge and reedbeds, normally without free-standing water (D5)","uri":null},{"label":"Sparsely wooded grasslands (E7)","uri":null},{"label":"Surface running waters (C2)","uri":null},{"label":"Valley mires, poor fens and transition mires (D2)","uri":null},{"label":"Woodland, forest and other wooded land (G)","uri":null}],"landforms":[{"label":"Plain","uri":null}],"geoBonBiome":["Marine","Coastal"],"geology":"Part of Zuluand coastal Aquifer (see SAEON MCP site)\r\nThe Lake St Lucia catchment (Figure 1) lies in fundamentally different geological settings that have very different influences on the short and long term survival of the system.","hydrology":"Surface water ground water driven system\r\n While the secondary porosity aquifers  provide the largest volume of river runoff to the lake, it has been established from analyses of historical data that the ecological resilience of the lake is critically dependent on the primary porosity aquifers that provide perennial seepage flows that sustain micro-habitats along the lake shoreline (Taylor, et. al., 2006). In the primary aquifer, the synergy between the groundwater system and coastal lakes is a feature that is common along the east coast of Africa. These coastal lakes and surrounding wetlands are systems where the groundwater fluxes continually move through their shorelines to create groundwater-dependent  ecosystems. The low lying topography in the coastal plains means that the groundwater is generally close to the topographical surface, creating a shallow phreatic zone that strongly influences the terrestrial  ecology. ","soils":"mostly sandy","vegetation":"Withing the Idian Oceaan coastal belt biome, with  natural grassland, coastal forested dune cordon, artifical plantations, forest patches, wetlands and flood plains\r\n"},"geographic":{"boundaries":"POLYGON ((32.563478 -27.987126, 32.409664 -28.025925, 32.29988 -28.143331, 32.250425 -28.303054, 32.25592 -28.409403, 32.401538 -28.421482, 32.481215 -28.298218, 32.558145 -28.131221, 32.563478 -27.987126))","coordinates":"POINT (32.361982 -28.301811)","country":["South Africa"],"elevation":{"avg":40,"min":1,"max":150,"unit":"msl"},"size":{"value":94595.99,"unit":"ha"},"relatedLocations":null},"focusDesignScale":{"experiments":{"design":"partly experimentation","scale":"catchment scale"},"observations":{"design":"mainly observation","scale":"sub-catchment within catchment"},"observedProperties":[{"label":"atmospheric parameter","uri":"http:\/\/vocabs.lter-europe.net\/EnvThes\/20937"},{"label":"groundwater level","uri":"http:\/\/vocabs.lter-europe.net\/EnvThes\/22126"},{"label":"mean annual precipitation","uri":"http:\/\/vocabs.lter-europe.net\/EnvThes\/22166"},{"label":"precipitation intensity","uri":"http:\/\/vocabs.lter-europe.net\/EnvThes\/22204"},{"label":"rainfall variability","uri":"http:\/\/vocabs.lter-europe.net\/EnvThes\/21948"},{"label":"water parameter","uri":"http:\/\/vocabs.lter-europe.net\/EnvThes\/20945"}]},"infrastructure":{"accessibleAllYear":true,"accessType":"dirt road  (4WD)","allPartsAccessible":true,"maintenanceInterval":30,"permanentPowerSupply":false,"operation":{"permanent":true,"notes":"Continuously logging groundwater and rain gauge sensors visited once a month for download and maintenance. Monitoring wells are within artificial plantations as well within the protected area.","siteVisitInterval":365},"notes":null,"collection":[{"label":"\u003E 10 beds","uri":null},{"label":"Data portal","uri":null},{"label":"Other data services","uri":null},{"label":"Structured file","uri":null}],"data":{"policy":{"url":[{"title":"SAEON Data Policy","value":"https:\/\/repository.saeon.ac.za\/index.php\/s\/nscR6iaHcy4LYds"}],"rights":["Formal acknowledgement of the dataset providers","The opportunity to collaborate on the project using the dataset","The opportunity to review the results based on the dataset","Reprints of articles using the dataset must be provided to the data provider","The dataset provider is given a complete list of all products that make use of the dataset","The data provider is given and agrees to a statement of uses to which the dataset will be put"],"notes":"FAIR principles. Not all data is on the data portal, contact site manager to request."}}},"relatedResources":null,"projectRelated":{"lter":{"lterSiteClassification":"Regular Site"}}}}