NEW DISCOVERIES
Researchers find new grass species in Maloti-Drakensberg area
Leonie Bolleurs
Current Address : University of the Free State Reprinted From : https :// bit . ly / 33Tq2Nh
In their search to learn more about the impact of humans and climate change on grasses in the Drakensberg Mountain Centre ( DMC ), one of the most studied mountain systems in the region , a group of scientists found a new grass species , which they named Festuca drakensbergensis ( common name unknown ; herein could be designated the ‘ Drakensberg Alpine Fescue ’).
The team who is working on the project includes Dr Vincent R . Clark , Head of the Afromontane Research Unit at the University of the Free State ( UFS ), Prof Steven P . Sylvester from the Nanjing Forestry University in Nanjing , Jiangsu , China , and Dr Robert J . Soreng , working in the Department of Botany at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC .
The discovery
The species , that was discovered in March 2020 , was found during extensive fieldwork and herbarium research across the 40 000 km 2 Maloti-Drakensberg area . The DMC has a very high endemic plant diversity , says Dr Clark .
He goes on to say that the DMC has a Montane Sub-Centre ( below 2800 m ) and an alpine sub-centre ( above 2800 m ). “ It is the only mountain system in Africa south of Mt Kilimanjaro with an alpine component ,” he adds .
Prof Sylvester says the species was easily recognisable during their fieldwork , being found fairly common throughout the Afro-alpine landscape . Although at that point they only knew it to be a distinct taxon , they realised that the species was new to science when they tried to identify it and compared it with other closely related Festuca taxa .
Besides this discovery , the team also reinstated two varieties of Festuca caprina and rediscovered the overlooked F . exaristata , all of them endemic to the DMC . Prof Sylvester believes that this
Figure 1 : A team of international researchers discovered in March 2020 a new grass species , Festuca drakensbergensis , during extensive fieldwork in the 40 000 km 2 Maloti-Drakensberg area .
discovery highlights the importance of these high-elevation ecosystems as harbours of unique biodiversity that require focused conservation efforts .
Although grasses are a dominant species that control the ecosystem function in the Afro-alpine grasslands , they are the least known of all plant species found in these ecosystems . Up until now , there has been a lack of focused research on Afro-alpine grasses .
“ We provide a taxonomic reappraisal of the Festuca caprina complex that will aid future ecological and biogeographical research in the DMC and allow us to better understand the complexities of these ecosystems and how to conserve and manage them ,” says Prof Sylvester .
“ This discovery highlights the importance of these high-elevation ecosystems as harbours of unique biodiversity that require focused conservation efforts .” - Prof Steven Sylvester
43 Grassroots Vol 20 No 4 December 2020