Table 5 Summary of overall change in woody cover at the study sites in relation to possible causes
Site | Location (geology) | Change in woody cover in section of study site in Fig. 4 | Elephant density, individuals/km2 (Smit et al. 2013a) | Mean fire return interval, years (Smit et al. 2013b) | Average rainfall, mm/annum (Smit et al. 2013a) | Correlation between woody cover and cumulative rainfall in 10-year moving average analysis period in Fig. 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nhlowa | Southern basalts | −40 % (period: 1968–2012) | 0.17 | 4.05 | 610 | r = 0.533, P > 0.05, NS* |
Mooiplaas | Northern basalts | >100 % (period: 1942–2012) | 0.07 | 4.57 | 480 | – |
Stevenson-Hamilton | Southern granites | −29 % (period: 1940–2012) | 0.09 | 5.80 | 560 | r = 0.478, P > 0.05, NS* |
Ngwenyeni | Northern granites | +39 % (period: 1942–2012) | 0.22 | 9.39 | 490 | r = −0.674, P > 0.05, NS* |