Simplifying the complexity of biodiversity

Researchers at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) have co-authored the recently published South African - National Ecosystem Classification System handbook. This handbook was developed by the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) as part of its mandate in terms of the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act (Act No. 10 of 2004). This is a living document that depicts the culmination of several decades of work that continues to develop through collaborations by communities of South African scientists, various government departments, commercial industries and a growing network of citizen scientists across the terrestrial, freshwater (inland aquatic, rivers and wetlands), estuarine and marine realms, including the cross-real coastal zone. The council’s senior researcher, Dr Lindie Smith-Adao, and principal researchers, Dr Heidi van Deventer and Prof. Lara van Niekerk, joined biodiversity experts from SANBI and made use of the best available science to classify and map ecosystem types found in the various realms.

To simplify understanding of South Africa’s national ecosystem classification system, a user-friendly factsheet has been developed for the classification system. The vibrant publication tells a biodiversity story with the use of illustrations, all substantiated with straightforward explanations and maps for readers to digest easily. The brief document aims to prove that there is a conceptual alignment in the classification between realms and a unified system of ecosystem types.

The classification system is the first of its kind to capture a comprehensive overview of foundational ecosystem maps and classifications as it relates to the ecosystem realms, and it is designed to be flexible and adaptable as the experts involved uncover new data about South Africa’s ecosystem types. It is a nested hierarchical classification with a comparable set of levels and classes that align across the realms. For each realm, governance structures and processes that support their maintenance and updates are outlined.

The SA-NECS is a policy and decision-making tool, and its development is led by SANBI. The completion of the classification system was pursued in collaborative mode, affording the CSIR an opportunity to collaborate with SANBI and experts representing institutions such as the University of the Western Cape, Nelson Mandela University, Wageningen University and Research, and the University of the Witwatersrand. The CSIR contributed to the estuarine realm led by Van Niekerk, the freshwater rivers realm led by Smith-Adoa, and the freshwater wetlands realm led by Van Deventer.

The handbook and factsheet are valuable tools for the biodiversity sector as they unpack the intricate relationships between ecosystem types in the landscape and the seascape, and how these manifest and are managed across ecosystem realms.

Additional research is needed to improve classification systems and mapping, whilst the system  benefits from being aligned with the International Union for Conservation of Nature Global Ecosystem Typology to which South African experts have contributed. Much more remains to be understood in all the realms; therefore, adding new classification levels or ecosystem types is necessary. This will be applied in and used in biodiversity assessments, planning, policy, and decision-making processes.

For more information on the South African National Classification System go to https://arcg.is/88LqK0.

Access the freely available SA-NECS Handbook Factsheet at Opus at SANBI: The South African National Ecosystem Classification System Factsheet and Technical Reports at http://bgis.sanbi.org/Projects/Detail/1237.