Communal livestock grazing is expected to impact botanical composition and plant diversity of Drakensberg montane grasslands. Accordingly, a grazing gradient extending outward from kraals, and fence-line contrasts between communal rangeland and protected areas (Golden Gate Highlands National Park and Royal Natal National Park), were studied in the QwaQwa region of South Africa. Presence of a grazing gradient was confirmed by a decrease in the amount of cattle dung with increasing distance from kraals that was independent of altitude, solar radiation, slope, or soil physico-chemical properties. Canonical correspondence analysis confirmed that grazing intensity had a significant influence on botanical composition although most compositional variation was unexplained. Higher grazing intensities tended to negatively affect plant species richness and diversity, and the cover of perennial graminoids, but benefitted the abundance of dwarf shrubs and alien invasive species. Similar effects were apparent across each of the fence line contrasts. Despite a long history of livestock grazing, communal rangeland supported >320 indigenous species, illustrating some contribution to biodiversity conservation, but being compromised near kraals. An improved approach for study of the impacts of livestock grazing on plant diversity is suggested that would overcome the difficulties of assessing rare and threatened species using a community approach.

放牧牲畜预计会影响德拉肯斯堡山地草原的植物组成和植物多样性。因此，在南非的QwaQwa地区研究了从牲畜向外延伸的放牧坡度，以及公共牧场和保护区（金门高地国家公园和皇家纳塔尔国家公园）之间的围墙对比。放牧梯度的存在是由牛粪的数量减少而引起的，而牛粪的数量随着距牛栏距离的增加而减少，而牛栏距离与海拔，太阳辐射，坡度或土壤理化性质无关。典范的对应分析证实，尽管大多数成分变化尚无法解释，但放牧强度对植物组成具有显着影响。较高的放牧强度往往会对植物物种的丰富性和多样性以及多年生禾本科植物的覆盖率产生负面影响，但有利于矮灌木和外来入侵物种的大量出现。在每个栅栏线对比中，相似的效果显而易见。尽管放牧牲畜的历史悠久，但公共牧场支持了320多种土著物种，说明对生物多样性的保护做出了一定贡献，但受到了千头怪的威胁。提出了一种研究家畜放牧对植物多样性影响的改进方法，该方法将克服使用社区方法评估稀有和受威胁物种的困难。在每个栅栏线对比中，相似的效果显而易见。尽管放牧牲畜的历史悠久，但公共牧场支持了超过320种土著物种，说明对生物多样性的保护做出了一定贡献，但遭到了近来的野牛的破坏。提出了一种研究家畜放牧对植物多样性影响的改进方法，该方法将克服使用社区方法评估稀有和受威胁物种的困难。在每个栅栏线对比中，相似的效果显而易见。尽管放牧牲畜的历史悠久，但公共牧场支持了320多种土著物种，说明对生物多样性的保护做出了一定贡献，但受到了千头怪的威胁。提出了一种研究家畜放牧对植物多样性影响的改进方法，该方法将克服使用社区方法评估稀有和受威胁物种的困难。