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79-658: The Sneeuberge or Sneeuberg mountain range was historically known as “Sneeuwbergen”, meaning ‘snow mountains’ in Cape Dutch , and refers to a significant portion of Southern Africa's Great Escarpment in the Cradock , Murraysburg , Richmond , Graaff-Reinet , Nieu-Bethesda and Middelburg districts of the Great Karoo , most of which are in the Eastern Cape Province. They are geologically part of

158-711: A sink or a source of carbon, depending on the specific wetland. If they function as a carbon sink, they can help with climate change mitigation . However, wetlands can also be a significant source of methane emissions due to anaerobic decomposition of soaked detritus , and some are also emitters of nitrous oxide . Humans are disturbing and damaging wetlands in many ways, including oil and gas extraction , building infrastructure, overgrazing of livestock , overfishing , alteration of wetlands including dredging and draining, nutrient pollution , and water pollution . Wetlands are more threatened by environmental degradation than any other ecosystem on Earth, according to

237-675: A Dutch periodical, the Nederduitsch Zuid-Afrikaansch Tijdschrift , appeared. A society for the promotion of the community's history and the arts was also established, the Maatschappij ter uitbreiding van Beschaving en Letterkunde . Christoffel Brand , son of a former Dutch colonial official and first Speaker of the Parliament of the Cape of Good Hope , was one of the most outspoken proponents for

316-402: A frequency and duration to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. Wetlands generally included swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar areas.' For each of these definitions and others, regardless of the purpose, hydrology is emphasized (shallow waters, water-logged soils). The soil characteristics and

395-1259: A polar climate, wetland temperatures can be as low as −50 °C (−58 °F). Peatlands in arctic and subarctic regions insulate the permafrost , thus delaying or preventing its thawing during summer, as well as inducing its formation. The amount of precipitation a wetland receives varies widely according to its area. Wetlands in Wales , Scotland , and western Ireland typically receive about 1,500 mm (59 in) per year. In some places in Southeast Asia , where heavy rains occur, they can receive up to 10,000 mm (390 in). In some drier regions, wetlands exist where as little as 180 mm (7.1 in) precipitation occurs each year. Temporal variation: Surface flow may occur in some segments, with subsurface flow in other segments. Wetlands vary widely due to local and regional differences in topography , hydrology , vegetation , and other factors, including human involvement. Other important factors include fertility, natural disturbance, competition, herbivory , burial and salinity. When peat accumulates, bogs and fens arise. The most important factor producing wetlands

474-540: A portion of the overall water cycle, which also includes atmospheric water (precipitation) and groundwater . Many wetlands are directly linked to groundwater and they can be a crucial regulator of both the quantity and quality of water found below the ground. Wetlands that have permeable substrates like limestone or occur in areas with highly variable and fluctuating water tables have especially important roles in groundwater replenishment or water recharge. Substrates that are porous allow water to filter down through

553-465: A quarter of the Cape's European population was not ethnically Dutch. Nevertheless, there was a degree of cultural assimilation due to intermarriage, and the almost universal adoption of the Dutch language. Cleavages were likelier to occur along socioeconomic rather than ethnic lines; broadly speaking, the Cape colonists were delineated into Boers , poor farmers who settled directly on the frontier, and

632-649: A result of joining the Boer war effort. Prior to the Second Boer War, the narrow principles of Boer republicanism and the political alignment many Cape Dutch still held with the British Empire undercut any hopes for pan-Afrikaner unity. However, following the dismantling of the Boer republics, the exodus of many impoverished Boers to the cities, and the subsequent establishment of the Union of South Africa ,

711-422: A strong influence on wetland water chemistry, particularly in coastal wetlands and in arid and semiarid regions with large precipitation deficits. Natural salinity is regulated by interactions between ground and surface water, which may be influenced by human activity. Carbon is the major nutrient cycled within wetlands. Most nutrients, such as sulfur , phosphorus , carbon , and nitrogen are found within

790-622: A sworn determination to stand for "our language, our nation, and our people". This coincided the beginning of a new trend as the Cape Dutch embraced the Afrikaans language for the first time as a symbol of their ethnic and national pride; for example, in 1876, Cape Dutch civic leaders sponsored the publication of the first Afrikaans language newspaper, Die Afrikaanse Patriot . Previously, most Cape Dutch were actually bilingual in both Netherlands Dutch and Afrikaans, although they preferred

869-430: A unique Afrikaner ethnic consciousness. Brand argued that "England has taken from the old colonists of the Cape everything that was dear to them: their country, their laws, their customs, their slaves, their money, yes even their mother tongue...[they] had done everything to prove that they wanted to be British, while their conquerors had continually worked to remind them they were Hollanders". In 1830, De Zuid-Afrikaan

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948-410: A unique kind of wetland where lush plant growth and slow decay of dead plants (under anoxic conditions) results in organic peat accumulating; bogs, fens, and mires are different names for peatlands. Variations of names for wetland systems: Some wetlands have localized names unique to a region such as the prairie potholes of North America's northern plain, pocosins , Carolina bays and baygalls of

1027-515: A wetland is "an ecosystem that arises when inundation by water produces soils dominated by anaerobic and aerobic processes, which, in turn, forces the biota, particularly rooted plants, to adapt to flooding". Sometimes a precise legal definition of a wetland is required. The definition used for regulation by the United States government is: 'The term "wetlands" means those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or ground water at

1106-422: A wetland system includes its plants ( flora ) and animals ( fauna ) and microbes (bacteria, fungi). The most important factor is the wetland's duration of flooding. Other important factors include fertility and salinity of the water or soils. The chemistry of water flowing into wetlands depends on the source of water, the geological material that it flows through and the nutrients discharged from organic matter in

1185-403: A wetland) affects hydro-periods (temporal fluctuations in water levels) by controlling the water balance and water storage within a wetland. Landscape characteristics control wetland hydrology and water chemistry. The O 2 and CO 2 concentrations of water depend upon temperature , atmospheric pressure and mixing with the air (from winds or water flows). Water chemistry within wetlands

1264-558: A whole. To replace these wetland ecosystem services , enormous amounts of money would need to be spent on water purification plants, dams, levees, and other hard infrastructure, and many of the services are impossible to replace. Floodplains and closed-depression wetlands can provide the functions of storage reservoirs and flood protection. The wetland system of floodplains is formed from major rivers downstream from their headwaters . "The floodplains of major rivers act as natural storage reservoirs, enabling excess water to spread out over

1343-594: A wide area, which reduces its depth and speed. Wetlands close to the headwaters of streams and rivers can slow down rainwater runoff and spring snowmelt so that it does not run straight off the land into water courses. This can help prevent sudden, damaging floods downstream." Notable river systems that produce wide floodplains include the Nile River , the Niger river inland delta, the Zambezi River flood plain,

1422-440: Is determined by the pH , salinity , nutrients, conductivity , soil composition, hardness , and the sources of water. Water chemistry varies across landscapes and climatic regions. Wetlands are generally minerotrophic (waters contain dissolved materials from soils) with the exception of ombrotrophic bogs that are fed only by water from precipitation. Because bogs receive most of their water from precipitation and humidity from

1501-633: Is either freshwater , brackish or saltwater . The main types of wetland are defined based on the dominant plants and the source of the water. For example, marshes are wetlands dominated by emergent herbaceous vegetation such as reeds , cattails and sedges . Swamps are dominated by woody vegetation such as trees and shrubs (although reed swamps in Europe are dominated by reeds, not trees). Mangrove forest are wetlands with mangroves , halophytic woody plants that have evolved to tolerate salty water . Examples of wetlands classified by

1580-412: Is hydrology, or flooding . The duration of flooding or prolonged soil saturation by groundwater determines whether the resulting wetland has aquatic, marsh or swamp vegetation . Other important factors include soil fertility, natural disturbance, competition, herbivory , burial, and salinity. When peat from dead plants accumulates, bogs and fens develop. Wetland hydrology is associated with

1659-848: Is one of the highest free-standing peaks outside of the Drakensberg Massif and Lesotho Highlands in Southern Africa. The four peaks are all generally capped with angular boulders believed to have been formed by mechanical weathering from frost action. The range forms a mountain arc that stretches about 200 km in length. From west to east, it is made up of the Onder-Sneeuberg, Kamdebooberge, Meelberg, Koudeveldberge, Toorberg, Winterhoekberge, Compassberg , Lootsberg, Renosterberg, AgterRenosterberg, Wapadsberg, Nardousberg, Tandjiesberg, Coetzeesberg, Bankberg, Aasvoëlkrans, Groot Bruintjieshoogde and Boschberg. The mountain range

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1738-747: Is separated from the Nuweveldberge (the western Great Escarpment) by Nelspoort Interval formed by the Gouritz–Kariega drainage basin, and by the Great Fish River valley from the Great Winterberg–Amatola mountains (the eastern Great Escarpment). The area is a meeting place for several biomes because of the major climatic, topographic and geological changes. These are namely the grassland , Nama Karoo , forest , Albany thickets , azonal and fynbos biome. In 2008, Sneeuberge

1817-451: Is the only place in the world where both crocodiles and alligators coexist. The saltwater crocodile inhabits estuaries and mangroves. Snapping turtles also inhabit wetlands. Birds , particularly waterfowl and waders use wetlands extensively. Mammals of wetlands include numerous small and medium-sized species such as voles , bats , muskrats and platypus in addition to large herbivorous and apex predator species such as

1896-545: Is usually saturated with water". More precisely, wetlands are areas where "water covers the soil , or is present either at or near the surface of the soil all year or for varying periods of time during the year, including during the growing season". A patch of land that develops pools of water after a rain storm would not necessarily be considered a "wetland", even though the land is wet. Wetlands have unique characteristics: they are generally distinguished from other water bodies or landforms based on their water level and on

1975-701: The Karoo System and fall within the Karoo semi-arid climatic region. As their name suggests, the mountains have frigid winters, with occasional snowfalls during strong cold fronts . Summers are hot with some late afternoon thunderstorms . The highest peak, called Kompasberg (2502m) ( Afrikaans for Compass Mountain), is north of the small village of Nieu-Bethesda and dominates all surrounding areas with its prominent steep-sided height. The Sneeuberg's underlying rock consists mostly of dolerite sill , dyke , basin , laccolith and rock sheets that have intruded into

2054-505: The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment from 2005. Methods exist for assessing wetland ecological health . These methods have contributed to wetland conservation by raising public awareness of the functions that wetlands can provide. Since 1971, work under an international treaty seeks to identify and protect " wetlands of international importance ." A simplified definition of wetland is "an area of land that

2133-688: The Pantanal in South America, and the Sundarbans in the Ganges - Brahmaputra delta. Wetlands contribute many ecosystem services that benefit people. These include for example water purification , stabilization of shorelines, storm protection and flood control . In addition, wetlands also process and condense carbon (in processes called carbon fixation and sequestration ), and other nutrients and water pollutants . Wetlands can act as

2212-874: The Transvaal Republic , because he feared they would compete with the Boers for jobs. Since the Cape Colony's census never differentiated between individual segments of the Dutch- or Afrikaans-speaking white population, the historic size of the Cape Dutch community is almost impossible to accurately calculate. It was estimated at 250,000 people in 1899. Wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water , either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen -poor ( anoxic ) processes taking place, especially in

2291-444: The atmosphere , their water usually has low mineral ionic composition. In contrast, wetlands fed by groundwater or tides have a higher concentration of dissolved nutrients and minerals. Fen peatlands receive water both from precipitation and ground water in varying amounts so their water chemistry ranges from acidic with low levels of dissolved minerals to alkaline with high accumulation of calcium and magnesium . Salinity has

2370-576: The beavers , coypu , swamp rabbit , Florida panther , jaguar , and moose . Wetlands attract many mammals due to abundant seeds, berries, and other vegetation as food for herbivores, as well as abundant populations of invertebrates, small reptiles and amphibians as prey for predators. Invertebrates of wetlands include aquatic insects such as dragonflies , aquatic bugs and beetles , midges, mosquitos , crustaceans such as crabs, crayfish, shrimps, microcrustaceans, mollusks like clams, mussels, snails and worms. Invertebrates comprise more than half of

2449-607: The soils . Wetlands form a transitional zone between waterbodies and dry lands , and are different from other terrestrial or aquatic ecosystems due to their vegetation 's roots having adapted to oxygen-poor waterlogged soils . They are considered among the most biologically diverse of all ecosystems, serving as habitats to a wide range of aquatic and semi-aquatic plants and animals , with often improved water quality due to plant removal of excess nutrients such as nitrates and phosphorus . Wetlands exist on every continent , except Antarctica . The water in wetlands

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2528-641: The 1830s a small group of professionals in Cape Town made the first concerted attempt to simulate a sense of cultural identity among white Dutch speakers in the Western Cape, based on a shared language and history. This led to the formation of the first true Cape Dutch social institutions, namely the first Dutch university in the colony, the Zuid-Afrikaansche Athenaeum , and periodicals and societies aimed at Dutch speakers. In 1824,

2607-525: The African continent. In exchange they received plots of thirteen and a half morgen apiece, a twelve-year exemption from property taxes, and loans of seeds and agricultural implements. Reflecting the multi-national character of the company's workforce and overseas settlements, smaller numbers of German and French Huguenot immigrants were also allowed to settle in South Africa, and by 1691 over

2686-586: The Afrikaner community and helped Afrikaans-speaking entrepreneurs secure loans. With the renewed Cape Dutch interest in political affairs, their representation in parliament reached parity with English speakers and the Afrikaner Bond's influence grew. Most of the parliamentarians were merchants or financial middlemen, who won their seats not only on the votes of the Cape Dutch, but also Boers in their outlying constituencies who felt indebted to them. Over

2765-556: The British way of life, including the adoption of the English language and British customs, aroused resentment. As the Cape Dutch began to embrace their position as a distinct society, concerns mounted that they were becoming estranged from their language and heritage. Opposition mounted toward the perceived campaign to make English the sole official language and give the colony an essentially British identity. The imposition of English in

2844-473: The Cape Dutch and Boers increasingly formed a unified political bloc and socioeconomic differences between the two groups gradually diminished. The single most decisive factor in encouraging Cape Dutch and Boer unity in the postwar period appears to have been the preservation and promotion of the Afrikaans language. The creation of a distinct Cape Dutch society was closely linked to the evolution of Cape Dutch group identities and Afrikaner nationalism . During

2923-489: The Cape Dutch began to articulate widespread ethnic sentiments for the first time, and explore political strategies based on ethnic mobilisation. This may be regarded as the beginning of militant Afrikaner nationalism in the Cape, as the previously apolitical community began to form movements to defend its traditional values and dogma from anglicisation. Among these was the Genootskap van Regte Afrikaners , established with

3002-469: The Cape commerce, judiciary, and its political affairs made English a prerequisite for most professional careers. However, the Cape Dutch made no significant moves to resist until the British abolished the use of Dutch in public education, around 1865. This provoked a storm of outrage by Cape Dutch journalists, teachers, and clergy and alienated the Dutch-speaking intelligentsia. Shortly afterwards

3081-726: The Great Trek as well. Many Cape Dutch regarded the subsequent founding of the Boer republics with suspicion, as they perceived the cause of Boer republican nationalism to be retrogressive. Nevertheless, the Cape Dutch went on to develop their own nationalist movement in the late nineteenth century, which initially promoted cooperation and political alliances with the British. This policy began to dissolve after 1895, when local political leaders sought to distance themselves from Britain's imperial agenda and what they perceived as unwanted interference by English capitalists such as Cecil Rhodes in

3160-639: The Okavango River inland delta, the Kafue River flood plain, the Lake Bangweulu flood plain (Africa), Mississippi River (US), Amazon River (South America), Yangtze River (China), Danube River (Central Europe) and Murray-Darling River (Australia). Groundwater replenishment can be achieved for example by marsh , swamp , and subterranean karst and cave hydrological systems. The surface water visibly seen in wetlands only represents

3239-522: The Southeastern US, mallines of Argentina, Mediterranean seasonal ponds of Europe and California, turloughs of Ireland, billabongs of Australia, among many others. Wetlands are found throughout the world in different climates. Temperatures vary greatly depending on the location of the wetland. Many of the world's wetlands are in the temperate zones , midway between the North or South Poles and

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3318-502: The US, the best known classifications are the Cowardin classification system and the hydrogeomorphic (HGM) classification system. The Cowardin system includes five main types of wetlands: marine (ocean-associated), estuarine (mixed ocean- and river-associated), riverine (within river channels), lacustrine (lake-associated) and palustrine (inland nontidal habitats). Peatlands are

3397-610: The United States' commercial fish and shellfish stocks depend solely on estuaries to survive. Amphibians such as frogs and salamanders need both terrestrial and aquatic habitats in which to reproduce and feed. Because amphibians often inhabit depressional wetlands like prairie potholes and Carolina bays, the connectivity among these isolated wetlands is an important control of regional populations. While tadpoles feed on algae, adult frogs forage on insects. Frogs are sometimes used as an indicator of ecosystem health because their thin skin permits absorption of nutrients and toxins from

3476-411: The colonial legislature in the Cape Colony at the time, the perceived proliferation of pro-Boer sentiments led to unsuccessful attempts by Governor Lord Milner to disenfranchise them. Milner believed that most Cape Dutch secretly supported the Boer cause, and sought to ensure the local English-speaking population achieved political dominance through excessive gerrymandering . Many of the troops among

3555-572: The enlisted and officer ranks in the British Army shared Milner's suspicions, with one soldier writing a letter explicitly detailing the British soldiers' animosity towards Afrikaners at large: "The Cape Dutch and Boers are a dirty treacherous lot and as soon as the Transvaal is subdued and the beggars trek farther out of our way the better. We do hate them down here like poison." Relatively few returning Cape Dutch fighters were disenfranchised as

3634-634: The equator. In these zones, summers are warm and winters are cold, but temperatures are not extreme. In subtropical zone wetlands, such as along the Gulf of Mexico , average temperatures might be 11 °C (52 °F). Wetlands in the tropics are subjected to much higher temperatures for a large portion of the year. Temperatures for wetlands on the Arabian Peninsula can exceed 50 °C (122 °F) and these habitats would therefore be subject to rapid evaporation. In northeastern Siberia , which has

3713-584: The establishment of the Dutch East India Company 's initial settlement at the Cape of Good Hope in 1652, it became home to a large population of vrijlieden , also known as Free Burghers vrijburgers (free citizens). The earliest free burghers were Company employees who applied for grants of land and permission to retire in South Africa as independent farmers. Most were married Dutch citizens who committed to spend at least twenty years on

3792-610: The eventual unification of South Africa under a unitary state as its core principles. The Bond did succeed in unifying Cape Dutch and Boer political agendas when it became amalgamated with Het Volk and the Oranje Unie , the leading parties in the Transvaal and former Orange Free State, respectively, to form the South African Party in 1910. This became the first ruling party of the Union of South Africa and retained power until 1924. The Cape Dutch population

3871-504: The following areas: According to the Ramsar Convention: The economic worth of the ecosystem services provided to society by intact, naturally functioning wetlands is frequently much greater than the perceived benefits of converting them to 'more valuable' intensive land use – particularly as the profits from unsustainable use often go to relatively few individuals or corporations, rather than being shared by society as

3950-422: The former. Afrikaans was seen as a language of servants, illiterate Boers, and nonwhites. The wholehearted embrace and promotion of Afrikaans during the late nineteenth century marked a reversal in this respect, although it did meet some resistance. The Dutch Reformed Church continued to uphold Netherlands Dutch as the language of worship, and Cape intellectuals also ridiculed what they saw as an attempt to elevate

4029-468: The interface between truly terrestrial ecosystems and aquatic systems, making them inherently different from each other, yet highly dependent on both." In environmental decision-making, there are subsets of definitions that are agreed upon to make regulatory and policy decisions. Under the Ramsar international wetland conservation treaty , wetlands are defined as follows: An ecological definition of

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4108-462: The known animal species in wetlands, and are considered the primary food web link between plants and higher animals (such as fish and birds). Depending on a wetland's geographic and topographic location, the functions it performs can support multiple ecosystem services , values, or benefits. United Nations Millennium Ecosystem Assessment and Ramsar Convention described wetlands as a whole to be of biosphere significance and societal importance in

4187-612: The late 1800s smaller numbers found employment in one of the Boer republics, the Orange Free State , where they were in high demand due to their education and technical skills. At one point all the civil servants and teachers residing in the Orange Free State were Dutch expatriates or Cape Dutch. Not all the Boer leaders were receptive to the idea of employing Cape Dutch, whom they regarded as foreigners; for example, Paul Kruger discouraged Cape Dutch immigration to

4266-400: The latter's decision to impose local tariffs on imported wine and other products. For its part the Cape Dutch elite stressed its loyalty to the British Empire and indeed looked for common cause with British immigrants as part of a wider white South African nationality rather than focusing on a narrow Cape colonial identity. Despite this, heavy-handed attempts to assimilate the Cape Dutch into

4345-493: The legal and constitutional traditions of the colony. Popular affectation for British imperial traditions, culture, and patriotism among the Cape Dutch was rapidly replaced by a more exclusive commitment to a greater Afrikaner nationalism . For his part Rhodes regarded the growth of pan-Afrikaner nationalism as an imminent threat, since a political union between the Boers and Cape Dutch would threaten British primacy in South Africa. He helped perpetuate preexisting rivalries between

4424-495: The more affluent, predominantly urbanised Cape Dutch . Differences between the Boers and the Cape Dutch increased as a result of the end of Dutch rule and the Great Trek . The Netherlands formally ceded its South African colony to Great Britain around 1815. While most of the Cape Dutch community accepted British rule and embraced the status of British subjects, the Boers remained fiercely independent and felt alienated by

4503-401: The new colonial administration. This culminated in the Great Trek, a mass migration of between 12,000 and 15,000 Boers deep into South Africa's interior to escape British rule. Four-fifths of the Cape Colony's Dutch-speaking white population at the time did not participate in the trek. The Dutch Reformed Church , to which most of the Cape Dutch and Boers belonged, explicitly refused to endorse

4582-558: The next decade, the Afrikaner Bond successfully lobbied for equal recognition of the Dutch language in courts and schools. The Bond's rhetoric of economic empowerment attracted widespread support from the small but wealthy Cape Dutch landowning gentry, which felt threatened by the growing influence Anglophone farmers were acquiring over aspects of state policy pertaining to agriculture and land use. However, as time went on it focused less on immediate practical concerns such as opposing Anglophone agendas and adopted pan-Afrikaner nationalism and

4661-650: The older Beaufort Group sandstone and mudstone of the Karoo Supergroup . Metamorphic rock made up of hornfels and quartzite are found along the contact zones between the sedimentary strata and the dolerite intrusions. Sneeuberg's four major peaks all stand as pyramids above the 2100 m plateau. The highest peaks are found in the Great Escarpment west of the Eastern Cape Drakensberg . The 2504 m high Compassberg

4740-408: The onset of British rule in the Cape Colony, the preexisting population of European origin settled during the Dutch era was universally classified by the new colonial government as "Hollanders" or "Dutch". In 1805, a relative majority still represented old Dutch families brought to the Cape during the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries; however, close to one-fourth of this demographic group

4819-837: The plants and animals controlled by the wetland hydrology are often additional components of the definitions. Wetlands can be tidal (inundated by tides) or non-tidal. The water in wetlands is either freshwater , brackish , saline , or alkaline . There are four main kinds of wetlands – marsh , swamp , bog , and fen (bogs and fens being types of peatlands or mires ). Some experts also recognize wet meadows and aquatic ecosystems as additional wetland types. Sub-types include mangrove forests , carrs , pocosins , floodplains , peatlands, vernal pools , sinks , and many others. The following three groups are used within Australia to classify wetland by type: Marine and coastal zone wetlands, inland wetlands and human-made wetlands. In

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4898-429: The soil and underlying rock into aquifers which are the source of much of the world's drinking water . Wetlands can also act as recharge areas when the surrounding water table is low and as a discharge zone when it is high. Mangroves , coral reefs , salt marsh can help with shoreline stabilization and storm protection. Tidal and inter-tidal wetland systems protect and stabilize coastal zones. Coral reefs provide

4977-537: The soil of wetlands. Anaerobic and aerobic respiration in the soil influences the nutrient cycling of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen, and the solubility of phosphorus thus contributing to the chemical variations in its water. Wetlands with low pH and saline conductivity may reflect the presence of acid sulfates and wetlands with average salinity levels can be heavily influenced by calcium or magnesium. Biogeochemical processes in wetlands are determined by soils with low redox potential. The life forms of

5056-412: The soils and plants at higher elevations. Plants and animals may vary within a wetland seasonally or in response to flood regimes. There are four main groups of hydrophytes that are found in wetland systems throughout the world. Submerged wetland vegetation can grow in saline and fresh-water conditions. Some species have underwater flowers, while others have long stems to allow the flowers to reach

5135-530: The sources of water include tidal wetlands , where the water source is ocean tides ); estuaries , water source is mixed tidal and river waters; floodplains , water source is excess water from overflowed rivers or lakes; and bogs and vernal ponds , water source is rainfall or meltwater . The world's largest wetlands include the Amazon River basin , the West Siberian Plain ,

5214-406: The spatial and temporal dispersion, flow, and physio-chemical attributes of surface and ground waters. Sources of hydrological flows into wetlands are predominantly precipitation , surface water (saltwater or freshwater), and groundwater. Water flows out of wetlands by evapotranspiration , surface flows and tides , and subsurface water outflow. Hydrodynamics (the movement of water through and from

5293-471: The status of a "crude patois ". In 1880 Stephanus Jacobus du Toit founded the Afrikaner Bond political party to coordinate activities between the Genootskap van Regte Afrikaners and other civic associations. One of the goals of the Afrikaner Bond was to challenge the preponderance of English-speaking settlers in commerce by establishing their own banks, which then set up education funds for

5372-719: The surface of the water. When trees and shrubs comprise much of the plant cover in saturated soils, those areas in most cases are called swamps . The upland boundary of swamps is determined partly by water levels. This can be affected by dams Some swamps can be dominated by a single species, such as silver maple swamps around the Great Lakes . Others, like those of the Amazon basin , have large numbers of different tree species. Other examples include cypress ( Taxodium ) and mangrove swamps. Many species of fish are highly dependent on wetland ecosystems. Seventy-five percent of

5451-496: The surface. Submerged species provide a food source for native fauna, habitat for invertebrates, and also possess filtration capabilities. Examples include seagrasses and eelgrass . Floating water plants or floating vegetation are usually small, like those in the Lemnoideae subfamily (duckweeds). Emergent vegetation like the cattails ( Typha spp.), sedges ( Carex spp.) and arrow arum ( Peltandra virginica ) rise above

5530-464: The surrounding environment resulting in increased extinction rates in unfavorable and polluted environmental conditions. Reptiles such as snakes , lizards , turtles , alligators and crocodiles are common in wetlands of some regions. In freshwater wetlands of the Southeastern US, alligators are common and a freshwater species of crocodile occurs in South Florida. The Florida Everglades

5609-501: The term was not actually used by Dutch-speaking whites in the Western Cape to describe themselves, and the idea of a unique Cape Dutch identity did not find widespread expression until the 1870s. The term's explicit connotation to the Netherlands, and the indiscriminate manner in which it was applied by English speakers, also sparked a revival of interest among colonists of German or French origin in their ancestral roots. Following

5688-485: The two groups to circumvent this possibility. The outbreak of hostilities between the British government and the Boer republics during the Second Boer War deeply split Cape Dutch society. Boer victories intensified patriotic pan-Afrikaner sentiments among the Cape Dutch. While many fought on the side of the British, an unknown number also defected to the Boer republics. As the Cape Dutch controlled over half

5767-440: The types of plants that live within them. Specifically, wetlands are characterized as having a water table that stands at or near the land surface for a long enough period each year to support aquatic plants . A more concise definition is a community composed of hydric soil and hydrophytes . Wetlands have also been described as ecotones , providing a transition between dry land and water bodies. Wetlands exist "...at

5846-557: Was home to 1195 flora species. 107 (9%) were alien species, 33 (2.8%) were endemic and 13 (1.1%) were near-endemic. Five species previously reported as Drakensberg Alpine Centre pervasive plants are now known to occur in the Sneeuberg. Situated close to the Cape Floristic Region , a centre of endemism , Sneeuberge is a subcentre for endemism , featuring several pervasive plant species. The mountain's primary land-use

5925-501: Was of German origin and one-sixth, of French Huguenot descent . Nevertheless, to the British authorities they represented a rather homogeneous bloc which could be easily distinguished by their common use of the Dutch language and shared adherence to the Dutch Reformed Church . Among the colonists themselves there had developed a notion of a Boer people; although the term could denote any Dutch-speaking white settler it

6004-461: Was predominantly urban and concentrated around Cape Town and various settlements in the Western Cape's interior. Cape Dutch settlement and migration patterns in the nineteenth century tended to reflect those of British colonists. Unlike the Boers, Cape Dutch emigrants were most likely to settle in other British territories in southern Africa, namely Southern Rhodesia and the Colony of Natal . During

6083-582: Was previously largely livestock grazing because of its richness in grass species . The grasslands situated in higher altitudes is used for cattle and the shrublands in lower altitudes are used for sheep and goats . Concentrated grazing and watering of livestock on local farms has resulted in the deterioration of the area's vegetation. What was once extensive wetland in lower altitudes has been eroded out and no longer functions as farming . 31°45′S 24°36′E  /  31.75°S 24.6°E  / -31.75; 24.6 Cape Dutch At

6162-454: Was started as a Dutch-language newspaper to counter the dominant influence of English journalism in the Western Cape. In sharp contrast with the independently minded Boers, the Cape Dutch had no initial objection to the imposition of British rule for several decades, or even with the political domination of British colonists at the Cape. They hoped that the British government could grant preferential tariffs on Cape exports and were grateful for

6241-566: Was usually only the impoverished pastoral farmers on the colony's frontier who applied this concept to themselves and formed a unique subgroup accordingly. In response, British immigrants and officials adopted the informal moniker "Cape Dutch" to distinguish between the better educated, wealthier Dutch speakers concentrated in the Western Cape and the self-styled "Boers", whom they considered ignorant, illiterate, and uncouth. "Cape Dutch" may thus be regarded correctly as an English description rather than any sense of self-concept. When first introduced,

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