The Olifantsvlei Nature Reserve is a large section of protected land in
Johannesburg South
Johannesburg South is a group of suburbs in the southern part of Johannesburg, South Africa. It is located in Region F of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality
The City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality is a metropolita ...
. It was designated in 1957 in an area of . A
wetland
A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...
, part of the
Klip River
The Klip River is the main river draining the portion of Johannesburg south of the Witwatersrand, and its basin includes the Johannesburg CBD and Soweto. The mouth of the river is at Vereeniging where it empties into the Vaal River, which is a tri ...
, runs along its southern border. The reserve lies adjacent to
Lenasia
Lenasia, often called Lenz, is a suburb south of Soweto in the Gauteng province, South Africa, originally created to house Indians. It is part of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality. Lenasia is approximately 35 kilometres southw ...
, alongside the
R554. The Golden Highway (
R553) and
N1 roads vertically divide it into three parts. On its northern border, it lies beneath the towns of
Eldorado Park, Nancefield, Devland and Naturena (from west to east). It contains the Olifantsvlei Cemetery,
Johannesburg Water's Olifantsvlei Wastewater Treatment Works and Bushkoppies Wastewater Treatment Works. Nearby is the
Klipriviersberg Nature Reserve
Klipriviersberg Nature Reserve is a nature reserve consisting of veld and koppies (hills) run by the Johannesburg City Parks. It is located south of Johannesburg, in an area of . Home to many species of flora and bird life, it is also home t ...
.
Biodiversity
The
marshland
A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...
, mainly consisting of
Phragmites
''Phragmites'' () is a genus of four species of large perennial reed grasses found in wetlands throughout temperate and tropical regions of the world.
Taxonomy
The World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, maintained by Kew Garden in London ...
reed beds host a number of species:
Birds
*
Common reed warbler
The common reed warbler (''Acrocephalus scirpaceus'') is an Old World warbler in the genus '' Acrocephalus''. It breeds across Europe into the temperate western Palaearctic where it is migratory, wintering in sub-Saharan Africa. It is also a res ...
*
Baillon's crake
Baillon's crake (''Zapornia pusilla''), also known as the marsh crake, is a small waterbird of the family Rallidae.
Distribution
Their breeding habitat is Cyperaceae, sedge beds in Europe, mainly in the east, and across the Palearctic. They used ...
*
Black crake
The black crake (''Zapornia flavirostra'') is a waterbird in the rail and crake family, Rallidae. It breeds in most of sub-Saharan Africa except in very arid areas. It undertakes some seasonal movements in those parts of its range which are subj ...
*
Common moorhen
The common moorhen (''Gallinula chloropus''), also known as the waterhen or swamp chicken, is a bird species in the rail family (Rallidae). It is distributed across many parts of the Old World.
The common moorhen lives around well-vegetated mars ...
*
Flufftail
Flufftails (genus ''Sarothrura'') are small birds related to rails and finfoots. There are nine species, seven of which are distributed across sub-Saharan Africa, with the remaining two in Madagascar. The genus was long placed with the rail fami ...
*
Great reed warbler
The great reed warbler (''Acrocephalus arundinaceus'') is a Eurasian passerine in the genus '' Acrocephalus''.
The genus name ''Acrocephalus'' is from Ancient Greek ''akros'', "highest", and ''kephale'', "head". It is possible that Naumann and ...
*
Lesser swamp warbler
The lesser swamp warbler or Cape reed warbler (''Acrocephalus gracilirostris'') is an Old World warbler in the genus '' Acrocephalus''. It is a resident breeder in Africa from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Chad and Ethiopia south to S ...
*
Little bittern
The little bittern or common little bittern (''Ixobrychus minutus'') is a wading bird in the heron family, Ardeidae. ''Ixobrychus'' is from Ancient Greek ''ixias'', a reed-like plant and ''brukhomai'', to bellow, and ''minutus'' is Latin for "sm ...
*
Little grebe
The little grebe (''Tachybaptus ruficollis''), also known as dabchick, is a member of the grebe family of water birds. The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''takhus'' "fast" and ''bapto'' "to sink under". The specific ''ruficollis'' is from Latin ...
*
Little rush warbler
The little rush warbler or African bush warbler (''Bradypterus baboecala'') is a species of Old World warbler in the family Locustellidae.
Range and habitat
It is found in Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Republic of the Congo, DRC, E ...
*
Rallidae
The rails, or Rallidae, are a large cosmopolitan family of small- to medium-sized, ground-living birds. The family exhibits considerable diversity and includes the crakes, coots, and gallinules. Many species are associated with wetlands, althoug ...
*
Sedge warbler
The sedge warbler (''Acrocephalus schoenobaenus'') is an Old World warbler in the genus '' Acrocephalus''. It is a medium-sized warbler with a brown, streaked back and wings and a distinct pale supercilium. Sedge warblers are migratory, crossing ...
*
Spotted crake
The spotted crake (''Porzana porzana'') is a small waterbird of the family Rallidae. The scientific name is derived from Venetian terms for small rails.
The spotted crake's breeding habitat is marshes and sedge beds across temperate Europe into ...
*
Western swamphen
The western swamphen (known as Purple Swamphen) (''Porphyrio porphyrio'') is a swamphen in the rail family Rallidae, one of the six species of purple swamphen. From the French name ''talève sultane'', it is also known as the sultana bird. This ...
Mammals
*
Water mongoose
The marsh mongoose (''Atilax paludinosus''), also known as the water mongoose or the vansire, is a medium-sized mongoose native to sub-Saharan Africa that inhabits foremost freshwater wetlands. It has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red ...
See also
*
List of protected areas of South Africa
The protected areas of South Africa include national parks and marine protected areas managed by the national government, public nature reserves managed by provincial and local governments, and private nature reserves managed by private land ...
References
{{Greater Johannesburg, natural
Nature reserves in South Africa
Protected areas of South Africa