Africa's First Alpine and Transboundary Long-Term Socioecological Research Platform

Abstract

The austrotemperate alpine system of southern Africa's Maloti–Drakensberg is the only alpine system south of Mount Kilimanjaro, making it unique on the continent. With a difference in elevation of only 300–600 m and characterized by an undulating Gondwanan mature erosional land surface plateau around 2865–3500 masl, it is threatened by unsustainable land uses and climate change. To better understand these challenges, the Afromontane Research Unit of the University of the Free State, South Africa, is setting up the 1200 km2 Mont-Aux-Sources Long-Term Socio-Ecological Research (LTSER) platform. It is the first alpine-focused, long-term monitoring protocol implemented in the Maloti–Drakensberg. Straddling the border between South Africa and Lesotho, it is also the only alpine and transboundary LTSER area in Africa.