Open AccessSample stands of vegetation occurring on the Sterkspruit and Estcourt soil forms in the south-eastern Orange Free State were compared by means of an ordination technicque (principal components analysis). The habitats of the various grass communities were compared to determine whether communities corresponding to one other develop under similar habitat conditions.
The floristic composition of the vegetation on soils of the Sterkspruit and Estcourt forms are often similar, although the soil form and other habitat conditions differ markedly. The results of these investigations have shown that this could be due to compensation effects, which are the result of reciprocal interactions mainly between the moisture-determining factors such as soil texture, topography, effective soil depth and degree of erosion.