Highveld grasslands

• Category: Grassland, Tundra, and Human Biomes.
• Geographic Location: Africa.
• Summary: This diverse, high-altitude grassland is becoming increasingly degraded by urbanization, agriculture, and mining activities.

Grasslands once covered the majority of the African continent, but in the twenty-first century, a comparatively small remnant of this formerly expansive biome remains. As the African continent shifted over geologic time, grasslands were gradually converted to savannas that feature trees and a more tropical climate. In southern Africa, however, the grassland biome remains widespread. The Highveld (from Afrikaans, meaning high field) grassland is a remarkable ecosystem within the grassland biome. Highveld grassland is defined by high elevation; dry, cold winters; occasional snow; and the summer rainy season, when thunderstorms bring almost daily showers to the area. These features create a unique habitat for many rare species.

The Highveld grassland performs vital ecosystem functions for the human population, including storing and purifying water, a scarce resource. Despite these benefits, the Highveld Grasslands biome is being fragmented and degraded by urban expansion, agriculture, industry, and fuel demands.

The Highveld grassland is set on a landlocked plateau in the heart of South Africa, about 3,940–5,910 feet (1,200–1,800 meters) in elevation. It is bordered by the arid Kalahari and Great Karoo Deserts to the west and southwest; the woody, low-altitude bushveld to the north; and the Drakensberg Mountains to the east and southeast. Compared with the surrounding ecosystems, the Highveld grasslands receive greater annual rainfall, averaging 20–35 inches (500–900 millimeters). Some of this rain seeps into the ground and is gradually released during the dry winter.

Fire plays a natural role in maintaining the Highveld grasslands, as species that are not fire-adapted, such as many trees and shrubs, have difficulty establishing here. Frost similarly restricts the distribution of many trees and shrubs.

Biota

Grasses dominate this ecosystem, although other small herbaceous plants are common, and shrubs may be found in sheltered areas. The predominant grass species is redgrass (Themeda triandra). Other grasses include broom needlegrass (Triraphis andropogonoides), sawtooth lovegrass (Eragrostis superba), and many others. Hallmark shrubs include bitterkaroo (Pentzia globosa), as well as various woody shrubs and dwarf shrubs.

Predictable patchiness of rainfall, fire regime, and frost patterns overlay a variety of soil types on the Highveld grassland. Dividing the resulting mosaic of sub-habitats into two broad categories—sweet and sour grasslands—is helpful when considering their functions and human-use histories. Due to lower rainfall and fewer frost events, sweet grasslands are palatable to grazing animals throughout the year, as they are nutritious and low in fiber.

Sour grasslands, on the other hand, are adapted to environmental conditions that favor underground nutrient storage, making the leaves of these grasses less nutritious outside the growing season. Both sweet and sour grasslands are threatened by overgrazing and trampling by livestock, and controlled burning is used  to encourage younger, more nutritious plant growth.

The Highveld is home to a diverse fauna community, some of which are endangered. These include straw-colored fruit bats, the African rock python (Python natalensis), and the blue crane (Grus paradisea), South Africa’s national bird. Reptiles such as pythons, monitors, and Nile crocodiles are found within the biome. An endemic (exists nowhere else on Earth) reptile found in the Highveld is the giant girdled lizard (Smaug giganteus). Major mammals found in the area include the leopard, rough-haired golden mole, African civet, mountain zebra, and honey badger.

Effects of Human Activity

Agriculture on the Highveld grasslands began sometime between the fifteenth and the seventeenth centuries, and remains a dominant activity. Maize is the most important commercial crop, but wheat, sorghum, and sunflowers are also cultivated to a lesser extent. As a result of its intensive use, the Highveld grasslands biome suffers broadly from erosion and soil degradation.

To salvage exhausted soil, farmed land is often converted to pasture. However, this land-use strategy is less effective in these grasslands than in some other parts of the world, as the native soil here is rarely resilient enough for this transition. After intensive agriculture, the Highveld soil structure is physically altered; microbial communities are changed, which makes restoration efforts in this ecosystem more difficult.

Urbanization and an increasing need for energy are threatening the remaining Highveld grasslands. The Gauteng province (a part of the former Transvaal), the most densely populated region of South Africa, is situated within the Highveld grasslands. A large part of the South African population receives electricity from the Highveld’s many power-generation plants, and demand continues to increase. The Highveld plateau possesses gold and shallow coal deposits, both of which are extensively mined. The coal mining industry practices ecosystem rehabilitation, although success is limited because revegetation is especially slow as organic matter is easily depleted here.

Invasive species have become an increasing problem. Attempts to cultivate exotic trees for forestry and commercial use have introduced many exotic trees. Planted black wattle (Acacia mearnsii) has become incredibly problematic as it is prone to rapid expansion. The plant can drain water from the waterways in an area that is already facing decreased water. The plant can alter soil nutrient dynamics, which can interfere with biodiversity by affecting native plant communities.

A 2025 ecological study confirmed honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos), an invasive tree species, is rapidly spreading in South African grasslands, altering soil chemistry in ways that harm indigenous biodiversity and grassland function.

Human activity has also reduced the effectiveness of the Highveld grasslands as a source of water and natural water purification. Though the Highveld receives and stores a significant amount of rain, plantations of exotic trees draw large amounts of water from the ground. Because these trees are ultimately harvested and exported, the water they use supports commercial products rather than local ecosystem services. Peat harvesting also negatively affects ecosystem function by impairing the biome’s capacity to purify water. Peat forms slowly over time and acts as a sponge to remove pollutants from runoff—but peatlands in South Africa are vulnerable to disturbance and degradation.

Ongoing climate change has the potential to remove even more water from the Highveld grasslands, as average annual rainfall will decrease, according to some predictive models. Grasslands would retreat across some parts of the plateau in such a scenario, as arid conditions would overtake groundwater recharge rates. Such a development would combine with the human impacts of continued mining and more intensive agricultural activity to raise the stress level of the habitat and species here. The increasing human population could lead to widespread negative tipping points when combined with the effects of global warming here.

Conservation Efforts

Currently, around 2 percent of all South Africa’s grasslands are officially conserved. The Highveld grasslands are home to several threatened and endemic species. The sungazer lizard (Smaug giganteus) and the robust golden mole (Amblysomus robustus), for example, are both jeopardized by habitat degradation. The Highveld grasslands biome has also been identified as an ecosystem at a risk of biological invasion.

Plateau-wide conservation organizations like the South African Grasslands Programme, and community-driven proposals like Highveld National Park, are steps toward conserving this unique ecosystem and its long-term benefits to human residents. New models put forth by such groups identify several key areas within the Highveld grasslands that, if protected, would be highly effective in preserving the ecosystem’s functions and ecological diversity.

Bibliography

Carbutt, Clinton. “Ecological Grassland Restoration—A South African Perspective.” Land, vol. 11, no. 4, 4 Apr. 2022, p. 575, doi:10.3390/land11040575. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.

Dovers, Stephen, et al., editors. South Africa’s Environmental History: Cases and Comparisons. Ohio University Press, 2003.

Egoh, Benis N., et al. “Identifying Priority Areas for Ecosystem Service Management in South African Grasslands.” Journal of Environmental Management, vol. 92, no. 6, 2011.

“Highveld Grasslands.” One Earth, www.oneearth.org/ecoregions/highveld-grasslands/. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.

“Highveld.” South Africa.co.za, southafrica.co.za/highveld.html. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.

Kimble, George H. T., et al. “Veld.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 18 Nov. 2014, www.britannica.com/science/veld. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.

Low, Barrie, and Tony Rebelo, editors. Vegetation of South Africa, Lesotho, and Swaziland. Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, 1996.

Mahlobo, T., et al. “Impacts of Gleditsia triacanthos L. (Fabaceae) on Soil Characteristics: Insights from the Free State Highveld Grasslands of South Africa.” Biological Invasions, vol. 27, 2025, p. 158, doi:10.1007/s10530-025-03616-2. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.

Sadr, Karim. “The Archaeology of Highveld Farming Communities.” Oxford Research Encyclopedia of African History, Oxford UP, 29 May 2020, doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.013.731. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.