User:Maqdisi/List of Champion Trees (South Africa)

Champion Trees in South Africa are individual trees or groves that have been identified as having special significance, and therefore protected under Section 12(1) of the National Forests Act of 1998 by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

The Big Tree, an 800 year old Outeniqua yellowwood at Tsitsikamma National Park.

History

In 2003, the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries initiated the project to identify and grant special status to indigenous and non-indigenous trees in South Africa that meet certain set criteria. From May to July 2003, workshops were held in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape to gain consensus from experts to assist in the identification process of exceptional trees (Champion Trees) that are worthy of special protection throughout South Africa.

The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (then called the DWAF) initiated the Champion Trees Project with the purpose of identifying exceptional trees and regulating for their special protection using the National Forests Act of 1998 (NFA). Section 12 of the National Forests Act states that the Minister of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries can declare certain tree species and individual trees or groups of trees as protected. Under Section 15(1)(a) of the National Forests Act, such protected trees may not be "...cut, disturbed or damaged and their products may not be possessed, sold or transported without a licence...".  In the case of individual trees, the protection is absolute, with no potential for permission for removal except if life or property is threatened (eg. by dying or leaning trees).

One of the outcomes of the DWAF’s Champion Trees Project is to gazette a list of Champion trees as part of the National Forests Act .

Criteria for selection of a Champion Tree

Any person can nominate a tree for selection. Individual trees or groups of trees proposed for Champion status should have the following attributes:

• Must fit the definition of a tree;

• Must be living or dying only;

• Can be indigenous or non-indigenous;

• May be in protected areas or in botanical gardens;  
• May be listed as protected in other pieces of legislation; and  
• Must be evaluated against a system of categories and criteria to merit Champion status.

Additional criteria that define a tree's eligibility are biological attributes, the age of the tree, and heritage or historical significance.

Biological attributes

Champion trees can be designated on a range of singular biological attributes:

• Diameter (d)

• Height (h)

• Crown spread (2r)

The Dendrological Society of South Africa, which maintains the National Register of Big Trees in South Africa, uses a formula of the combination of the three biological attributes to obtain the Size Index (SI):$$SI={\sqrt[{}]{(}}d)\cdot h\cdot {\sqrt[{}]{(}}2r)$$This formula has been implemented to determine a tree's Champion Status.

Tree age

The National Forests Act recommends that trees considered for Champion Tree status on the basis of age should be at least 120 years old.

Heritage Significance

This criterion should take into account the particular value associated with the tree, and graded on a scale of 1-10 (>6 is a potential candidate for Champion Tree status):

• Aesthetic value (image of the tree)

• Landscape value (enhancement of the landscape)

• Historical value (related to a past event or icon)

• Cultural value (of ongoing importance to a cultural group)

• Economic value (able to generate economic benefits such as through ecotourism)

Designated Champion Trees

The first first tree to be protected under the above criteria was the historic oak tree, the Sophiatown Oak (Quercus robur). As of November 2016, 82 trees were designated Champion Trees.

List of Champion Trees

Champion Tree (Register Number)	Tree Species	Common Name	Description	Size Index	Location	Image	Status
1	Adansonia digitata (Baobab)	Sagole Baobab	The largest indigenous tree of South Africa, and habitat for a rare colony of mottled spinetail swallows.	Height: 22m Stem size: 33.72m Crown size: 34.3m & 41.7m Size Index: 440	Sagole, Limpopo
2	Adansonia digitata		Second largest indigenous tree of South Africa. Delisted after tree was damaged.	Height: 16m Stem size: 46.6m circ Crown size: 41.5m & 34.2m	Glencoe Farm Hoedspruit, Limpopo		Delisted
3	Ficus salicifolia	"Wonderboom fig of Pretoria"	Largest Wonderboom fig. It's about 1000 years old and historic. An ox wagon outspan area in earlier years. It also shares a legend that a local chief was buried under the tree.	Height: 22m Stem size: Many sub-trees - 2.56m to 7.14m circ; Crown size: 61.2m & 51.9m Size index: 370	Wonderboom Nature Reserve
4	Breonadia salicina (Matumi)		Largest Matumi tree in South Africa	Height: 40m Stem size: 8.3m circ Crown size: 34.6m Size Index: 363	Amorentia Estate, Mooketsi valley, Limpopo 23°45.892′S 30°02.921′E
5	Adansonia digitata (Baobab)	"Platland Tree/Sunland Baobab"	Very large baobab and well-known tourist attraction	Height: 19m Stem size: 33.6m Crown size: 33.7m & 30.2m Size Index: 340	Sunland Estate, Platland, Duiwelskloof (Modjadjiskloof), Limpopo 23°37.261′S 30°11.888′E
8	Ficus sycomorus (Common cluster fig)		Currently the largest cluster fig in South Africa, after demise of the largest fig in KwaZulu-Natal	Height: 30m Stem size: 1.134m circ Crown size: 38.2m & 38.10m Size Index: 336	Farm Excellence, Hoedspruit, Limpopo 24°10.244′S 20°52.262′E
10	Podocarpus falcatus (Outeniqua yellowwood)	"King Edward VII Tree"	Largest Outeniqua yellowwood accessible to tourists in South Africa		Diepwalle Forest Estate, Garden Route National Park, Western Cape