VELD


Meaning of VELD in English

(Afrikaans: field), open country in southern Africa that is used for pasturage and farmland. The major regions of the veld may be distinguished on the basis of elevation: the Highveld is mostly composed of land between 4,000 and 6,000 feet (1,200 and 1,800 m); the Middle Veld regions lie between 2,000 and 4,000 feet (600 and 1,200 m); the Lowveld lies between 500 and 2,000 feet (150 and 600 m). The ecological zones comprising the veld may also be distinguished on the basis of their characteristic vegetation, such as bush veld, thorn veld, or grass veld; however, the boundaries between these different varieties are vague. The Highveld comprises most of the high plateau country of South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, and Zimbabwe. Throughout the Highveld, soils tend to be thin, poor, and powdery and thus easily carried away by both wind and water erosion. The Middle Veld encompasses a vast and rather arid region in Northern Cape province of South Africa and neighbouring southern Namibia as well as parts of Northern province (South Africa) and adjacent southwestern Zimbabwe. Most of it has a stony or rock surface. There are two areas of Lowveld, one in Mpumalanga province (South Africa) and Swaziland and the other in southeastern Zimbabwe. The soils of the Lowveld are more fertile than those of the other veld regions because they are well supplied with basic minerals and are more retentive of moisture. A vegetation dominated by species of red grass is characteristic of the South African Highveld; the Middle Veld favours both red grasses and more drought-resistant species; and the Lowveld supports a parklike plant cover with acacia and maroola trees and many varieties of grasses dominant. Mass slaughter and poaching have thinned out every major species of mammal and reptile and several species of birds in the veld. These survive only in or near protected areas such as Kruger National Park in South Africa. The veld forms one of the areas most suitable for settlement on the African continent. The Highveld in particular has long attracted settlers because of its generally open land, easy gradients, abundant food supply, rich mineral resources, and available water. ((Afrikaans: field), ) Physical features of southern Africa. name given to various types of open country in southern Africa that is used for pasturage and farmland. To most South African farmers today the veld refers to the land they work, much of which has long since ceased to be natural. Various types of veld may be discerned, depending upon local characteristics such as elevation, cultivation, and climate. Thus, there is a high veld, a middle veld, a low veld, a bush veld, a thorn veld, and a grass veld. The boundary between these different varieties of veld is frequently vague, and all of them are usually referred to by the general term veld by the local inhabitants. For convenience, its major regionsHighveld, Middleveld, and Lowveldare distinguished on the basis of elevation. Additional reading The geology of the veld is discussed by Lester C. King, South African Scenery, 3rd ed. rev. (1963), and The Natal Monocline: Explaining the Origin and Scenery of Natal, South Africa, 2nd rev. ed. (1982). The veld environment is explored in J.P.H. Acocks, Veld Types of South Africa, 3rd ed. (1988); R.F. Fuggle and M.A. Rabie (eds.), Environmental Concerns in South Africa (1983); N.K. Hobson and J.P. Jessop, Veld Plants of Southern Africa (1975); J. Stevenson-Hamilton, The Low-veld: Its Wild Life and Its People, 2nd ed. (1934); and N.M. Tainton, D.I. Bransby, and P. de V. Booysen, Common Veld and Pasture Grasses of Natal (1976). Veld & Flora (quarterly) is a useful journal. Johann Cooks C.E. Ferreira Study and exploration Modern study of the veld has centred on its economic, ecological, and archaeological assets. In the economic area the emphasis has been on conservation and management of ecosystems, the topics including general geography, vegetation, soils, ecology, geology, and geomorphology. One major focus of investigation has been determining the nutritional potential of various natural vegetation forms in terms of their use in livestock raising and wildlife management. The discovery of australopithecine fossils on the South African Highveld in the first half of the 20th century sparked great anthropological interest in the region. Since then it has become one of the major centres of hominid exploration and research, and many specimensincluding those of other hominid specieshave been recovered. In addition, the remains of Stone Age cultures have been found on both the Zimbabwean and the South African velds, and thousands of San rock engravings on the kopjes of the Highveld in Zimbabwe, South Africa, Lesotho, and Botswana are known. George H.T. Kimble Johann Cooks C.E. Ferreira The people and economy The veld is believed to be one of the world's oldest regions inhabited by humans and their hominid forebears. Fossil evidence indicates that members of the hominid genus Australopithecus occupied the Highveld some three million years ago and that various Stone Age peoples lived there hundreds of thousands of years ago. More recently, the San of the Kalahari inhabited parts of the grassveld until driven from it by Bantu-speaking peoples and the Boers. The generally open character, easy gradients, abundant supply of food, andin the valleyswater of the Highveld have long attracted migrants as well as settlers. It provided the major routes followed by the Bantu-speaking peoples during their recurrent southward migrations; and in the 1830s the Voortrekkers (pioneer Boer farmers), who moved northward from Cape Colony to escape the power of the British, made the Highveld their home as well as their highway. Until the Voortrekker era the veld remained largely in a natural state. The San, never very populous, lived by hunting and gathering. The animal herding and crop raising done by the Bantu-speaking peoples were solely for subsistence. While much of the veld, especially in Zimbabwe, retains its natural covermodified by the selective grazing habits of oxen, cattle, and other domesticated animalsmillions of acres have been brought under the plow. Most of South Africa's corn (maize) crop is now grown on the grassveld in the Transvaal region and Free State. Most of the Zimbabwean corn crop and almost all of its tobacco crop are grown on the Highveld. The major population centres of these two countries and of Botswana, as well as their major commercial and industrial activities, are also located on the Highveld, which, by virtue of terrain, climate, and mineral and ecological endowment, forms one of the areas most suitable for settlement on the African continent.

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