General information      Top

Agricultural: The surrounding area is an agricultural area controlled by the farming community.  Agricultural activities include cattle and maize farming (Ref. 5).

Urban: Barberspan is situated 16 km northeast of Delareyville in the North West Province.

Recreational: The pan is also a popular angling resort and recreational area in the Western Transvaal. 

A camping and picnic site, a walking trail and bird hides have been established on the nature reserve.

Terrestrial vegetation: The vegetation of Barberspan falls within the Dry Cymbopogon-Themeda veld, as classified by Acocks (Ref. 1).  Relatively few naturally occurring trees and shrubs are found on the reserve.  The most common naturally occurring trees and shrubs are Acacia karroo, Rhus lancea, Rhus pyroides and Diospyros lycioides. Common grasses are Themeda triandra, Cymbopogon plurinodes, Eragrostis lehmanniana, Eragrostis superba, Heteropogon contortus and Lippia scaberima. Aquatic vegetation is dominated by Potamogeton pectinatus (Ref. 5).

The pH of the water ranges between 9,2 and 10,4. This hampers the growth of higher vegetation, which is usually present in the littoral zone of fresh waters. The vegetation of this zone is predominantly sedges (Juncus and Cyperus spp.).  The vegetation of the littoral zone is predominantly sedge. In certain areas few or no sedges are found, being replaced by grasses which in places grow to the edge of or in the water (Ref. 5).

Aquatic vegetation: Phyto- and zooplankton are abundant.

Birds: A total of 347 bird species have been recorded. Seven of these are classified as endangered.  The pan is located in the Barberspan Bird Sanctuary, one of the largest waterfowl sanctuaries in South Africa.

It is one of the few permanent natural waterbodies on the western highveld and provides food and shelter during the dry months for large numbers of waterfowl, some of which breed in the wetlands.  Migrating aquatic species use the pan as an important stopover.  More than 320 species of birds have been recorded here, about one-fifth being migrants.  A research station was established during 1952 for the ringing and study of waterfowl but is no longer operational.  Approximately 40 000 birds of 190 species were ringed annually for study of their distribution and migration.

Barberspan is a very important stopover site for waterfowl, with over 320 recorded species including the Palearctic migrant species, such as the red knot (Calidris canutus) and black godwit (Limosa limosa).  Species present include all indigenous waterfowl species except the tropical dwarf goose (Nettapus auritus). In 1975, Barberspan was the only locality in South Africa where the pintail (Anas acuta) has been recorded.

A number of Red Data bird species such as the African fish eagle (Haliaeetus vocifer), Openbilled stork (Anastomus lamelligetus), Goliath heron (Ardea goliath), Pinkbacked pelican (Pelecanus rufescens), White pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus), Caspian tern (Hydroprogne caspia) and Yellowbilled stork (Mycteria ibis) also occur here.

Mammals: Several endangered mammal species occur in the Barberspan reserve.  Rare mammals, such as the South African hedgehog (Erinaceus frontalis) and striped weasel (Poecilogale albinucha) occur on the reserve.  Amongst the larger mammals, that thrive in the flat grasslands of the reserve are springbok, blesbok, black wildebeest and zebra as well as smaller mammals including jackal, porcupine, yellow mongoose and ground squirrel (Ref. 2).  Two endangered mammal species occurs.

Geology: Barberspan is the largest of a series of pans on the fossil bed of the Harts River. The reserve is underlain by amygdaloidal lava of the Ventersdorp System (age 2 100 million years). This is covered by surface limestone (age 100 million years) and classified as vlei or pan limestone according to origin. The quality varies from pure limestone to calcrete. It is hard and massive on the surface but softer and granular beneath the crust.

There are no known economic deposits of any minerals.

The area is generally gently undulating or very flat grassy plains. Hills seldom rising more than 130m above the surrounding flats.

Signs of previous human occupation of the area have been discovered. Primitive implements made of lava dating mostly to the Early Stone age (50 000 years B.P.) and Middle Stone age (10 - 40 000 years B.P.) have been found in quarries and on pebble outcrops. As yet no major cultural historic or archaeological finds have been made. However, the remains of General Smuts’s house are present which may be of interest to some (Ref. 5).

No major rivers and streams are present in the area. The Harts River is the main source feeding the pan.  The pan is connected with the Harts River via a channel. The pan itself is a natural, shallow, alkaline, perennial lake. Other pans in the vicinity are non-perennial.

Barberspan lies 9m lower than the Harts River. The water of the river fills the pan. During floods the river overflows its banks and not all the water enters the pan. The immediate catchment of the pan is 39 km². The inflow from this source is a fraction of that from the Harts River.

Barberspan has a runoff of only 77 610m³ per year, while an average flow of over 60 times as much reaches it annually from the Harts River.

Barberspan can be described as an arid zone, with and average temperature of 18 ^oC. Situated in the summer rainfall region the pan and its catchments receive their rains during the hot summer months and experience cool dry winters.

Precipitation: The rainfall over the entire catchment averages 557mm/annum.  The mean number of days of frost in the province is 31.  Occasional snow has been known to occur in the south and eastern regions.

Temperature: The annual average temperature ranges between 9^oC to 27^oC.

Wind: The predominant wind direction of the Northwest Province is from a northerly direction. There is a trend for the windy months to occur between August and November (Ref. 3).

Threats are mainly external with pressure on the system arising from agricultural activities. The main threat to Barberspan is the agricultural pollutants, such as fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides.

Littering by anglers is also a problem.

Quarrying occurred previously and should be prohibited in the future (Ref. 5).