43-456: Fynbos ( / ˈ f eɪ n b ɒ s / ; Afrikaans pronunciation: [ˈfɛinbos] lit. ' fine plants ' ) is a small belt of natural shrubland or heathland vegetation located in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa . This area is predominantly coastal and mountainous, with a Mediterranean climate and rainy winters. The fynbos ecoregion
86-584: A deep, narrow valley that widens and flattens into a broad floodplain below Clanwilliam . The river eventually drains into the Atlantic Ocean near Papendorp . At the mouth the Olifants river is split in two by an island that exhibits interesting rock formations. Its main tributary is the Doring River , changing name as Melkboom/Oudrif before it joins the Olifants. The tributaries flowing from
129-405: A high number of endemic species, and tends to favour larger plants than those growing on the hillier areas. They include the larger Restionaceae such as species of Elegia , Thamnochortus , and Willdenowia and proteas such as king protea ( Protea cynaroides ) and blushing bride ( Serruria florida ). Particular types of lowland fynbos include the shrubs and herbs of the coastal sand dunes,
172-537: A number of tortoises and the chameleon-like arum frog ( Hyperolius horstockii ). The Montane Fynbos and Renosterveld is the area above 300 m (980 ft), a total of 45,000 km (17,000 sq mi) of the Cape Fold Mountains. The same level of floral variety, including all three characteristic fynbos families, is found there, but ericas predominate. Because the higher and wetter areas are more protected and contain important water sources,
215-472: A tiny proportion have as yet been subjected to formal testing, many have already been identified as having medicinal properties. The fynbos is the region of South Africa most affected by invasive alien species which collectively cover around 10% of the entire country. The most common invasive plants are wattles and hakeas , native to Australia, and pines native to Europe and the Californian coast of
258-462: Is a descriptive system widely adopted in Australia to describe different types of vegetation is based on structural characteristics based on plant life-form , plus the height and foliage cover of the tallest stratum or dominant species . For shrubs that are 2–8 metres (6.6–26.2 ft) high, the following structural forms are categorized: For shrubs less than 2 metres (6.6 ft) high,
301-623: Is another threatened and legally protected species found in the Olifants River; it is more The Clanwilliam yellowfish ( Labeobarbus seeberi ) is another large cyprinid in this basin endemic to the Western Cape region. It has been subject to some captive breeding effort and its stocks are in better shape. However, it may have gone extinct in the Olifants River, and at least is almost certainly gone from between Olifants Gorge and Clanwilliam Dam . Whether it will be reintroduced
344-511: Is classified as Endangered by the IUCN . At present it is so rare as to be jeopardized by angling or fishing and may not be killed or caught; a long-lived and slow-growing species, it needs several years to grow undisturbed but reaches an adult almost 40 cm after a decade. CapeNature has done trials to adapt it for aquaculture or fishery, but this requires better conservation of the river ecosystem. The Clanwilliam redfin ( "P." calidus )
387-451: Is home to many unique and endemic animals, with seven species of endemic bird and an unknown number of endemic reptiles, amphibians, and arthropods. The seven avian endemics include the Cape rockjumper , Cape sugarbird , Victorin's warbler , Orange-breasted sunbird , Protea canary , Cape siskin , and Fynbos buttonquail . The fynbos area has been divided into two very similar ecoregions :
430-498: Is lacking but there is anecdotal evidence that endemic silver peas have returned to Table Mountain after being thought extinct. 34°10′0″S 18°22′30″E / 34.16667°S 18.37500°E / -34.16667; 18.37500 Shrubland Shrubland , scrubland , scrub , brush , or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs , often also including grasses , herbs , and geophytes . Shrubland may either occur naturally or be
473-474: Is often confusingly said to mean "fine bush" in Afrikaans , as bos means "bush". Typical fynbos foliage is ericoid rather than fine. The term, in its pre-Afrikaans, Dutch form, fynbosch , was recorded by Noble as being in casual use in the late 19th century. In the early 20th century, John Bews referred to: "South-Western or Cape Region of Macchia or Fynbosch". He said: "In this well-known region where
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#1732780879953516-417: Is unclear, as sawfin and Clanwilliam yellowfish adults are probably ecological competitors , and until the Olifants River is sufficiently restored ecologically both might not be able to thrive at the same time. The Olifants River marks the northern limit of the Cape galaxias (Galaxias zebratus) , a South African fish species sharing the same habitat as imported trout species and living in an area between
559-543: Is within the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome . In fields related to biogeography , fynbos is known for its exceptional degree of biodiversity and endemism , consisting of about 80% (8,500 fynbos) species of the Cape floral kingdom , where nearly 6,000 of them are endemic. This land continues to face severe human-caused threats, but due to the many economic uses of the fynbos, conservation efforts are being made to help restore it. The word fynbos
602-648: The California coast, strandveld in the Western Cape of South Africa , coastal matorral in central Chile , and sand-heath and kwongan in Southwest Australia . Interior scrublands occur naturally in semi-arid areas where soils are nutrient-poor, such as on the matas of Portugal , which are underlain by Cambrian and Silurian schists . Florida scrub is another example of interior scrublands. Some vegetation types are formed of dwarf-shrubs : low-growing or creeping shrubs. These include
645-978: The Cape Flats to the Olifants; the Breede , which is the largest river on the Cape; the Olifants River (Southern Cape) ; Gourits and the Groot Rivers which drain the Little Karoo basin and the South Coast Forelands; and the Baviaanskloof and Gamtoos Rivers to the east. The most conspicuous components of the flora are evergreen sclerophyllous plants, many with ericoid leaves and gracile habit, as opposed to timber forest. Several plant families are conspicuous in fynbos;
688-582: The Cederberg area, and providing important exports. Restios continue to be used for thatching, as they have for hundreds or even thousands of years. Proteas and other floral species are grown in many areas and their flowers harvested for export. In many areas with Mediterranean climates, fynbos species have become popular garden plants, in particular aloes and geraniums , and in cooler regions are used as window plants. A very large number of fynbos plant species are used in traditional medicine, and while only
731-720: The Mediterranean scrub biome , located in the five Mediterranean climate regions of the world. Scrublands are most common near the seacoast and have often adapted to the wind and salt air of the ocean. Low, soft-leaved scrublands around the Mediterranean Basin are known as garrigue in France , phrygana in Greece , tomillares in Spain , and batha in Israel . Northern coastal scrub and coastal sage scrub occur along
774-936: The Proteaceae are prominent, with genera such as Protea , Leucospermum (the "pincushions"), and Leucadendron (the silver tree and " cone bushes "). Proteas are represented by many species and are prominent in the landscape, generally with large striking flowers, many of which are pollinated by birds, and others by small mammals. Most of these do not have anything like ericoid leaves, and nor do most Rhamnaceae , Fabaceae , or Geraniaceae . Fynbos Ericaceae include more species of Erica than all other regions combined. They are popularly called heaths and are generally smaller plants bearing many small, tubular or globular flowers and ericoid leaves. Restionaceae also occur in greater variety in fynbos than anywhere else; their species are superficially grass-like. Many of them grow in wet areas such as seasonal marshes and spongy basins in
817-526: The maquis and garrigues of Mediterranean climates and the acid-loving dwarf shrubs of heathland and moorland . Olifants River (Western Cape) The Olifants River ( Afrikaans : Olifantsrivier ) is a river in the northwestern area of the Western Cape Province of South Africa . The upper and main catchment area of the Olifants river is around Ceres and the Cederberg mountains. The Clanwilliam and Bulshoek dams are located on
860-611: The Northern Hemisphere north of the tropics. The diversity of fynbos plants is extremely high, with over 9,000 species of plants occurring in the area, around 6,200 of which are endemic , i.e. growing nowhere else in the world. South Africa's Western Cape has the vast majority of species with one estimate finding 8,550 species in 89,000 km, which is higher than that estimated for the Malayan forests, 7,900 species in 132,000 km. It has been claimed that it exceeds even
903-708: The Olifants and the Keurbooms River . Although in South Africa this relatively delicate fish is only Near Threatened , in Australia species of the same genus were driven to extinction by competing salmonids . Other species that occur in the Olifants riverine system include Twee River redfin , ( Pseudobarbus erubescens ), Fiery redfin ( Pseudobarbus phlegethon ), Austroglanis barnardi , Clanwilliam rock-catfish ( Austroglanis gilli ), Chubbyhead barb ( Enteromius anoplus ), and Clanwilliam sandfish ( Labeo seeberi ). The most severe biological threat to
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#1732780879953946-512: The Olifants/Doring river catchment include Lutzville , Vredendal and Vanrhynsdorp situated in the lower catchment area and Clanwilliam and Citrusdal in the middle catchment areas. Endemism in the rivers of the Olifants/Doring basin is unusually high for South Africa, with eight species endemic to the system. The upper Olifants River is one of the main dwelling places of adult sawfins ( Pseudobarbus serra ). This local endemic
989-456: The Southeast coast – forms part of the Cape floral kingdom , where it accounts for half of the surface area and 80% of the plant species. The fynbos in the western regions is richer and more varied than in the eastern regions of South Africa. Of the world's six floral kingdoms , this is the smallest and richest per unit of area. The Holarctic kingdom, in contrast, incorporates the whole of
1032-820: The United States. Pines had been introduced to South Africa by the 19th century and the wattles were imported into the mid-1870s to stabilize sand dunes . In 1997 it was estimated that invasion caused the fynbos region to decline in value by US$ 750 million per year. The Working for Water (WfW) program was started in 1995 by the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry to control these invasive species which were shown to sequester 9.95% of usable surface water runoff. Since then, over 100,000 hectares of land have been cleared of invasive species while providing jobs to around 20,000 people per year, most of which are women and unskilled workers. Systematic monitoring of WfW's progress
1075-451: The West and South Coast Forelands; and the inland renosterveld of the drier inland Little Karoo and Warm Bokkeveld. The area is also home to a large number of endemic creatures that have adapted to life in this area, such as the monkey beetles which pollinate Ixia viridiflora . Endemic species of fish in the five river systems occur in the area, too. Endemic reptiles and amphibians include
1118-418: The current vernacular, this still is the effective sense of the word. However, in the technical, ecological sense, the constraints are more demanding. In the latter half of the 20th century, "fynbos" gained currency as the term for the "distinctive vegetation of the southwestern Cape". Fynbos – which grows in a 100-to-200-km-wide coastal belt stretching from Clanwilliam on the West coast to Port Elizabeth on
1161-808: The east, such as the Thee River , Noordhoek River , Boontjies River , Rondegat River and the Jan Dissels River are typically perennial, except for the Sout River . Those flowing from the west, such as the Ratel River , Elandskloof River and the Seekoeivlei River are smaller and seasonal, not contributing much to the flow in the system. Dams in the catchment area of the Olifants River: The major towns below
1204-601: The entire United Kingdom. Thus, although the fynbos covers only 6% of the area of southern Africa, it has half the species on the subcontinent – and in fact has almost one in five of all African plant species so far described. Five main river systems traverse the Cape floral kingdom: the Oliphants River of the Western Cape ; the Berg River which drains the West Coast Forelands plain stretching from
1247-503: The flora changes from west to east, and also varies with altitude up the hillsides away from the coast and according to compass direction. Lower elevations are covered with protea fynbos, with ericas taking over further up. Plant species include pincushions ( Leucospermum ). The wildlife includes a number of endemic bees, beetles, horseflies, and ants, and birds such as Cape sugarbirds and the orange-breasted sunbird . Many of these birds and insects are important and specific pollinators for
1290-573: The following structural forms are categorized: Similarly, shrubland is a category used to describe a type of biome plant group. In this context, shrublands are dense thickets of evergreen sclerophyll shrubs and small trees, called: In some places, shrubland is the mature vegetation type, and in other places, the result of degradation of former forest or woodland by logging or overgrazing , or disturbance by major fires. A number of World Wildlife Fund biomes are characterized as shrublands, including: Xeric or desert scrublands occur in
1333-555: The fynbos, such as the mountain pride butterfly ( Aeropetes tulbaghia ) which only visits red flowers such as Disa uniflora and pollinates 15 different species. Larger animals include antelopes, particularly Cape grysbok ( Raphicerus melanotis ), common duiker ( Sylvicapra grimmia ), and klipspringer ( Oreotragus oreotragus ). The extinct blue antelope and quagga were also fynbos natives. Rooibos ( Aspalathus linearis ) and honeybush ( Cyclopia intermedia ) are of economic importance, grown and harvested in large quantities in
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1376-605: The lowland fynbos (below 300 m above sea level) on the sandy soil of the west coast, and the montane fynbos of the Cape Fold Belt . The Lowland Fynbos and Renosterveld experiences regular winter rainfall, especially to the west of Cape Agulhas . The ecoregion has been subdivided into nine areas: the West Coast Forelands from the Cape Flats to the Olifants River (Western Cape); the Warm Bokkeveld basin around
1419-581: The mixture of ericoids and restoids with thickets of shrubs such as Maytenus , and other Celastraceae , sideroxylons and other Sapotaceae , and Rhus and other Anacardiaceae on the coastal sands; the classic fynbos of the sandplains of the West Coast Forelands, and the Agulhas Plain; the grassy fynbos of the hillier and wetter areas of the South and South-Eastern Coast Forelands; areas where fynbos and renosterveld are mixed; coastal renosterveld on
1462-714: The original flora is more intact than in the lowlands; but agriculture and global warming are still threats. The region includes the mountains in the west from the Cape Peninsula to the Kouebokkeveld Mountains , the south coast hinterland from Elgin to Gqeberha, the mountains north of the Little Karoo from Laingsburg to Willowmore , and the inselberg hills within the Little Karoo. About half of these areas are originally fynbos, and about half are renosterveld. Many different microclimates occur, so
1505-437: The rain occurs in winter and the summers are more or less dry, the dominant vegetation is of a sclerophyllous type and there is little or no natural grassland , though there are many kinds of grass..." He also refers to a high degree of endemism in the grasses in that region. Elsewhere he speaks of the term as "...applied by the inhabitants of the Cape to any sort of small woodland growth that does not include timber trees"; in
1548-401: The result of human activity. It may be the mature vegetation type in a particular region and remain stable over time, or a transitional community that occurs temporarily as the result of a disturbance, such as fire. A stable state may be maintained by regular natural disturbance such as fire or browsing . Shrubland may be unsuitable for human habitation because of the danger of fire. The term
1591-700: The richest tropical rainforest in South America, including the Amazon. Of the Ericas , over 600 occur in the fynbos kingdom, while only two or three dozen have been described in the rest of the world. This is in an area of 46,000 km – by comparison, the Netherlands , with an area of 33,000 km, has 1,400 species, none of them endemic. Table Mountain in Cape Town supports 2,200 species, more than
1634-535: The river and provide water for the towns and farms along the watercourse. The river is approximately 285 km long with a catchment area of 46,220 km . It flows into the Atlantic Ocean at Papendorp , 250 km north of Cape Town . The Olifants River rises in the Winterhoek Mountains north of Ceres. The mainstem is about 265 km long. The river flows to the north-west through
1677-687: The river's ecosystem is probably the Smallmouth Bass ( Micropterus dolomieu ). Originally introduced for sport fishing , it has become something of a pest by depleting the stocks of other fish species. Its eradication is encouraged under the Cape Action for People and the Environment program. Non-biological threats are mainly excessive removal of river water for irrigation, and the resultant toxic surface runoff from plantations (especially agrumes ). These are often grown right up to
1720-564: The sources of mountain streams, but others grow in decidedly arid conditions. Depending on the locality and the aspects under discussion, several other families have equal claim to being characteristic, including Asteraceae , Rutaceae , and Iridaceae . More than 1400 bulb species occur among the fynbos, of which 96 are Gladiolus and 54 Lachenalia . Areas that are dominated by "renosterbos", Dicerothamnus rhinocerotis , (Asteraceae) are known as Renosterveld (Afrikaans for "rhinoceros field"). Fynbos vegetation types, code FF: The fynbos
1763-605: The town of Ceres ; the Elgin Valley around the town of Elgin ; the sandy Agulhas Plain on the coast; the Breede River valley around the town of Worcester ; the South Coast Forelands from Caledon west to Mossel Bay ; the south-eastern end of the Little Karoo; Langkloof valley; and the Southeastern Coast Forelands west from Tsitsikamma to Gqeberha . The flora of the lowlands contains
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1806-432: The world's deserts and xeric shrublands ecoregions or in fast-draining sandy soils in more humid regions. These scrublands are characterized by plants with adaptations to the dry climate, which include small leaves to limit water loss, thorns to protect them from grazing animals, succulent leaves or stems, storage organs to store water, and long taproots to reach groundwater. Mediterranean scrublands occur naturally in
1849-405: Was coined in 1903. Shrubland species generally show a wide range of adaptations to fire, such as heavy seed production, lignotubers , and fire-induced germination. In botany and ecology a shrub is defined as a much-branched woody plant less than 8 m high and usually with many stems . Tall shrubs are mostly 2–8 m high, small shrubs 1–2 m high and subshrubs less than 1 m high. There
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