Lourensford Alluvium Fynbos
Encyclopedia
Lourensford Alluvium Fynbos is a critically endangered
vegetation type that is endemic to Cape Town
. Though closest to Fynbos
, it has characteristics of both Fynbos
and Renosterveld
vegetation and is thus actually a unique hybrid vegetation type.
lowlands, and has a unique geology influenced by the underground flow of water from the mountains and the presence of a special kind of silt soil.
Restio
and Asteraceous (daisy)
species are most common, with Proteas
and Ericas
being relatively rarer. There are spots which are home to an unusually enormous variety and density of bulb
s. Taller shrubs proliferate along the banks of streams.
were built on top of this delicate vegetation and as the first botanical surveys were only carried out many years later, there is no record of what has been lost. Commercial Pine plantations were planted over much of the remaining area and now only small pockets of this critically endangered ecosystem remain. Altogether, less than 5% still survives and less than 1% is conserved. This is unsustainable and well below the national conservation target of 30%. The tiny Harmony Flats reserve conserves a patch of this vegetation but even this is too small to be ecologically viable. Now the main threats come from domestic cats and dogs, dumping of garden refuse, sand theft and invasive alien plants such as wattle
s and Kikuyu grass.
Fauna
The Geometric tortoise
used to be found primarily in Alluvium Fynbos. Now, with its habitat largely destroyed, it is also critically endangered. Harmony Flats Nature Reserve
, which conserves Alluvium Fynbos, lost its last population of these tortoises which went extinct here in the 1980s.
Index: Fynbos - habitats and species.
Critically endangered
Version 2010.3 of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species identified 3744 Critically Endangered species, subspecies and varieties, stocks and subpopulations.Critically Endangered by kingdom:*1993 Animalia*2 Fungi*1745 Plantae*4 Protista-References:...
vegetation type that is endemic to Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
. Though closest to Fynbos
Fynbos
Fynbos is the natural shrubland or heathland vegetation occurring in a small belt of the Western Cape of South Africa, mainly in winter rainfall coastal and mountainous areas with a Mediterranean climate...
, it has characteristics of both Fynbos
Fynbos
Fynbos is the natural shrubland or heathland vegetation occurring in a small belt of the Western Cape of South Africa, mainly in winter rainfall coastal and mountainous areas with a Mediterranean climate...
and Renosterveld
Renosterveld
Renosterveld is a term used for one of the major plant communities and vegetation types of the Cape Floristic Region which is located in southwestern and southeastern South Africa, in southernmost Africa...
vegetation and is thus actually a unique hybrid vegetation type.
Distribution
This ecosystem occurs only in what is now the eastern corner of the city - in and around the suburbs of Somerset West and Strand. It is located at the juncture between the mountain ranges in the east and the Cape FlatsCape Flats
The Cape Flats is an expansive, low-lying, flat area situated to the southeast of the central business district of Cape Town. To many people in Cape Town, the area is known simply as 'The Flats'....
lowlands, and has a unique geology influenced by the underground flow of water from the mountains and the presence of a special kind of silt soil.
Restio
Restionaceae
Restionaceae, also called restiads, is the botanical name for a family of rush-like flowering plants native to the Southern Hemisphere.- Description :...
and Asteraceous (daisy)
Asteraceae
The Asteraceae or Compositae , is an exceedingly large and widespread family of vascular plants. The group has more than 22,750 currently accepted species, spread across 1620 genera and 12 subfamilies...
species are most common, with Proteas
Proteaceae
Proteaceae is a family of flowering plants distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. The family comprises about 80 genera with about 1600 species. Together with the Platanaceae and Nelumbonaceae they make up the order Proteales. Well known genera include Protea, Banksia, Embothrium, Grevillea,...
and Ericas
Ericaceae
The Ericaceae, commonly known as the heath or heather family, is a group of mostly calcifuge flowering plants. The family is large, with roughly 4000 species spread across 126 genera, making it the 14th most speciose family of flowering plants...
being relatively rarer. There are spots which are home to an unusually enormous variety and density of bulb
Bulb
A bulb is a short stem with fleshy leaves or leaf bases. The leaves often function as food storage organs during dormancy.A bulb's leaf bases, known as scales, generally do not support leaves, but contain food reserves to enable the plant to survive adverse conditions. At the center of the bulb is...
s. Taller shrubs proliferate along the banks of streams.
Conservation
This was one of the earliest of the Cape’s vegetation types to be largely destroyed, as the Lourensford area was transformed for farming as early as the 1600s. Large farms such as VergelegenVergelegen
Vergelegen is an historic wine estate near Somerset West, in the Western Cape province of South Africa.-Foundation:The estate was settled in 1700 by an early Governor of the Cape, Willem Adriaan van der Stel...
were built on top of this delicate vegetation and as the first botanical surveys were only carried out many years later, there is no record of what has been lost. Commercial Pine plantations were planted over much of the remaining area and now only small pockets of this critically endangered ecosystem remain. Altogether, less than 5% still survives and less than 1% is conserved. This is unsustainable and well below the national conservation target of 30%. The tiny Harmony Flats reserve conserves a patch of this vegetation but even this is too small to be ecologically viable. Now the main threats come from domestic cats and dogs, dumping of garden refuse, sand theft and invasive alien plants such as wattle
Wattle
Wattle may refer to:*Wattle , a fleshy growth hanging from the head or neck of certain animals.*Wattle is another term for Congenital cartilaginous rest of the neck...
s and Kikuyu grass.
Fauna
Geometric Tortoise
The geometric tortoise is an endangered species of tortoise and one of three members of the genus, Psammobates. It is found in a very small section in the South-Western Cape of South Africa.-Identification:...
used to be found primarily in Alluvium Fynbos. Now, with its habitat largely destroyed, it is also critically endangered. Harmony Flats Nature Reserve
Harmony Flats Nature Reserve
Harmony Flats Nature Reserve is a 9 hectare piece of protected land, located between Strand and Gordon's Bay, South Africa. It protects a surviving fragment of critically endangered “Lourensford Alluvium Fynbos” vegetation....
, which conserves Alluvium Fynbos, lost its last population of these tortoises which went extinct here in the 1980s.
See also
- Biodiversity of Cape TownBiodiversity of Cape Town- Floristic region :The city of Cape Town lies within the Cape Floristic Kingdom . - Vegetation types :...
- Harmony Flats Nature ReserveHarmony Flats Nature ReserveHarmony Flats Nature Reserve is a 9 hectare piece of protected land, located between Strand and Gordon's Bay, South Africa. It protects a surviving fragment of critically endangered “Lourensford Alluvium Fynbos” vegetation....
- Swartland Alluvium FynbosSwartland Alluvium FynbosSwartland Alluvium Fynbos is a critically endangered vegetation type that occurs on the high plains and mountains in the far south-west of the Western Cape, South Africa.Only 6% of this type of Fynbos remains and it has been declared critically endangered...
- Cape Floristic RegionCape floristic regionThe Cape Floristic Region is a floristic region located near the southern tip of South Africa. It is the only floristic region of the Cape Floristic Kingdom, and includes only one floristic province, known as the Cape Floristic Province.The Cape Floristic Region, the smallest of the six recognised...
Index: Fynbos - habitats and species.