Why is fynbos such an important biome

They mapped all shrub individuals in 27 Profea-dominated communities at high spatial resolution, quantifying how plant traits determine the strength and spatial scale of plant-plant and plant-pollinator interactions and how these interactions affect the reproduction of individual plants.

Potentially, such trait-based demographic studies will not only improve our understanding of existing communities, but will also help to predict the dynamics of novel communities that will arise when global change reshuffles the geographical distribution of species.

This variation is the reason Linnaeus named the family after the Greek god Proteus, who could take any shape. The causes of this extraordinary functional diversity were a second cross-cutting theme at the meeting. Several studies focused on leaf traits e. Ongoing genomic analyses should elucidate the causes of such intraspecific differentiation.

Studying larger timescales, Byron Lamont Curtin University, Australia and Jeanne Tonnabel Montpellier respectively investigated the evolution of serotiny in the genera Protea and Leucadendron. These studies independently suggest that serotiny is ancestral in both genera and that fire shaped their evolution at least 28 million years ago.

Family-wide macroevolutionary studies even suggest that the Proteaceae developed fire adaptations as early as 88 million years ago. Such phylogenies are important in understanding how diversity in the Proteaceae arose and was maintained in order to potentially inform predictions of future biodiversity dynamics. A third line of research examined pollination, seed dispersal and seed predation interactions. Sandy-Lynn Steenhuisen University of Cape Town showed that rodent-pollinated Protea species evolved repeatedly from bird-pollinated ancestors and that these pollinator shifts are associated with the appearance of sour-milk floral scents.

Such pollinator shifts can even occur within species: Christopher Johnson Stellenbosch University showed that the common form of Leucospermum tottum can be pollinated by both birds and insects, whereas a narrowly distributed variety relies on birds.

Using experiments and pollinator observations in mapped communities, Baptiste Schmid quantified how strongly plants depend on bird pollination and compete for bird visits. Anina Heystek Stellenbosch University suggested that pollinator-mediated competition even shapes large-scale plant distributions: analysing Protea Atlas data, she showed that Proteaceae with the same pollination syndrome co-occur less frequently than expected by chance.

Finally, Ursina Rusch Stellenbosch University studied rodents which cache and eat nut-like Proteaceae seeds, thereby acting as both seed disperser and seed predator.

The Cape spiny mouse Acomys subspinosus caches single seeds, thereby hiding them from the seed-predating striped mouse Rhabdomys pumilio which poorly detects single seeds. The scientific presentations were followed by a workshop attended by 37 people from a range of research and management backgrounds.

When asked: 'What are the most important questions from a management perspective? So even within the bounds of the set question, researchers and managers framed questions for applied research differently. This difference emphasises the importance of encouraging opportunities for researchers and managers to develop research priorities in collaboration.

Yet it was encouraging that ongoing research initiatives aim to address many of the applied questions asked. For example, to assess biodiversity impacts of fire management, wild flower harvesting and habitat fragmentation, one needs demographic knowledge such as how reproduction and mortality depend on fire intervals, which populations are seed-limited and how long isolated populations can persist.

It could be argued that fynbos research has focused too strongly on the Proteaceae, neglecting most of the biome's plant diversity. Even within the Proteaceae, non-serotinous and small-statured species are understudied Figures 1b and 1c , and the full research potential provided by the functional variation of this iconic group is yet to be realised. Nevertheless, concentrating on a single taxon enables the quantification of regional variation and should yield nuanced insights for conservation across the biome.

Although broadening the scope to provide better coverage of other fynbos families will be invaluable, we expect that Proteaceae will continue to play a central role for biodiversity research in the fynbos and beyond. There is a diversity of different flower colours, forms, scents and nectar to match the diversity of available pollinators to facilitate reproduction.

Next time you look at a flower ponder on who else might be visiting it. So there you have the fynbos of the Cape Floristic Region in a nutshell. Keep reading for future articles with more information on what is outlined in this introduction here. Most importantly I implore you to go and explore and find out for yourselves exactly what makes this globally important vegetation so special. Climb the mountains of the CFR, explore lowland fragments and protected areas on your doorstep.

Plant Profiles Glossary of terms. There are many environmental organisations based in Cape Town and beyond that require the services of volunteers to undertake their work. So if you have a little time to spare please get involved. What is Fynbos? Above : Erica regia. Above: Leucospermum oleifolium. Top: Nivenia stokoei. Above: Haemanthus coccineus. Above: Serruria aemula. Not just about plants Although the Fynbos is known for its plants, the region is also home to a diverse number of unique animal species.

You won't find any of Africa's Big Five here - lion, elephant, leopard, black rhino and buffalo - but rather a number of smaller mammals such as baboons, jackals, duikers, and bontebok and gysbok antelopes, which are dependent on the fynbos for their survival. Other Fynbos species include the rare geometric tortoise, the endangered Table Mountain ghost frog and the endemic Cape sugarbird.

Where is Fynbos? Fynbos is highlighted in orange. Protea cynaroides is the national flower of South Africa. King protea, the national flower of South Africa. This is not primarily due to the large number of vegetation types in the Cape Floral Kingdom. Over 7 of the plant species occur in only five Fynbos vegetation types, with perhaps an additional 1 species in the three Renosterveld vegetation types.

The contribution of Succulent and Nama Karoo, Thicket and Forest vegetation types in the region to the plant species diversity is thus relatively small. Thus, although the Cape Floral Kingdom contains five biomes, only the Fynbos Biome, comprising the Fynbos and Renosterveld vegetation groups, contains most of the floral diversity. Furthermore, the Cape Floral Kingdom traditionally does not include the Fynbos and Renosterveld vegetation outliers to the north and east.

Distressingly, some three-quarters of all plants in the South African Red Data Book occur in the Cape Floral Kingdom: 1 plant species are threatened to some extent with extinction!

This again reflects the unique nature of Fynbos vegetation: many Fynbos species are extremely localized in their distribution, with sets of such localized species organized into "centres of endemism. However, a more serious threat is alien plants, which infest large tracts of otherwise undisturbed mountains and flats: their impact on these extremely localized species is severe.

Aliens are thus the major threat to Fynbos vegetation and its plant diversity, especially in the mountains. On the lowlands and on the less steep slopes the major threat is agriculture - new technologies, fertilisers and crops are steadily eating into our floral reserves.

Another important threat is the misuse of fire. Fynbos must burn, but fires in the wrong season such as in spring, instead of late summer or too frequently so that plants do not have time to set seed eliminate species.

Several factors influence fire dynamics in Fynbos - global warming, grazing practices and fire management ignition events, size of burns , but their relative importance and interactions are poorly understood. The two major vegetation groupings in Fynbos are quite distinct and have contrasting ecological systems. Essentially, Renosterveld used to contain the large animals in the Cape Floristic Kingdom, but these are now extinct or else have been reintroduced into conservation areas.

By contrast, Fynbos is much richer in plant species, but has such poor soils that it cannot support even low densities of big game. However, most of the endemic amphibian, bird and mammal species in the region, occur in Fynbos vegetation types. Renosterveld is characterized by the dominance of members of the Daisy Family Asteraceae , specifically one species - Renosterbos Dicerothamnus rhinocerotis , from which the vegetation type gets its name.

All these shrubs are characterized by their small, tough, grey leaves. Grasses are also abundant. In fact, it is alleged that the high shrub cover is a result of continuous grazing. Early records suggest that the Renosterveld had abundant grasses, and that the game and Khoi cattle migrated over the region. With the establishment of European stock farmers, continuous grazing and the elimination of the diverse grazing-browsing fauna, the shrubby element was promoted.

This theory is not universally accepted, but proponents argue to the sudden decline of hay near Cape Town in the early s, and the many historical records of early explorers claiming that Renosterbos was taking over and that grass was becoming scarce. Another feature of Renosterveld is the high species richness of geophytic plants chiefly in the Iris Family lridaceae and Lily Family Liliaceae , but also in the Orchid Family Orchidaceae. Proteas, Ericas and Restios - typical of Fynbos - tend to be absent in Renosterveld, or are present at very low abundances.

There are few endemics to Renosterveld vegetation alone, many of the species occurring in Fynbos as well. However, species endemic to the Cape Floral Kingdom comprise about one-third of Renosterveld plant species, and many of these belong to families which are not considered to be of "Cape affinity" i.

Typically, Renosterveld is largely confined to fine-grained soils - mainly clays and silts - which are derived from the shales of the Maimesbury and Bokkeveld Groups and the Karoo Sequence.