Biodiversity Of Cape Town

The Biodiversity of Cape Town is the variety and variability of life within the geographical extent of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality, excluding the Prince Edward Islands. The terrestrial vegetation is particularly diverse and much of it is endemic to the city and its vicinity. Terrestrial and freshwater animal life is heavily impacted by urban development and habitat degradation. Marine life of the waters immediately adjacent to the city along the Cape Peninsula and in False Bay is also diverse, and while also impacted by human activity, the habitats are relatively intact.

Floristic region (phytochorion)

The City of Cape Town lies within the Cape Floristic Kingdom, by far the smallest and most diverse of the earth's six floristic kingdoms, an area of extraordinarily high diversity and endemism, and home to over 9,000 vascular plant species, of which 69 percent are endemic. Much of this diversity is associated with the fynbos biome, a Mediterranean-type, fire-prone shrubland. The economical worth of fynbos biodiversity, based on harvests of fynbos products (e.g. wildflowers) and eco-tourism, is estimated to be in the region of R77 million a year. Thus, it is clear that the Cape Floristic Region has both economic and intrinsic biological value as a biodiversity hotspot.Odendaal L. J., Haupt T. M. & Griffiths C. L. (2008). "The alien invasive land snail ''Theba pisana'' in the West Coast National Park: Is there cause for concern?". '' Koedoe – African Protected Area Conservation and Science'' 50(1): 93-98
abstract
.

Vegetation types

Cape Town is located within a Conservation International biodiversity hotspot and is home to a total of 19 different and distinct vegetation types. (This enormous variety is mainly because the city is uniquely located at the convergence point of a great many different soil types and micro-climates.)
These 19 vegetation types are mostly restricted to unusually small areas, and several are completely endemic to the city – occurring nowhere else in the world. Vegetation types include the following.

* Atlantis Sand Fynbos
* Boland Granite Fynbos
* Cape Flats Dune Strandveld
* Cape Flats Sand Fynbos
* Cape Winelands Shale Fynbos
* Hangklip Sand Fynbos
* Kogelberg Sandstone Fynbos
* Lourensford Alluvium Fynbos
* Peninsula Granite Fynbos
* Peninsula Sandstone Fynbos
* Peninsula Shale Renosterveld
* Swartland Alluvium Fynbos
* Swartland Alluvium Renosterveld
* Swartland Granite Renosterveld
* Swartland Shale Renosterveld
* Swartland Silcrete Renosterveld
* Southern Afrotemperate Forest
* Cape Lowland Freshwater Wetland

Endemism

Of the thousands of plant species that are indigenous to Cape Town, 190 are known to be endemic to the city - occurring nowhere else in the world. In addition, there are over a hundred animal species that are also restricted to the city. Endemic plant species include the following. Anthony G. Rebelo, Patricia M. Holmes, Clifford Dorse & Julia Wood. Cape Town: Averting a Biodiversity Megadisaster? Unpublished MS.

;Cape Peninsula endemics
*'' Acerentulus gracilis''
*'' Agathosma lanceolata'' (honey buchu)
*'' Agathosma pulchella'' (skunk buchu)
*'' Algophilus lathridoides'' (Table Mountain hairy crawling water beetle)
*'' Allocotocerus mixtus'' (Table Mountain water scavenger beetle)
*'' Aloiampelos commixta'' (Table Mountain aloe)
*'' Anaxeton arborescens''
*'' Anisocampa munroi''
*'' Anopsobius patagonicus''
*'' Argyrobothrus velocipes''
*'' Argyrocupha (Trimenia) malagrida malagrida'' (Table Mountain copper)
*''Arion intermedius

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases