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Edith Stephens Wetland Park
Edith Stephens Wetland Park is a nature reserve for wetlands and fynbos, located in the city of Cape Town, South Africa. The park consists of a large seasonal wetland, with surrounding stretches of Cape Flats Sand Fynbos and Cape Flats Dune Strandveld vegetation. Seven Red Data plant species have been recorded here as well as nearly a hundred species of bird, several amphibians (including a population of endangered Western Leopard Toad), reptiles and mammals. The park was originally built around a smaller piece of land that was donated by the botanist Edith Layard Stephens. She intended it to preserve the rare '' Isoetes capensis'' plant, which exists nowhere else on Earth. After subsequent additions to take it to its present size, the resulting park was named after her. The park is run by the City of Cape Town in partnership with the local community. It now has an Environmental Education Centre, boardwalk trails, a picnic area, a bird hide and a garden of medicinal plants. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cape Town
Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest city by population, after Johannesburg, and the largest city in the Western Cape. The city is part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality (South Africa), metropolitan municipality. The city is known for Port of Cape Town, its harbour, its natural setting in the Cape Floristic Region, and for landmarks such as Table Mountain and Cape Point. In 2014, Cape Town was named the best place in the world to visit by ''The New York Times'', and was similarly ranked number one by ''The Daily Telegraph'' in both 2016 and 2023. Located on the shore of Table Bay, the City Bowl area of Cape Town, which contains its Cape Town CBD, central business district (CBD), is History of Cape Town, the oldest urban area in the Western Cape, with a signi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Ocean; to the north by the neighbouring countries of Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe; to the east and northeast by Mozambique and Eswatini; and it encloses Lesotho. Covering an area of , the country has Demographics of South Africa, a population of over 64 million people. Pretoria is the administrative capital, while Cape Town, as the seat of Parliament of South Africa, Parliament, is the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein is regarded as the judicial capital. The largest, most populous city is Johannesburg, followed by Cape Town and Durban. Cradle of Humankind, Archaeological findings suggest that various hominid species existed in South Africa about 2.5 million years ago, and modern humans inhabited the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nature Reserve
A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for purposes of Conservation (ethic), conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research. They may be designated by government institutions in some countries, or by private landowners, such as charities and research institutions. Nature reserves fall into different IUCN protected area categories, IUCN categories depending on the level of protection afforded by local laws. Normally it is more strictly protected than a nature park. Various jurisdictions may use other terminology, such as ecological protection area or private protected area in legislation and in official titles of the reserves. History Cultural practices that roughly equate to the establishmen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cape Lowland Freshwater Wetland
Cape Lowland Freshwater Wetland is a critically endangered vegetation type of the Western Cape, South Africa. Environment This type of riparian vegetation and its accompanying ecosystem is found in the Western Cape, South Africa, on freshwater floodplains, along the lower stretches of rivers and around seasonal vleis and estuaries. The terrain is typically flat and the soil is rich and silty. It is restricted to a winter rainfall area. This used to be one of the major ecosystems on the Cape Flats of Cape Town. The Cape Flats used to have a great many wetlands, rivers and seasonal vleis, but these have largely been drained and built over for housing. A few remain at places such as Rondevlei. Ecology The flora consists of a range of species of tall reed (e.g. ''Phragmites australis'', ''Typha capensis''), Restios, sedges, grasses, floating aquatics and a great many species of shrub. Plant cover is very high. Sedgelands predominate on the floodplains, floating aquatics grow in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fynbos
Fynbos (; , ) is a small belt of natural shrubland or heathland vegetation located in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. The area is predominantly coastal and mountainous, with a Mediterranean climate. The fynbos ecoregion 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. The area 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. Origin of the term The word '' fynbos'' is often taken literally to mean ''fine bush'', as in Afrikaans '' bos'' means '' bush'', whereas in this instance ''bush'' refers to the type of vegetation. Typical fynbos foliage is ericoid rather than ''fine''. The term in its pre-Afrikaans, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cape Flats Sand Fynbos
Cape Flats Sand Fynbos (CFSF), previously known as Sand Plain Fynbos, is a critically endangered vegetation type that occurs only within the city of Cape Town. Less than 1% of this unique lowland fynbos vegetation is conserved. Description This is the richest and most diverse type of Sand Fynbos. It also has the highest number of threatened plant species. It is the wettest and coolest of all West Coast Sand Fynbos, growing primarily in deep, white, acidic sands. It is dominated by Proteoid and Restioid fynbos, but Ericaceous fynbos also occurs in wetter areas and Asteraceous fynbos in drier spots. In winter, seasonal wetlands appear in many areas, and mists often cover the landscape. Threats and conservation Lying as it does entirely within the limits of Cape Town, over 85 percent of what was once Cape Town's commonest vegetation type is now destroyed and covered by urban sprawl Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cape Flats Dune Strandveld
Cape Flats Dune Strandveld is an endangered vegetation type. This is a unique type of Cape Strandveld that is endemic to the coastal areas around Cape Town, South Africa, including the Cape Flats. Habitat ''Strandveld'' means “beach scrub” in the Afrikaans language. It covers and stabilises sand dunes on the beaches around Cape Town, and is incredibly colourful in spring when it bursts into flower. It supports a very high biomass of browsing animals, and in the past it was grazed by large herds. The strongly alkaline, calcareous dune sand of the coast lies over a base of older limestone. In some places, this limestone juts out of the dune sand, and forms impressive beach cliffs. Succulents form a high proportion of Strandveld plants, consequently, fires are much less common in Strandveld than in the neighbouring Fynbos vegetation. Cape Flats Dune Strandveld is endangered. More than half of the Cape’s Strandveld has been lost to urbanisation and the building of beach resort ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endangered
An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, invasive species, and climate change. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List lists the global conservation status of many species, and various other agencies assess the status of species within particular areas. Many nations have laws that protect conservation-reliant species which, for example, forbid hunting, restrict land development, or create protected areas. Some endangered species are the target of extensive conservation efforts such as captive breeding and habitat restoration. Human activity is a significant cause in causing some species to become endangered. Conservation status The conservation status of a species indicates the likelihood that it will become extinct. Multiple factors are c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edith Layard Stephens
Edith Layard Stephens (1884-1966) was a South African botanist, a leading authority on algae and fungi, particularly edible and poisonous mushrooms. Early life and education Stephens was born on December 6, 1884, in Cape Town, Cape Colony, as the daughter of Michael Stephens, who was a chief locomotive superintendent of the Cape Government Railways and Annie Hoskyn. In 1901, she matriculated at the Rustenburg School for Girls in Rondebosch, Cape Town. She studied at the South African College (which later became the University of Cape Town) and later that year received the Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Cape of Good Hope. In 1906, Stephans completed the BA degree with honours in botany being awarded by the Cape of Good Hope and was awarded with the gold medal for science and the Queen Victoria Scholarship and the 1881 Exhibition Scholarship in 1907, which led her to Cambridge University. Career and accomplishments In 1908, Stephens published ''A preliminary note on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Isoetes Capensis
''Isoetes capensis'', the cape quillwort, is a species of quillwort from South Africa. Description The cape quillwort is a tufted geophyte with horny toothed scales. It has between 5 and 35 leaves that bear sporangia. These are held at a 45-degree angle. This is unusual as most species have perpendicular leaves. These are slender ( at the base) and reach a length of up to , with a heart-shaped appendage (ligule) at the base. The ligule is up to long and pale, although it is darker at the point of attachment. The sporangia are completely covered in a thin membrane. They have a diameter of and are oval or round in shape. This species shows immense variability in its spores. The surface ranges from having irregular tubercules to interconnected ridges to being covered in a net-like structure of ridges. All of these surface sculptings may be found in a single population. They grey-white megaspores have a diameter of . This species has a three lobed pseudocorm. The dark brown lea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biodiversity Of Cape Town
The biodiversity of Cape Town is the variety and variability of life within the City of Cape Town, 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 animals are 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 biodive ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
