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Harmony Flats Nature Reserve is a piece of protected land, located between
Harmony Flats Nature Reserve is a piece of protected land, located between Strand
Strand or The Strand may refer to:
Topography
*The flat area of land bordering a body of water, a:
** Beach
** Shoreline
* Strand swamp, a type of swamp habitat in Florida
Places Africa
* Strand, Western Cape, a seaside town in South Africa
* ...
and Gordon's Bay
Gordon's Bay () is a harbour town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is included in the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality Eastern Suburbs region (formerly called Helderberg Basin). It is situated on the shores of Gordon ...
, 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 O ...
. It protects a surviving fragment of critically endangered
An IUCN Red List critically endangered (CR or sometimes CE) species is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild. As of December 2023, of t ...
Lourensford Alluvium Fynbos
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.
...
vegetation.
Harmony Flats was originally established to preserve a habitat for the rare and declining geometric tortoise
The geometric tortoise (''Psammobates geometricus'') is a critically 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.
Identific ...
(''Psammobates geometricus''). This tortoise is now locally extinct, but the reserve still protects about 220 species of plants (many of them 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, inv ...
) as well as a range of animal species, such as the tiny parrot-beaked tortoise
''Homopus areolatus'', commonly known as the common padloper or parrot-beaked tortoise, is a tiny species of tortoise of the genus ''Homopus'', indigenous to the southern part of South Africa.
Naming
''Homopus areolatus'' is known by a wide ran ...
(''Homopus areolatus''), various snakes and a large variety of birds. This is one of the few remaining spots of the critically endangered
An IUCN Red List critically endangered (CR or sometimes CE) species is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild. As of December 2023, of t ...
vegetation type Lourensford Alluvium Fynbos
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.
...
.
Local volunteers and community organisations are now heavily involved in protecting and managing the reserve.
See also
*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. Te ...
* List of nature reserves in Cape Town
The City of Cape Town, South Africa has numerous nature reserves within the city limits.
City of Cape Town
The City of Cape Town manages the following nature reserves in the Cape Town metropolitan area: Temp
North region
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
...
* Geometric tortoise
The geometric tortoise (''Psammobates geometricus'') is a critically 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.
Identific ...
* Lourensford Alluvium Fynbos
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.
...
References
{{Reflist Nature reserves in Cape Town Protected areas of the Western Cape