Cape Floristic Region

Cape Floral Region Protected Areas

UNESCO World Heritage Site
Criteria	Natural: ix, x
Reference	1007
Inscription	2004 (28th Session)

The Cape Floristic Region is a floristic region located near the tip of South Africa. It is the only floristic region of the Cape (South African) Floristic Kingdom, and includes only one floristic province, known as the Cape Floristic Province.

Location and description

The Region covers the Mediterranean climate region of South Africa Western Cape Province in the southwestern corner of the country, and extends eastward into the Eastern Cape Province, a transitional zone between the winter-rainfall region to the west and the summer-rainfall region to the east in KwaZulu-Natal Province.

Flora

[[Image:Fynbos-landscape-2.jpg|thumb|Fynbos in the Western Cape Province Most of the region is covered with fynbos, a sclerophyllous shrubland occurring on acid sands or nutrient poor soils derived from Table Mountain Sandstones (Cape Supergroup). Fynbos is home to an amazing diversity of plant species including many members of the Protea family (Proteaceae), Heath family (Ericaceae), and Reed family of restios (Restionaceae). Other vegetation types are strandveld, a soft coastal scrubland found mostly on the west-facing coast of the Western Cape Province, on tertiary sands. Renosterveld is a grassy shrubland dominated by members of the Daisy family (Asteraceae - particularly renosterbos (Elytropappus rhinocerotis)), graminoids and geophytes, occurring on the base-rich shaley soils of the coastal forelands. Small pockets of Afromontane forest (Southern Afrotemperate Forest) can be found in humid and sheltered areas.

Ecology

The World Wildlife Fund divides the cape floristic region into three ecoregions, the Lowland fynbos and renosterveld, Montane fynbos and renosterveld and the Albany thickets.

The fynbos ecoregions are designated one of the Global 200 priority ecoregions for conservation. Conservation International declared the Cape floristic region to be a biodiversity hotspot.

World Heritage Site

In 2004 the "Cape Floral Region Protected Areas" were inscribed as a World Heritage Site. The site includes eight representative protected areas:

• Table Mountain National Park
• Cederberg Wilderness Area
• Groot Winterhoek Wilderness Area
• Boland Mountain Complex (Limietberg Nature Reserve, Jonkershoek Nature Reserve, Assegaaibosch Nature Reserve, Hottentots Holland Nature Reserve, Kogelberg Nature Reserve)
• De Hoop Nature Reserve
• Boosmansbos Wilderness Area
• Swartberg Complex (Swartberg Nature Reserve, Gamkapoort Nature Reserve, Towerkop Nature Reserve)
• Baviaanskloof Mega Reserve

External links

• Cape floristic region biodiversity hotspot (Conservation International)
• Cape floristic region from Hotspots revisited (Conservation International)
• Cape floristic region (Cape Action)