Conserving the Cape Floristic Region

Barnett, Mandy; Cowling, Richard M.; Cumming, Tracey L.; Daniels, Fahiema; Hoffman, M. Timm; Knight, Andrew T.; Manuel, Jeff; Nel, Jeanne; Parker, Azisa; Raimondo, Domitilla; Rebelo, Tony

doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199679584.003.0014

Cited by 15 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…For example, a rapid search for Mediterranean grasslands in scientific literature databases returned many more studies than we retrieved for renosterveld. Compared to other ecosystems in the CFR, such as mountain fynbos, renosterveld is more likely to be transformed and less likely to be protected, due to its occurrence on lowland fertile soils (Rouget et al 2014). We find fragmented knowledge in both an overview of renosterveld studies to date and among the intricacies of renosterveld conservation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While considered part of the fynbos biome, renosterveld differs from fynbos vegetation in that it occurs mostly on moderately fertile clay-rich soils, has a significant grass understorey and shares few species with fynbos, although they often grow adjacent to one another (Goldblatt & Manning 2002, Musil et al 2005, Mucina & Rutherford 2006), leading some authors to call for renosterveld to be recognized as a unique vegetation type rather than a subset of fynbos (Bergh et al 2014). The richer substrate on which renosterveld occurs and its largely accessible topography makes it more prone to clearance for agriculture than fynbos (Cowling et al 1986, Rouget et al 2014), increasing the threat of transformation to this vegetation type over other habitat types in the CFR, with related consequences for fauna and flora (Fig. S1, available online).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Fragmented Landscape, Fragmented Knowledge: A Synthesis of Renosterveld Ecology and Conservation

Topp

Loos

2019

Envir. Conserv.

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SummaryKnowledge of ecological patterns and processes is key to effective conservation of biodiversity hotspots under threat. Renosterveld is one of the most critically endangered habitats in the biologically unique Cape Floristic Region, South Africa. For the first time, we map and synthesize the current state of knowledge on renosterveld ecology and conservation. We investigated 132 studies for the themes, locations and taxa of renosterveld research and the fragmentation, threats, recommendations and barriers to renosterveld conservation. More studies focused on plants than any other taxa (48% of articles) and are conducted mostly in larger, intact renosterveld fragments. The most commonly identified threat to renosterveld was agricultural intensification; conservation recommendations spanned improved farming practices, formal protection and local patch management. Conservation implementation has been piecemeal and has depended largely on the goodwill of landowners, which can be constrained by costs of conservation measures and a lack of suitable restoration means. Citizen science is a promising potential solution to some barriers. Fragmented knowledge in such a transformed and relatively densely populated region highlights the scale of knowledge gaps for other biodiversity hotspots and has implications for ongoing conservation work.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fragmented Landscape, Fragmented Knowledge: A Synthesis of Renosterveld Ecology and Conservation

Topp

Loos

2019

Envir. Conserv.

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“…Thus, the CFR may be as important a biodiversity hotspot for belowground systems as it is for those more visible on the surface. Loss or degradation of local sites may thus have more of an impact on Fynbos biodiversity than is currently estimated (Rouget et al, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The paucity of empirical work on CFR fauna constrains understanding of the eco‐evolutionary dynamics of the region, so precluding more general insight into the circumstances that might promote unusually high diversity (Jiménez & Ricklefs, ; Kemp et al, ; Kreft & Jetz, ). But it is also of practical concern given on‐going modification of the region by agriculture, urbanization, invasive species and climate change (Rouget et al, ; Rouget, Richardson, Cowling, Lloyd, & Lombard, ). If turnover among sites is indeed high in animal groups, the degradation or elimination of local habitat patches will be as much a threat to them as it is to the flora.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High spatial turnover in springtails of the Cape Floristic Region

Janion‐Scheepers

Bengtsson

Duffy

et al. 2020

Journal of Biogeography

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Aim:The extraordinary diversity of plants across the Cape Floristic Region is characterized by considerable species turnover among sites. Phytophagous insects show similarly high turnover, but their patterns are closely coupled to those of their hosts.If the mechanisms underlying high plant turnover are not unique to plants, similar patterns of turnover should also be seen in non-herbivorous arthropod groups. We tested this hypothesis using new data for the Collembola fauna of the Fynbos biome. Location:The south-western Cape, South Africa.Taxon: Springtails (Hexapoda: Collembola). Methods:We sampled springtails from six sites over two seasons. Species richness was compared with expected values from other studies worldwide given the environmental characteristics of the sites sampled. Nestedness and turnover components of beta diversity were calculated and compared against beta diversity patterns of springtails across Europe.Results: A total of 114 morphospecies from 14 families was collected. Species richness of Fynbos sites ranged from 14 to 31 species, which was not significantly different to that previously reported for non-Fynbos locations and generally within expectations given the temperature, rainfall and productive energy of each site. Beta diversity was high across all pairwise comparisons of Fynbos sites and dominated by species replacement rather than assemblage nestedness. Relative to the distance between sites, Fynbos assemblages, with a median inter-site distance of 140 km, showed beta diversity substantially higher than in European assemblages, which had a median inter-site distance of 1,270 km. Main conclusions: Alpha diversity of Fynbos Collembola assemblages is in keepingwith species richness expectations. By contrast, beta diversity is high given the small distances among sites and is characterized predominantly by species turnover. These patterns of unremarkable alpha diversity, but high turnover among sites are comparable to many Fynbos plant groups. The mechanisms giving rise to high beta diversity of the plants may also have led to high diversity in other taxa. K E Y W O R D S arthropods, belowground fauna, beta diversity, nestedness, soil diversity, species energy, turnover B I OS K E TCH E S Charlene Janion-Scheepers is interested in the adaptation and plasticity of organisms' responses to climate change and how these responses differ between introduced and indigenous species.

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“…Dune ecosystems are under threat everywhere, from alien plant invasions, ongoing conversion for tourism, urban and industrial use to increase in sea-level as a result of global warming (Brown & McLachlan, 2002; Defeo et al, 2009; Prisco, Carboni & Acosta, 2013). In the CFR, most Holocene dune vegetation types have a low-priority conservation status (“Least Threatened”), based on the extent to which conservation targets have been, or still have the potential to be achieved (Rouget et al, 2014). However, conservation assessments need to consider the rarity of the coastal dune habitat (Van Der Maarel & Van Der Maarel-Versluys, 1996): endemics are restricted to small, dynamic and fragmented habitats relative to more extensive zonal ecosystems.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Taxonomic, biological and geographical traits of species in a coastal dune flora in the southeastern Cape Floristic Region: regional and global comparisons

Cowling

Logie²,

Brady³

et al. 2019

PeerJ

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In Mediterranean-Climate Ecosystems (MCEs), Holocene coastal dunes comprise small, fragmented and dynamic features which have nutritionally imbalanced and excessively drained, droughty, sandy soils. These characteristics, along with summer drought and salt-laden winds, pose many challenges for plant colonization and persistence. Consequently, MCE dune floras are likely to be distinctive with a high proportion of habitat specialists and strong convergence in growth form mixes. Very little research has compared the species traits of dune floras within and across MCEs. This paper contributes to filling that gap. Here, we analyze the taxonomic, biological and geographical traits for all 402 species in a flora from a dune landscape (Cape St Francis) in the southeastern Cape Floristic Region (CFR) and compare patterns with the trait profiles of other dune floras at a regional (CFR) and global (MCE) scale. Within the CFR, the southeastern (all-year-rainfall) flora at Cape St Francis had a similar trait profile to western (winter-rainfall) dune floras, except for having a lower representation of species belonging to CFR-endemic clades, and higher number of species associated with tropical lineages. The St Francis flora, in common with other CFR and MCE floras, was dominated by members of the Asteraceae, Fabaceae and Poaceae. Some 40% of the St Francis flora was endemic to the CFR, typical of the high rate of MCE-level endemism elsewhere in the CFR, and in other MCEs. About 30% of the flora was confined to calcareous sand, a value typical for many other MCE sites. The St Francis flora, as well as other CFR dune floras, differs from those of other MCEs by having many species associated with shrubby lineages, and by the relatively high incidence of species associated with tropical lineages. The growth form profile of the St Francis and other CFR floras shows strongest similarity with that of Australian MCE dunes in that in both regions, evergreen hemicryptophytes and shrubs share dominance, and annuals are floristically and ecologically subordinate. The least similar of MCEs to the St Francis trait profile is the Mediterranean Basin where annuals are the most frequent growth form while shrubs are subordinate. California and Chile dune floras appear to occupy an intermediate position, in terms of growth form mix, between the Cape and Australia on the one hand, where dune floras have retained features typical of nutrient-poor soils, and the Mediterranean Basin, where dwarf, deciduous shrubs and annuals dominate the life form spectrum. All MCE dunes are threatened by alien plants, infrastructure development, tourism demands and rising sea levels. The high incidence of species of conservation concern in CFR dune floras underestimates the exponentially increasing threats to their habitats, which are already historically at a much-reduced extent. All remaining coastal dune habitat in the CFR, and probably in other MCEs, should be conserved in their entirety.

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Conserving the Cape Floristic Region

Cited by 15 publications

References 35 publications

Fragmented Landscape, Fragmented Knowledge: A Synthesis of Renosterveld Ecology and Conservation

Fragmented Landscape, Fragmented Knowledge: A Synthesis of Renosterveld Ecology and Conservation

High spatial turnover in springtails of the Cape Floristic Region

Taxonomic, biological and geographical traits of species in a coastal dune flora in the southeastern Cape Floristic Region: regional and global comparisons

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