A lost biome: A tale of the South African coastal flora
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2018-06-21
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South African coastal vegetation is poorly defined and lacking consistent treatment as it is spread across different vegetation type definitions. However, in this talk, we suggest that this “dune thicket/fynbos mosaic” (also known as strandveld) should be considered a unique vegetation type based on floristics and ecology. This coastal flora is exceptionally rich when compared to similar habitats globally, with an initially surprising long list of endemics. Ecologically, it comprises fire-adapted underground forests (i.e. thicket lineages) that intermingle with fynbos elements. We argue that the “thicket/fynbos mosaic” are not competing vegetation types but a co-evolved community that arose on the PalaeoAgulhas Plain. The current coastal slivers of this vegetation represent the remains of an extensive biome that existed for most of the Quaternary, during lowered sea-levels, on the Palaeo-Agulhas Plain.
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Vegetation, Coastal, Dune, Thicket, Fynbos
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Abstract
South African coastal vegetation is poorly defined and lacking consistent treatment as it is spread across different vegetation type definitions. However, in this talk, we suggest that this “dune thicket/fynbos mosaic” (also known as strandveld) should be considered a unique vegetation type based on floristics and ecology. This coastal flora is exceptionally rich when compared to similar habitats globally, with an initially surprising long list of endemics. Ecologically, it comprises fire-adapted underground forests (i.e. thicket lineages) that intermingle with fynbos elements. We argue that the “thicket/fynbos mosaic” are not competing vegetation types but a co-evolved community that arose on the PalaeoAgulhas Plain. The current coastal slivers of this vegetation represent the remains of an extensive biome that existed for most of the Quaternary, during lowered sea-levels, on the Palaeo-Agulhas Plain.
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