Renosterveld
Encyclopedia
Renosterveld is a term used for one of the major plant communities and vegetation
types of the Cape Floristic Region
(Cape Floral Kingdom) which is located in southwestern and southeastern South Africa
, in southernmost Africa
. It is an ecoregion
of the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub
Biome
.
language means "rhinoceros-field", a possible reference to the high number of rhinoceroses seen by the Afrikaner settlers at the time. It may also derive its name from the Renosterbos
("Rhinoceros Bush - Elytropappus rhinocerotis), which is a common species of shrub found here. The dull grey colour of Renosterbos is similar to the colour of a rhino's hide.
Renosterveld usually grows in areas that have moderate winter rainfall of 300–600 mm per year. It can survive relatively frequent fires.
. However, the Protea
s, Erica
s and Restio
s - typical of Fynbos
habitat
s, tend to be absent in Renosterveld, or are present in very low abundances. There are few endemics to Renosterveld vegetation alone, many of the species occurring in Fynbos as well. However, species endemic to the Cape Floristic Region comprise about one-third of Renosterveld plant species, and many of these belong to families which are not considered to be of "Cape affinity" (ie. these families are also diverse outside the Cape Floral Kingdom).
Grasses: Themeda triandra
Shrubs and small trees: renosterbos
, karee, wild rosemary, wild olive.
Perennials: geophytes from the iris, amaryllis
, hyacinth, orchid and other plant families.
and Khoi
, used Renosterveld plants for food, medicine and grazing. Because of their relatively small populations and simple lifestyles, they did not cause a great deal of damage to this ecosystem.
Many Renosterveld trees and shrubs produce berries, which attract fruit-eating birds (e.g. bulbul
s, Cape white-eye
s) and other animals (e.g. Geometric tortoise
s, Chacma baboon
s).
During spring, Renosterveld flowers attract a wide variety of pollinators, like bee
s, flies
, beetle
s and sunbird
s.
, Quagga
, Bluebuck
, Roan Antelope, Red Hartebeest
, Eland
, Bontebok
, Elephant, Black Rhino and Cape Buffalo were common, as were Lion
, Cheetah
, African Wild Dog
, Spotted Hyena
and Leopard
.
Two of these only ever occurred within the Fynbos Biome: Bluebuck and Bontebok. Of these large mammals, only the Mountain Zebra and Leopard survived (by fleeing to the mountains), with the Bontebok just surviving near Bredasdorp. All the other species became extinct in the Fynbos Biome (probably only one elephant survives in the Forest Biome within the Fynbos Biome area), although many have been introduced into conservation areas from outside the region. The Quagga and Bluebuck are extinct, although there is a project (the Quagga Project
) to restore Plains zebra
s with quagga-like markings.
.
It is alleged that the high shrub cover is a result of continuous grazing. Early records suggest that the Renosterveld had abundant grasses, and that the game and Khoi cattle migrated over the region. With the establishment of European stock farmers, continuous grazing and the elimination of the diverse grazing-browsing fauna, the shrubby element was promoted. This theory is not universally accepted, but proponents argue to the sudden decline of hay near Cape Town in the early 18th century, and the many historical records of early explorers claiming that Renosterbos was taking over and that grass was becoming scarce.
In the Cape Floristic Region, less than 2% of Renosterveld vegetation types are formally conserved. These are some of the most threatened types of vegetation in the world.
It seems unlikely that viable populations of large mammals will ever be reintroduced into the Fynbos Biome for this reason.
. For more information go to:
Vegetation
Vegetation is a general term for the plant life of a region; it refers to the ground cover provided by plants. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular taxa, life forms, structure, spatial extent, or any other specific botanical or geographic characteristics. It is broader...
types of the Cape Floristic Region
Cape floristic region
The Cape Floristic Region is a floristic region located near the southern tip of South Africa. It is the only floristic region of the Cape Floristic Kingdom, and includes only one floristic province, known as the Cape Floristic Province.The Cape Floristic Region, the smallest of the six recognised...
(Cape Floral Kingdom) which is located in southwestern and southeastern South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, in southernmost Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. It is an ecoregion
Ecoregion
An ecoregion , sometimes called a bioregion, is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than an ecozone and larger than an ecosystem. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural...
of the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub
Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub
Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome, defined by the World Wildlife Fund, characterized by dry summers and rainy winters. Summers are typically hot in low-lying inland locations but can be cool near some seas, as near San Francisco, which have a sea of cool waters...
Biome
Biome
Biomes are climatically and geographically defined as similar climatic conditions on the Earth, such as communities of plants, animals, and soil organisms, and are often referred to as ecosystems. Some parts of the earth have more or less the same kind of abiotic and biotic factors spread over a...
.
Etymology
Renosterveld directly translated in the AfrikaansAfrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...
language means "rhinoceros-field", a possible reference to the high number of rhinoceroses seen by the Afrikaner settlers at the time. It may also derive its name from the Renosterbos
Elytropappus rhinocerotis
Elytropappus rhinocerotis is a species of flowering plants in the daisy family, Asteraceae, endemic to South Africa...
("Rhinoceros Bush - Elytropappus rhinocerotis), which is a common species of shrub found here. The dull grey colour of Renosterbos is similar to the colour of a rhino's hide.
Geology
Renosterveld plants grow on rich soil, which makes them more nutritious than typical fynbos plants. Typically, Renosterveld is largely confined to fine-grained soils - mainly clays and silts - which are derived from the shales of the Malmesbury and Bokkeveld Groups and the Karoo Sequence. In drier regions it also occurs on Cape Granite Suite-derived soils.Renosterveld usually grows in areas that have moderate winter rainfall of 300–600 mm per year. It can survive relatively frequent fires.
Characteristics
Flora
This vegetation type is dominated by a species of grey-coloured plant called the RenosterbosElytropappus rhinocerotis
Elytropappus rhinocerotis is a species of flowering plants in the daisy family, Asteraceae, endemic to South Africa...
. However, the Protea
Protea
Protea is both the botanical name and the English common name of a genus of flowering plants, sometimes also called sugarbushes.-Etymology:...
s, Erica
Erica
Erica ,the heaths or heathers, is a genus of approximately 860 species of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae. The English common names "heath" and "heather" are shared by some closely related genera of similar appearance....
s and Restio
Restio
Restio is the name of a group of plants within the Restionaceae. Many species formerly included within the Restio genus are now classified into a number of other genera including Acion, Baloskion and Eurychorda....
s - typical of Fynbos
Fynbos
Fynbos is the natural shrubland or heathland vegetation occurring in a small belt of the Western Cape of South Africa, mainly in winter rainfall coastal and mountainous areas with a Mediterranean climate...
habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
s, tend to be absent in Renosterveld, or are present in very low abundances. There are few endemics to Renosterveld vegetation alone, many of the species occurring in Fynbos as well. However, species endemic to the Cape Floristic Region comprise about one-third of Renosterveld plant species, and many of these belong to families which are not considered to be of "Cape affinity" (ie. these families are also diverse outside the Cape Floral Kingdom).
- Typical renosterveld plants include:
Grasses: Themeda triandra
Themeda triandra
Themeda triandra is a perennial grass widespread in Africa, Australia, Asia and the Pacific. In Australia it is commonly known as kangaroo grass, in East and South Africa it is known as "red oat grass" or red grass, in Afrikaans, rooigras.The species has a tuffted habit and can reach up to 1.5 m...
Shrubs and small trees: renosterbos
Elytropappus rhinocerotis
Elytropappus rhinocerotis is a species of flowering plants in the daisy family, Asteraceae, endemic to South Africa...
, karee, wild rosemary, wild olive.
Perennials: geophytes from the iris, amaryllis
Amaryllis
Amaryllis is a small genus of flowering bulbs, with two species. The better known of the two, Amaryllis belladonna, is a native of South Africa, particularly the rocky southwest region near the Cape...
, hyacinth, orchid and other plant families.
Uses
The original inhabitants of the Western Cape, the SanBushmen
The indigenous people of Southern Africa, whose territory spans most areas of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Mozambique, Swaziland, Botswana, Namibia, and Angola, are variously referred to as Bushmen, San, Sho, Barwa, Kung, or Khwe...
and Khoi
Khoi
Khoi may refer to:*The common name of Siamese Rough Bush, Streblus asper Lour*The Khoikhoi people*One of the Khoe languages*The Khoekhoe language*Khoy, a city in Iran*Khoy County, an administrative subdivision of Iran...
, used Renosterveld plants for food, medicine and grazing. Because of their relatively small populations and simple lifestyles, they did not cause a great deal of damage to this ecosystem.
Many Renosterveld trees and shrubs produce berries, which attract fruit-eating birds (e.g. bulbul
Bulbul
Bulbuls are a family, Pycnonotidae, of medium-sized passerine songbirds. Many forest species are known as greenbuls. The family is distributed across most of Africa and into the Middle East, tropical Asia to Indonesia, and north as far as Japan. A few insular species occur on the tropical islands...
s, Cape white-eye
Cape White-eye
The Cape White-eye, Zosterops pallidus, is a small passerine bird in the white-eye family. It is native to southern Africa.-Taxonomy:There are six subspecies. Traditionally, the western nominate group and the eastern capensis group have been treated as separate species; the Orange River White-eye ...
s) and other animals (e.g. Geometric tortoise
Geometric Tortoise
The geometric tortoise is an 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.-Identification:...
s, Chacma baboon
Chacma Baboon
The Chacma baboon , also known as the Cape baboon, is, like all other baboons, from the Old World monkey family. With a body length of up to 115 cm and a weight from 15 to 31 kg, it is among the largest and heaviest baboon species. The Chacma is generally dark brown to gray in color,...
s).
During spring, Renosterveld flowers attract a wide variety of pollinators, like bee
Bee
Bees are flying insects closely related to wasps and ants, and are known for their role in pollination and for producing honey and beeswax. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamily Apoidea, presently classified by the unranked taxon name Anthophila...
s, flies
Fließ
Fließ is a municipality in the Landeck district and is located5 km south of Landeck on the upper course of the Inn River. It has 9 hamlets and was already populated at the roman age; the village itself was founded around the 6th century. After a conflagration in 1933 Fließ was restored more...
, beetle
Beetle
Coleoptera is an order of insects commonly called beetles. The word "coleoptera" is from the Greek , koleos, "sheath"; and , pteron, "wing", thus "sheathed wing". Coleoptera contains more species than any other order, constituting almost 25% of all known life-forms...
s and sunbird
Sunbird
The sunbirds and spiderhunters are a family, Nectariniidae, of very small passerine birds. There are 132 species in 15 genera. The family is distributed throughout Africa, southern Asia and just reaches northern Australia. Most sunbirds feed largely on nectar, but also take insects and spiders,...
s.
Fauna
Because of its high soil fertility, it is probable that all the herds of large game in the Fynbos Biome occurred in Renosterveld. Thus Mountain ZebraMountain Zebra
The Mountain Zebra, Equus zebra, is a threatened species of equid native to south-western Angola, Namibia and South Africa. It has two subspecies, the Cape Mountain Zebra and Hartmann's Mountain Zebra , though it has been suggested these should be considered separate species.-Taxonomy:In 2004,...
, Quagga
Quagga
The quagga is an extinct subspecies of the plains zebra, which was once found in great numbers in South Africa's Cape Province and the southern part of the Orange Free State. It was distinguished from other zebras by having the usual vivid marks on the front part of the body only...
, Bluebuck
Bluebuck
The Bluebuck or Blue Antelope , sometimes called Blaubok, is an extinct species of antelope, the first large African mammal to disappear in historic times. It is related to the Roan Antelope and Sable Antelope, but slightly smaller than either...
, Roan Antelope, Red Hartebeest
Red Hartebeest
The Red Hartebeest is a species of even-toed ungulate in the Bovidae family. It is found in Southern Africa. There are more than 130,000 individuals left. The Red Hartebeest is closely related to the Tsessebe and the Topi....
, Eland
Common Eland
The common eland , also known as the southern eland or eland antelope, is a savannah and plains antelope found in East and Southern Africa. It is the largest antelope in the African continent...
, Bontebok
Bontebok
The Bontebok is an antelope found in South Africa and Lesotho. The Bontebok has two subspecies; the endangered Bontebok , occurring naturally in the Fynbos and Renosterveld areas of the Western Cape, and the Blesbok occurring in the highveld.The Bontebok stands 80 to 100 cm at the shoulder and...
, Elephant, Black Rhino and Cape Buffalo were common, as were Lion
Lion
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
, Cheetah
Cheetah
The cheetah is a large-sized feline inhabiting most of Africa and parts of the Middle East. The cheetah is the only extant member of the genus Acinonyx, most notable for modifications in the species' paws...
, African Wild Dog
African Wild Dog
Lycaon pictus is a large canid found only in Africa, especially in savannas and lightly wooded areas. It is variously called the African wild dog, African hunting dog, Cape hunting dog, painted dog, painted wolf, painted hunting dog, spotted dog, or ornate wolf...
, Spotted Hyena
Spotted Hyena
The spotted hyena also known as laughing hyena, is a carnivorous mammal of the family Hyaenidae, of which it is the largest extant member. Though the species' prehistoric range included Eurasia extending from Atlantic Europe to China, it now only occurs in all of Africa south of the Sahara save...
and Leopard
Leopard
The leopard , Panthera pardus, is a member of the Felidae family and the smallest of the four "big cats" in the genus Panthera, the other three being the tiger, lion, and jaguar. The leopard was once distributed across eastern and southern Asia and Africa, from Siberia to South Africa, but its...
.
Two of these only ever occurred within the Fynbos Biome: Bluebuck and Bontebok. Of these large mammals, only the Mountain Zebra and Leopard survived (by fleeing to the mountains), with the Bontebok just surviving near Bredasdorp. All the other species became extinct in the Fynbos Biome (probably only one elephant survives in the Forest Biome within the Fynbos Biome area), although many have been introduced into conservation areas from outside the region. The Quagga and Bluebuck are extinct, although there is a project (the Quagga Project
Quagga Project
The Quagga Project is an attempt by a group in South Africa to bring back the quagga from extinction and reintroduce it into reserves in its former habitat....
) to restore Plains zebra
Plains Zebra
The plains zebra , also known as the common zebra or Burchell's zebra, is the most common and geographically widespread species of zebra. It ranges from the south of Ethiopia through East Africa to as far south as Angola and eastern South Africa...
s with quagga-like markings.
Threats
The high fertility of renosterveld soils has meant that most of the area has been converted to agriculture, mainly wheatWheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
.
It is alleged that the high shrub cover is a result of continuous grazing. Early records suggest that the Renosterveld had abundant grasses, and that the game and Khoi cattle migrated over the region. With the establishment of European stock farmers, continuous grazing and the elimination of the diverse grazing-browsing fauna, the shrubby element was promoted. This theory is not universally accepted, but proponents argue to the sudden decline of hay near Cape Town in the early 18th century, and the many historical records of early explorers claiming that Renosterbos was taking over and that grass was becoming scarce.
In the Cape Floristic Region, less than 2% of Renosterveld vegetation types are formally conserved. These are some of the most threatened types of vegetation in the world.
It seems unlikely that viable populations of large mammals will ever be reintroduced into the Fynbos Biome for this reason.
Conservation
Conservation organisations and volunteers are working with farmers and municipalities to identify, map and protect the remaining precious areas of Renosterveld in the Western CapeWestern Cape
The Western Cape is a province in the south west of South Africa. The capital is Cape Town. Prior to 1994, the region that now forms the Western Cape was part of the much larger Cape Province...
. For more information go to:
- http://www.botanicalsociety.org.za
- http://www.capenature.co.za
- http://www.sanbi.org
- http://www.renosterveld.org