Fynbos

Mountain fynbos on the Cape Peninsula
A 360 degree photograph of fynbos in the Groot Winterhoek section of the Cape Fold Mountains about 18 months after a fire. New plants can be seen in various stages of growth following the fire. The infertile white soil that fynbos tends to grow in can also be clearly seen.

Fynbos (/ˈfnbɒs/; Afrikaans pronunciation: [ˈfɛinbos] lit.'fine plants') is a small belt of natural shrubland or heathland vegetation located in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. This area is predominantly coastal and mountainous, with a Mediterranean climate and rainy winters. The fynbos ecoregion is within the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome. In fields related to biogeography, fynbos is known for its exceptional degree of biodiversity[1] and endemism,[2] consisting of about 80% (8,500 fynbos) species of the Cape floral kingdom, where nearly 6,000 of them are endemic.[3] This land continues to face severe human-caused threats, but due to the many economic uses of the fynbos, conservation efforts are being made to help restore it.[citation needed]

  1. ^ Manning, John (2008). Field Guide to Fynbos. Cape Town: Struik Publishers. ISBN 9781770072657.
  2. ^ "Lowland fynbos and renosterveld". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund. Retrieved 26 January 2010.
  3. ^ "Fynbos, South Africa". panda.org. Retrieved 15 January 2017.

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