Endangered vegetation type endemic to the coastal areas around Cape Town
Cape Flats Dune Strandveld is an
endangered vegetation type. This is a unique type of Cape Strandveld that is endemic to the coastal areas around Cape Town, including the Cape Flats.[1][2]
Habitat
Strandveld means “beach scrub” in the
sand dunes on the beaches around Cape Town, and is incredibly colourful in spring when it bursts into flower. It supports a very high biomass
of browsing animals, and in the past it was grazed by large herds.
The strongly
Succulents form a high proportion of Strandveld plants, consequently, fires are much less common in Strandveld than in the neighbouring Fynbos
vegetation.
Cape Flats Dune Strandveld is
endangered
. More than half of the Cape’s Strandveld has been lost to urbanisation and the building of beach resorts, and only 14 percent of this unique vegetation type is actually conserved.
Habitat preserves
Nature preserves with Cape Flats Dune Strandveld habitat include:
Cape Strandveld vegetation is typically composed of areas of tall, evergreen shrubs, with great numbers of bulbs, grasses, succulents and annual flowers growing in between. Historically, dense forests of large Milkwood trees used to exist at Noordhoek, Olifantsbos, Macassar and Gordons Bay.
Plants that are naturally found in Cape Strandveld include shrubs such as