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37-511: The Dorset Heaths form an important area of heathland within the Poole Basin in southern England . Much of the area is protected. According to Natural England , who have designated the Dorset Heaths as National Character Area 135, the heathlands cover an area of 61,662 hectares, whose boundary runs from Bockhampton and Warmwell in the west via Wimborne Minster to Fordingbridge in

74-405: A high number of endemic species, and tends to favour larger plants than those growing on the hillier areas. They include the larger Restionaceae such as species of Elegia , Thamnochortus , and Willdenowia and proteas such as king protea ( Protea cynaroides ) and blushing bride ( Serruria florida ). Particular types of lowland fynbos include the shrubs and herbs of the coastal sand dunes,

111-529: A number of tortoises and the chameleon-like arum frog ( Hyperolius horstockii ). The Montane Fynbos and Renosterveld is the area above 300 m (980 ft), a total of 45,000 km (17,000 sq mi) of the Cape Fold Mountains. The same level of floral variety, including all three characteristic fynbos families, is found there, but ericas predominate. Because the higher and wetter areas are more protected and contain important water sources,

148-471: A tiny proportion have as yet been subjected to formal testing, many have already been identified as having medicinal properties. The fynbos is the region of South Africa most affected by invasive alien species which collectively cover around 10% of the entire country. The most common invasive plants are wattles and hakeas , native to Australia, and pines native to Europe and the Californian coast of

185-526: Is available as the local seed source, and thus it may not reflect the natural vegetation before the heathland became established. The heath features prominently in: Fynbos Fynbos ( / ˈ f eɪ n b ɒ s / ; 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

222-667: Is favoured where climatic conditions are typically hard and dry, particularly in summer, and soils acidic, of low fertility, and often sandy and very free-draining; a mire may occur where drainage is poor, but usually is only small in extent. Heaths are dominated by low shrubs, 20 centimetres (8 in) to 2 metres (7 feet) tall. Heath vegetation can be extremely plant-species rich, and heathlands of Australia are home to some 3,700 endemic or typical species in addition to numerous less restricted species. The fynbos heathlands of South Africa are second only to tropical rainforests in plant biodiversity with over 7,000 species. In marked contrast,

259-447: Is home to many unique and endemic animals, with seven species of endemic bird and an unknown number of endemic reptiles, amphibians, and arthropods. The seven avian endemics include the Cape rockjumper , Cape sugarbird , Victorin's warbler , Orange-breasted sunbird , Protea canary , Cape siskin , and Fynbos buttonquail . The fynbos area has been divided into two very similar ecoregions :

296-540: 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 and endemism , consisting of about 80% (8,500 fynbos) species of the Cape floral kingdom , where nearly 6,000 of them are endemic. This land continues to face severe human-caused threats, but due to

333-539: Is the silver-studded blue butterfly, Plebejus argus . Anthropogenic heath habitats are a cultural landscape that can be found worldwide in locations as diverse as northern and western Europe , the Americas , Australia , New Zealand , Madagascar and New Guinea . These heaths were originally made or expanded by centuries of human clearance of the natural forest and woodland vegetation, by grazing and burning. In some cases this clearance went so far that parts of

370-980: The Cape Flats to the Olifants; the Breede , which is the largest river on the Cape; the Olifants River (Southern Cape) ; Gourits and the Groot Rivers which drain the Little Karoo basin and the South Coast Forelands; and the Baviaanskloof and Gamtoos Rivers to the east. The most conspicuous components of the flora are evergreen sclerophyllous plants, many with ericoid leaves and gracile habit, as opposed to timber forest. Several plant families are conspicuous in fynbos;

407-577: The Cederberg area, and providing important exports. Restios continue to be used for thatching, as they have for hundreds or even thousands of years. Proteas and other floral species are grown in many areas and their flowers harvested for export. In many areas with Mediterranean climates, fynbos species have become popular garden plants, in particular aloes and geraniums , and in cooler regions are used as window plants. A very large number of fynbos plant species are used in traditional medicine, and while only

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444-930: The Proteaceae are prominent, with genera such as Protea , Leucospermum (the "pincushions"), and Leucadendron (the silver tree and " cone bushes "). Proteas are represented by many species and are prominent in the landscape, generally with large striking flowers, many of which are pollinated by birds, and others by small mammals. Most of these do not have anything like ericoid leaves, and nor do most Rhamnaceae , Fabaceae , or Geraniaceae . Fynbos Ericaceae include more species of Erica than all other regions combined. They are popularly called heaths and are generally smaller plants bearing many small, tubular or globular flowers and ericoid leaves. Restionaceae also occur in greater variety in fynbos than anywhere else; their species are superficially grass-like. Many of them grow in wet areas such as seasonal marshes and spongy basins in

481-619: The tree pipit . In Australia the heathland avian fauna is dominated by nectar-feeding birds such as honey-eaters and lorikeets , although numerous other birds from emus to eagles are also common in Australian heathlands. The birds of the South African fynbos include sunbirds , warblers and siskins. Heathlands are also an excellent habitat for insects including ants , moths, butterflies and wasps; many species are restricted entirely to it. One such example of an organism restricted to heathland

518-549: The NCA was 446,296 as of 2001 with an increase to 466,626 following the 2011 census. [1] The Dorset Heaths are home to a large number of protected areas including: Heathland Heaths are widespread worldwide but are fast disappearing and considered a rare habitat in Europe. They form extensive and highly diverse communities across Australia in humid and sub-humid areas where fire regimes with recurring burning are required for

555-600: The Northern Hemisphere north of the tropics. The diversity of fynbos plants is extremely high, with over 9,000 species of plants occurring in the area, around 6,200 of which are endemic , i.e. growing nowhere else in the world. South Africa's Western Cape has the vast majority of species with one estimate finding 8,550 species in 89,000 km , which is higher than that estimated for the Malayan forests, 7,900 species in 132,000 km . It has been claimed that it exceeds even

592-451: The Southeast coast – forms part of the Cape floral kingdom , where it accounts for half of the surface area and 80% of the plant species. The fynbos in the western regions is richer and more varied than in the eastern regions of South Africa. Of the world's six floral kingdoms , this is the smallest and richest per unit of area. The Holarctic kingdom, in contrast, incorporates the whole of

629-814: The United States. Pines had been introduced to South Africa by the 19th century and the wattles were imported into the mid-1870s to stabilize sand dunes . In 1997 it was estimated that invasion caused the fynbos region to decline in value by US$ 750 million per year. The Working for Water (WfW) program was started in 1995 by the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry to control these invasive species which were shown to sequester 9.95% of usable surface water runoff. Since then, over 100,000 hectares of land have been cleared of invasive species while providing jobs to around 20,000 people per year, most of which are women and unskilled workers. Systematic monitoring of WfW's progress

666-448: The West and South Coast Forelands; and the inland renosterveld of the drier inland Little Karoo and Warm Bokkeveld. The area is also home to a large number of endemic creatures that have adapted to life in this area, such as the monkey beetles which pollinate Ixia viridiflora . Endemic species of fish in the five river systems occur in the area, too. Endemic reptiles and amphibians include

703-500: The average height is just 32 metres (105 ft). Major rivers include the Frome , Stour , Moors , Piddle , Sherford , Allen , Corfe and Dorset Avon . The largest settlement within the Dorset Heaths is the extensive South East Dorset conurbation , this includes the large towns of Poole , Bournemouth and Christchurch . Other significant Satellite towns are Wareham , Fordingbridge and Wimborne Minster . The total population for

740-420: The current vernacular, this still is the effective sense of the word. However, in the technical, ecological sense, the constraints are more demanding. In the latter half of the 20th century, "fynbos" gained currency as the term for the "distinctive vegetation of the southwestern Cape". Fynbos – which grows in a 100-to-200-km-wide coastal belt stretching from Clanwilliam on the West coast to Port Elizabeth on

777-428: The discontinuation of traditional management techniques, such as grazing and burning, that mediated the landscapes. Some are also threatened by urban sprawl . Anthropogenic heathlands are maintained artificially by a combination of grazing and periodic burning (known as swailing), or (rarely) mowing; if not so maintained, they are rapidly recolonised by forest or woodland. The recolonising tree species will depend on what

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814-634: The entire United Kingdom. Thus, although the fynbos covers only 6% of the area of southern Africa, it has half the species on the subcontinent – and in fact has almost one in five of all African plant species so far described. Five main river systems traverse the Cape floral kingdom: the Oliphants River of the Western Cape ; the Berg River which drains the West Coast Forelands plain stretching from

851-737: The far northeast. It then turns southwards to Hengistbury Head , before following the coastline to Studland and Brownsea Island then finally heading westwards - north of South Purbeck (with the Purbeck Hills ) and the Weymouth Lowlands - to the Warmwell area. The character of the Dorset Heaths contrasts strongly with its neighbouring natural regions . Undulating lowland heath with heather , pines and gorse alternates with exposed, open, large-scale farmland , woodland and scrub . Blocks of conifers form locally prominent landmarks. Apart from

888-503: The flora changes from west to east, and also varies with altitude up the hillsides away from the coast and according to compass direction. Lower elevations are covered with protea fynbos, with ericas taking over further up. Plant species include pincushions ( Leucospermum ). The wildlife includes a number of endemic bees, beetles, horseflies, and ants, and birds such as Cape sugarbirds and the orange-breasted sunbird . Many of these birds and insects are important and specific pollinators for

925-555: The fynbos, such as the mountain pride butterfly ( Aeropetes tulbaghia ) which only visits red flowers such as Disa uniflora and pollinates 15 different species. Larger animals include antelopes, particularly Cape grysbok ( Raphicerus melanotis ), common duiker ( Sylvicapra grimmia ), and klipspringer ( Oreotragus oreotragus ). The extinct blue antelope and quagga were also fynbos natives. Rooibos ( Aspalathus linearis ) and honeybush ( Cyclopia intermedia ) are of economic importance, grown and harvested in large quantities in

962-760: The heathland have given way to open spots of pure sand and sand dunes , with a local climate that, even in Europe, can rise to temperatures of 50 °C (122 °F) in summer, drying the sand spot bordering the heathland and further raising its vulnerability for wildfires. Referring to heathland in England, Oliver Rackham says, "Heaths are clearly the product of human activities and need to be managed as heathland; if neglected they turn into woodland". The conservation value of these human-made heaths has become much more appreciated due to their historical cultural value as habitats; consequently, most heathlands are protected. However they are also threatened by tree incursion because of

999-642: The lowland fynbos (below 300 m above sea level) on the sandy soil of the west coast, and the montane fynbos of the Cape Fold Belt . The Lowland Fynbos and Renosterveld experiences regular winter rainfall, especially to the west of Cape Agulhas . The ecoregion has been subdivided into nine areas: the West Coast Forelands from the Cape Flats to the Olifants River (Western Cape); the Warm Bokkeveld basin around

1036-600: The maintenance of the heathlands. Even more diverse though less widespread heath communities occur in Southern Africa . Extensive heath communities can also be found in the Texas chaparral , New Caledonia , central Chile , and along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea . In addition to these extensive heath areas, the vegetation type is also found in scattered locations across all continents, except Antarctica . Heathland

1073-443: The major Poole - Bournemouth - Christchurch conurbation on the coast, much of the area is sparsely populated with scattered settlements and a few small villages and towns. Valleys are flat-bottomed and open with floodplain pastures. There is an outer perimeter of low, rolling hills marking the transition to chalk downland . The land within the Dorset Heaths rises to a maximum of 193 metres (633 ft) at Creech Barrow Hill , but

1110-587: The many economic uses of the fynbos, conservation efforts are being made to help restore it. The word fynbos is often confusingly said to mean "fine bush" in Afrikaans , as bos means "bush". Typical fynbos foliage is ericoid rather than fine. The term, in its pre-Afrikaans, Dutch form, fynbosch , was recorded by Noble as being in casual use in the late 19th century. In the early 20th century, John Bews referred to: "South-Western or Cape Region of Macchia or Fynbosch". He said: "In this well-known region where

1147-570: The mixture of ericoids and restoids with thickets of shrubs such as Maytenus , and other Celastraceae , sideroxylons and other Sapotaceae , and Rhus and other Anacardiaceae on the coastal sands; the classic fynbos of the sandplains of the West Coast Forelands, and the Agulhas Plain; the grassy fynbos of the hillier and wetter areas of the South and South-Eastern Coast Forelands; areas where fynbos and renosterveld are mixed; coastal renosterveld on

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1184-691: The original flora is more intact than in the lowlands; but agriculture and global warming are still threats. The region includes the mountains in the west from the Cape Peninsula to the Kouebokkeveld Mountains , the south coast hinterland from Elgin to Gqeberha, the mountains north of the Little Karoo from Laingsburg to Willowmore , and the inselberg hills within the Little Karoo. About half of these areas are originally fynbos, and about half are renosterveld. Many different microclimates occur, so

1221-438: The rain occurs in winter and the summers are more or less dry, the dominant vegetation is of a sclerophyllous type and there is little or no natural grassland , though there are many kinds of grass..." He also refers to a high degree of endemism in the grasses in that region. Elsewhere he speaks of the term as "...applied by the inhabitants of the Cape to any sort of small woodland growth that does not include timber trees"; in

1258-678: The richest tropical rainforest in South America, including the Amazon. Of the Ericas , over 600 occur in the fynbos kingdom, while only two or three dozen have been described in the rest of the world. This is in an area of 46,000 km – by comparison, the Netherlands , with an area of 33,000 km , has 1,400 species, none of them endemic. Table Mountain in Cape Town supports 2,200 species, more than

1295-567: The sources of mountain streams, but others grow in decidedly arid conditions. Depending on the locality and the aspects under discussion, several other families have equal claim to being characteristic, including Asteraceae , Rutaceae , and Iridaceae . More than 1400 bulb species occur among the fynbos, of which 96 are Gladiolus and 54 Lachenalia . Areas that are dominated by "renosterbos", Dicerothamnus rhinocerotis , (Asteraceae) are known as Renosterveld (Afrikaans for "rhinoceros field"). Fynbos vegetation types, code FF: The fynbos

1332-414: The tiny pockets of heathland in Europe are extremely depauperate with a flora consisting primarily of heather ( Calluna vulgaris ), heath ( Erica species) and gorse ( Ulex species). The bird fauna of heathlands are usually cosmopolitan species of the region. In the depauperate heathlands of Europe, bird species tend to be more characteristic of the community, and include Montagu's harrier and

1369-581: The town of Ceres ; the Elgin Valley around the town of Elgin ; the sandy Agulhas Plain on the coast; the Breede River valley around the town of Worcester ; the South Coast Forelands from Caledon west to Mossel Bay ; the south-eastern end of the Little Karoo; Langkloof valley; and the Southeastern Coast Forelands west from Tsitsikamma to Gqeberha . The flora of the lowlands contains

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