Vegetation

An analysis of the floras of the BR indicates several centres of floristic diversity, concentration and species diversity. Five major flora sub-centres are recognised: Hopefield Sandveld, Saldanha Peninsula, Darling Range, West Coast and Atlantis (especially Riverlands Nature Reserve) (Figure 4). Endemic species form a fairly high proportion of the total flora of the BR, with some 127 species (8.4%) being on the Red Data list.

DOWNLOADS

• PLANT SPECIES OCCURRING IN THE CAPE WEST COAST BIOSPHERE RESERVE
  – Records from Goldblatt & Manning (2000) and SaSFlora (2003) DOWNLOAD PDF
• FLORA SPECIES LISTING and DARLING FLORA PROJECT DOWNLOAD

Flora centres of the CWCBR

Vegetation Types

Twelve vegetation types are found within the CWCBR and these are shown in Table 2. Of the 366000 ha of vegetation originally occurring in the region, only 206500 ha (56.4%) remains. Most of this has been lost to agriculture and urbanisation, with vast tracts infested with invasive acacias. Of interest is the presence of localised or “endemic” vegetation types i.e. those that have their distribution either restricted or nearly restricted to the region. These are Saldanha Granite Renosterveld, Saldanha Calcrete Flats Thicket, Saldanha Limestone Thicket, Langebaan Dune Thicket, and Hopefield Sand Fynbos. Of the original vegetation in the CWCBR, much has been lost. Figure 5 illustrates this situation.