Fynbos: Famine in Paradise

Writer Dr Anina Lee

Readers probably don’t need to be told that fynbos is one of the most biodiverse types of plant life on earth. Our own tiny Fernkloof Nature reserve is only 1 800 hectares, yet is home to more species of plants than the entire United Kingdom.

In the words of world-renowned botanist and conservation scientist, Prof Richard Cowling: “At first glance, it appears incongruous – a botanical wonderland in an area where essential nutrients are very scarce; where summer drought dries out the topsoil for months; where recurring fires raze all in their path; …where howling winds pummel ceaselessly for days; …and where the amount of plant material produced is only marginally greater than in some deserts. These are definitely not the features that most people associate with paradise.”

Mystropetalon Thomii (Fynbos)

But fynbos plants flourish in these conditions. They have unique “adaptations against adversity” which have evolved over millions of years. One of the major adaptations is to the very infertile soils in which fynbos grows. To quote Prof Cowling, there is indeed “famine in paradise”.

All plants need a basic cocktail of mineral nutrients. But fynbos soil is especially poor in phosphorus, as well as nitrogen, sulphur, calcium, potassium and others. Fynbos soils are so nutrient-poor because most of them are derived from quartzites and sandstones of the Table Mountain and Witteberg groups which are themselves poor in minerals. Moreover, they give rise to sandy soils from which minerals can easily “wash out”.

Click below to read more.