Durbanville Nature Reserve
Encyclopedia
Durbanville Nature Reserve is a 6 hectare piece of protected land, located next to the Durbanville Racecourse in Cape Town
, South Africa
.
This small triangular nature reserve
is located on the border between two critically endangered
vegetation types: Swartland Shale Renosterveld
and Cape Flats Sand Fynbos
. It was proclaimed in the 1960s after Aristea lugens, a rare species of plant, was discovered here. The invasive alien vegetation was then cleared and the indigenous landscape was restored. The park is now home to around 130 species of plant - three of which exist only in Cape Town and ten of which are threatened with extinction
.
It is also a natural habitat for wild animals such as the Angulate Tortoise, the Small Grey Mongoose and the endangered Cape Rain Frog
.
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
.
This small triangular nature reserve
Nature reserve
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...
is located on the border between two critically endangered
Critically endangered
Version 2010.3 of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species identified 3744 Critically Endangered species, subspecies and varieties, stocks and subpopulations.Critically Endangered by kingdom:*1993 Animalia*2 Fungi*1745 Plantae*4 Protista-References:...
vegetation types: Swartland Shale Renosterveld
Swartland Shale Renosterveld
Swartland Shale Renosterveld is a critically endangered vegetation type of the Western Cape, South Africa. -Distribution:...
and Cape Flats Sand Fynbos
Cape Flats Sand Fynbos
Cape Flats Sand Fynbos , previously known as Sand Plain Fynbos, is a critically endangered vegetation type that occurs only within the city of Cape Town, including the Cape Flats district. Less than 1% of this unique lowland Fynbos vegetation is conserved.-Description:This is the richest and most...
. It was proclaimed in the 1960s after Aristea lugens, a rare species of plant, was discovered here. The invasive alien vegetation was then cleared and the indigenous landscape was restored. The park is now home to around 130 species of plant - three of which exist only in Cape Town and ten of which are threatened with extinction
Extinction
In biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms , normally a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point...
.
It is also a natural habitat for wild animals such as the Angulate Tortoise, the Small Grey Mongoose and the endangered Cape Rain Frog
Cape Rain Frog
The Cape Rain Frog or Giant Rain Frog is a species of frog in the Microhylidae family.-Habitat and Distribution:...
.
See also
- Biodiversity of Cape TownBiodiversity of Cape Town- Floristic region :The city of Cape Town lies within the Cape Floristic Kingdom . - Vegetation types :...
- List of nature reserves in Cape Town
- Cape Flats Sand FynbosCape Flats Sand FynbosCape Flats Sand Fynbos , previously known as Sand Plain Fynbos, is a critically endangered vegetation type that occurs only within the city of Cape Town, including the Cape Flats district. Less than 1% of this unique lowland Fynbos vegetation is conserved.-Description:This is the richest and most...
- Swartland Shale RenosterveldSwartland Shale RenosterveldSwartland Shale Renosterveld is a critically endangered vegetation type of the Western Cape, South Africa. -Distribution:...