Cape Town's forests and plantations
Cape Town has small areas of indigenous forest situated in fire-protected kloofs, with some of our forests, such as Orange Kloof, having expanded into historical fynbos areas because of fire suppression.
Indigenous versus alien trees
It is important that we know the difference between Cape indigenous forest and alien plantations. Forests are diverse ecosystems with a complex vegetation structure supporting our indigenous flora and fauna, while plantations are ‘monocultures’ which are made up of alien plants such as pine and gum trees that were planted in order to produce timber.
Fast fact
Indigenous: means a plant or animal comes from our environment and belongs here.
Alien: means a plant or animal is foreign to our region and if it can establish and spread in natural areas. Such species are harmful to local species.
Our indigenous forests
Our indigenous forests are afrotemperate forests. An afrotemperate forest is made up of a complex community of canopy, subcanopy and understorey trees as well as vines and herbaceous ground covers. Much like other native vegetation types such as
fynbos, renosterveld and strandveld; forests play an important role in keeping our plants healthy by:
- preventing soil erosion;
- removing carbon dioxide from the air; and
- providing a home to a variety of animals, birds and bugs.
Unlike
fynbos, our forests are not adapted to fire. This is why you will find our trees mostly in gorges and ravines and other areas that fire can’t easily reach.
Fast fact
Forest is the least threatened of all the Cape’s vegetation types. However, invasive alien plants remain the biggest threat to our indigenous forests.
Know your trees
Typical trees found in the Cape include:
- Yellowwood (Podocarpus latifolius)
- Cape beech
- White stinkwood
- Milkwood
- Assegai
- Cape holly
- Red elder
- Hard pear
- Various ferns, herbs, bushes and vines
Plantations
In the early 1900s, commercial pine plantations were planted on the slopes of Table Mountain. Many of these have recently been harvested and will not be replanted. Instead, threatened indigenous fynbos vegetation will be restored to these areas.
Fast fact
Plantations were only planted in fynbos areas. Forest species have since invaded owing to fire suppression.
Invasive alien species like the Australian Acacia, Hakea and Eucalyptus trees as well as pines from the northern hemisphere compete with local trees and plants for water and sunlight and also change the way our ecosystems work.
Find a forest
Some of our most popular indigenous forests include:
- Skeleton Gorge;
- Newlands Ravine;
- Echo Valley;
- Spes Bona Valley; and
- Orange Kloof.
All of these are part of the
Table Mountain National Park.
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