Fire ecology -- Cape fynbos biome
Date
2013
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Fire management -- Cape Fynbos biome
Abstract
The management of fire-dependent biodiversity hotspots must be based on sound ecological knowledge and a
pragmatic approach that accommodates the constraints within which fire managers must operate. South Africa’s
fynbos biome (shrubland or heathland vegetation found in the Western Cape of South Africa) is one such
hotspot. In this region, the implementation of prescribed burning to conserve biodiversity must take into
account the area’s rugged and inaccessible terrain and recurrent wildfires, the presence of fire-adapted invasive
alien plants, and the imperatives for ensuring human safety. These constraints limit the potential for prescribed
burning to be effective everywhere, and prioritization and trade-offs will be needed to ensure the efficient use of
limited funding and management capacity. In such environments, management must be adaptive, based on
clearly defined and shared goals, monitoring, and assessment, and should be flexible enough to adjust as new lessons are learned.
Description
CITATION: Van Wilgen, B. W. 2013. Fire management in species-rich Cape fynbos shrublands. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 11:e35–e44, doi:10.1890/120137.
The original publication is available at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com
The original publication is available at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Keywords
Wildfires -- Western Cape -- South Africa
Citation
Van Wilgen, B. W. 2013. Fire management in species-rich Cape fynbos shrublands. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 11:e35–e44, doi:10.1890/120137