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Articles on fynbos

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Wildfires are the inevitable consequence of three factors coming together at the same time: an ignition, the weather and fuel. Brenton Geach/Gallo Images via Getty Images

The Table Mountain fire: what we can learn from the main drivers of wildfires

The fynbos vegetation that historically clothed the slopes of Table Mountain is highly inflammable. This has been worsened by the spread of alien trees that burn more intensely than the fynbos.
Fynbos, the biodiverse shrubland in Cape Town, is thought to have the third highest carbon stored per square metre for any biome in South Africa. It must be protected. Shutterstock

Cape Town’s climate strategy isn’t perfect, but every African city should have one

Cape Town’s new climate strategy is a good start. But it falls short when it comes to nature.
The tops of diseased, dying trees amid healthy trees in South Africa’s Harold Porter Botanical Gardens. Mike Wingfield

Tree diseases can change entire landscapes and must be taken seriously

These plants play a crucial role in a delicate ecosystem. If Cape Beech trees or in fact other native tree species are wiped out, that whole ecosystem shifts.
A fire rages through wetlands close to Cape Town in February 2017. EPA/Nic Bothma

What science tells us about fire hazards facing Cape Town and its surrounds

The danger of fires in the Cape region this season is partly dependent on how the Fynbos has been managed over the past few decades.

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