Albany Thicket a real botanical treasure trove
Albany Thicket is an incredibly diverse type of vegetation and those living in Bathurst are lucky to be at the epicentre of this ancient and globally important biome.
Mike Powell of the Rhodes Restoration Research Group (RRRG) reminded a packed meeting of this at the relaunch of the Friends of Waters Meeting Nature Reserve at Pike’s Post in Bathurst on Saturday May 7.
“Thicket is a dwarf, compressed form of dry forest, a very complex vegetation type. In the golden age of thicket, which peaked just after the dinosaurs, it spread out worldwide,” Powell said.
Now thicket exists in a handful of countries, including South Africa and Madagascar, where it occurs in regions as diverse as the semi-arid Karoo and the sub-tropical east coast.
Powell said the rich concentration of species and areas of high endemism made this area a very exciting place for botanists – even in a country as megadiverse as SA.
“In the world ranking of biodiversity hotspots, we live in number 34: the Maputaland, Pondoland Albany biodiversity hotspot. It’s a botanical treasure trove.”
He added that being a hotspot was not actually a good thing: it meant that there was a high level of threat to the species present, from things like development and clearing land for agriculture.
“Unfortunately, South Africa is known as one of the extinction capitals of the world.”
Powell urged members of Friends of Waters Meeting Nature Reserve to join forces with other groups to act as pressure groups to hold officials accountable and to see that environmental legislation was adhered to, and to build networks and share knowledge and awareness.
“Report illegal bush clearing activities. We need buffers around our nature reserves and many farmers are willing to help with this.”
The Kleinemonde catchment area in particular is under heavy pressure at the moment and the fate of the endangered river pipe fish (a sea horse), which depends on a clean and silt-free estuary, is heavily dependent on prudent decision-making upstream.
The meeting concluded with a lucky draw for three tough, water-wise thicket trees that are an asset in gardens in this area: the coast coral tree, Cape ash and saucer-berry.
Anyone who would like a free copy of the RRRG ebooklet series on thicket trees can email friendsofwatersmeeting@gmail.com. To report illegal bush clearing activities, contact environmental officer Bulelwa Bans on 083-567-4256.
Citizen scientists can share information about their plant and animal finds on the iNaturalist app. See www.inaturalist.org/