Feature image: Fire above Vredehoek on Devil’s Peak, March 2009. Photo by Richard Parry
Harmful or Helpful?
If you live in the Western Cape of South Africa, veldfires are nothing new. Every year, as the summer season approaches, fires break out in the vegetation. Sometimes, these fires are high up in mountains barely accessed by people. Other times, they rage around our towns and cities. Glencairn 2000, Muizenberg 2015, Knysna 2017, University of Cape Town 2021, and most recently Skeleton Gorge 2024. These are just a few of the bigger, more memorable blazes that burned for several days. Sometimes these mountainous fires can burn for weeks. But why do these fires happen, how does the landscape cope and what influence have people had on the fire regimes in the Cape?
Burnt out area on the Twelve Apostles, Table Mountain Nov 2022
WHAT IS FYNBOS?
Fynbos (Afrikaans, pronounced fane-bos) is the generic term given to the main vegetation type found almost exclusively in the Western Cape1. It literally means “fine bush” and was named for the fine, needle-like leaves that many of the plants have. It is one of three biomes that make up the Cape Floral Kingdom – one of the six floral kingdoms of the world (and the only one found entirely in one country). Afromontane forest, mostly found along the southeast coastal “Garden Route” and the succulents of the west coast arid regions are the other two types.
There are a few different types of fynbos, each with their own species and characteristics, but they all share a few common traits. Fynbos has adapted to survive hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters. It grows in nutrient poor soils. And it is made to burn.
FIRE IN THE FYNBOS
Rare flowers, especially bulbs like this orchid species, bloom prolifically after fires.
Millions of years ago much of the African landscape was covered in Afromontane forest, but as the climate got warmer, these forests retreated into the wettest, most sheltered places. The Garden Route is so named as it receives a high amount of rainfall and as such allows for the lush forests to flourish. Around Cape Town, the eastern and southern slopes of famous Table Mountain are home to the last vestiges of forest.
As the big trees disappeared, the fynbos species, some from the time of the dinosaurs or older, were finally able to dominate. With the hotter, drier climate, fires became more frequent from lightning strikes and rockfalls. The plant species adapted to these fire cycles so much so that they now not only survive them, but actually depend on the fires for their regeneration.
STRATEGIES TO SURVIVE FIRE
There are three ways the fynbos plants survive fire: reseeding, resprouting, or by living underground.
These daisies are re-seeders, sprouting shortly after a fire, adding the first splashes of colour.
Reseeding: These plants set new seeds that will germinate and grow after the fire. The fire burns all the dead brush and competing plants and leaves a layer of nutrient-rich ash in which the new young seedlings grow. The seeds will have been dormant in the soil, some for many years before the heat or smoke from the fire stimulates germination. About 20% of fynbos species (and 50% of Protea species), rely on some indigenous ants to disperse and bury their seeds. The seeds have a sweet, nutritious treat on them (an elaiosome), which the ants take down into their nests for the colony to eat. The seeds are now effectively planted, and protected, until the next fire comes along.
New buds growing on the burnt stem of the waboom protea
Resprouting: These plant species have a strong root stock, or bole, from which they resprout. Some thick-stemmed protea species, such as the waboom protea (Protea nitida) have incredibly thick bark layers. This protects the buds in the bark, which then grow from the old burnt stem.
Fire lilies only grow immediately after a fire. After seeding, the bulb goes dormant underground until the next fire.
Underground: These plants have bulbs or corms that lie underground and only produce flowers when conditions are favourable, most commonly after fires. Perhaps the best example of this is the fire lily, Cyrtanthus ventricosus. This little gem of a flower will only bloom after chemicals in the smoke tell it to. It pops up after a few days, blooms for a couple of weeks, and then disappears until the next fire, which could be decades away. Many irises and lilies bloom especially prolifically after fires, often providing the first bursts of colour and nectar to the burnt out areas.
The top of Skeleton Gorge trail on Table Mountain, after the fire of April 2024
WHAT ABOUT THE FORESTS?
Afromontane forests have tall (15-30m), hard wood trees that might seem like they are perfect for burning. They grow in areas surrounded by the flammable fynbos, and can be thick, wooded areas. However, this doesn’t seem to be the case. The trees and foliage aren’t very flammable in mature trees. Young saplings and smaller trees on the forest margins may burn, but the fire cannot penetrate through to the thicker, mature forest. As such, the change from forest to fynbos can be quite abrupt1. For the most part, though, the mature forest is protected from fire and does not rely on it for regeneration.
PEOPLE AND FIRE
Between 1 December 2023 – 31 January 2024, over 6000 vegetation fires were reported within the Western Cape. In Table Mountain National Park, there were 24 vegetation fires in December 2023 and 38 in January 2024. Many of these fires can be attributed to human activity – negligence, campfires from religious gatherings or homeless people not put out properly, and sometimes it’s arson. Scientists around the world are predicting more wildfires in the years to come with increasing temperatures due to climate change, and the Western Cape is no exception. But if fynbos is adapted to fire, then what is the worry?
Well, there is such a thing as too much fire for fynbos.
If fires happen too frequently, the plants do not have enough time to reach sexual maturity and leave behind enough of a seedbank to ensure the next generation. Pioneer species and grasses get a foothold and out compete the slower growing, shrubby species. Not only does this mean a loss of plant species, but also the creatures that depend on them.
A fire on Signal Hill.
This is an area that burns far too frequently, almost always from fires started by negligence or arson.
SO, FRIEND OR FOE?
Fire and fynbos go hand in hand. Fynbos has not only adapted to survive it but needs it to thrive. Without fire, we would not have the most diverse floral kingdom in the world. But being such a beautiful area, the cities keep on growing, especially Cape Town. As a result, properties and developments are encroaching closer and closer to wilder, and more mountainous areas. This obviously increases the risk of damage (or worse) in the event of a veldfire.
Fire ecology and management are key for not only ensuring the survival of the natural environment, but also people’s and properties’ safety1. You can do your part by helping to clear alien vegetation, either from your property or by joining volunteer alien hacks. You can donate to/support the volunteer firefighting crews such as Working on Fire or NCC Environmental Services. And if you see a fire, report if immediately to authorities. In Cape Town the number is 021 590 1900.
Next time there’s a wildfire, remember that it is bringing back rare plants, providing rich nutrients to starved soil, creating space for young shoots, and it will create a bright canvas of colours in the following spring.
1 Fynbos: Ecology and Management – Editors Karen J Esler et al, 2014