| Potters Pass Nature Reserve | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Nature Reserve |
| Location | Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality |
| Nearest city | East London, Eastern Cape |
| Coordinates | 33°02′35″S27°52′59″E / 33.0431181°S 27.8831085°E |
| Area | 77.95 ha |
| Established | 24 January 1986 |
| Administered by | Eastern Cape Parks |
The Potters Pass Nature Reserve is a coastal reserve in the Wild Coast region of the Eastern Cape. [1] The reserve lies beside the Hood Point Lighthouse and the West Bank Golf Course. [2] [3]
In 1973 land at the current reserve was demarcated as the Dierama Wildflower Reserve. [4] In 1986, the reserve was expanded to 77.95 ha and designated as the Potters Pass Nature Reserve. [2] The Potters Pass and Molteno Drive roads that confine the western and southern parts of the reserve was once part of the South African Grand Prix's Prince George Circuit from 1934 to 1969 until the Grand Prix moved to Kyalami. [5] [6]
The reserve is one of a few remaining grassland biomes in East London. The mainly moist coastal grassveld and six different soil types support a wide range of flora and fauna. [4] Butterflies like the African monarch butterfly, and moths like the pine emperor can be found in the reserve.
Streams in the reserve have surrounding them subtropical copses of trees, with acacia savanna trees like the Vachellia karroo between the grassveld and streams. [4] A section of the reserve at the intertidal zone contains marshland vegetation. [4]
Flowering plants include:
Shrubs include:
Plants in the salt marshes include:
Large rocks on the eastern part of the reserve are from the Ecca and Beaufort groups. [4] There are 6 soil types at the reserve. [4]
It faces threats of disturbance from a nearby sewage sea outlet, [7] urban expansion and trampling on vegetation. [4]
South Africa occupies the southern tip of Africa, its coastline stretching more than 2,850 kilometres from the desert border with Namibia on the Atlantic (western) coast southwards around the tip of Africa and then northeast to the border with Mozambique on the Indian (eastern) coast. The low-lying coastal zone is narrow for much of that distance, soon giving way to a mountainous escarpment that separates the coast from the high inland plateau. In some places, notably the province of KwaZulu-Natal in the east, a greater distance separates the coast from the escarpment. Although much of the country is classified as semi-arid, it has considerable variation in climate as well as topography. The total land area is 1,220,813 km2 (471,359 sq mi). It has the 23rd largest Exclusive Economic Zone of 1,535,538 km2 (592,875 sq mi).
Fynbos is a small belt of natural shrubland or heathland vegetation located in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. This area is predominantly coastal and mountainous, with a Mediterranean climate and rainy winters. The fynbos ecoregion is within the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome. In fields related to biogeography, fynbos is known for its exceptional degree of biodiversity and endemism, consisting of about 80% species of the Cape floral kingdom, where nearly 6,000 of them are endemic. This land continues to face severe human-caused threats, but due to the many economic uses of the fynbos, conservation efforts are being made to help restore it.
The Cape Floral Region is a floristic region located near the southern tip of South Africa. It is the only floristic region of the Cape Floristic Kingdom, and includes only one floristic province, known as the Cape Floristic Province.
Helderberg refers to a planning district of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality, the mountain after which it is named, a wine-producing area in the Western Cape province of South Africa, or a small census area in Somerset West.
The wildlife of South Africa consists of the flora and fauna of this country in southern Africa. The country has a range of different habitat types and an ecologically rich and diverse wildlife, vascular plants being particularly abundant, many of them endemic to the country. There are few forested areas, much savanna grassland, semi-arid Karoo vegetation and the fynbos of the Cape Floristic Region. Famed for its national parks and big game, 297 species of mammal have been recorded in South Africa, as well as 849 species of bird and over 20,000 species of vascular plants.
Mpofu Nature Reserve is a nature reserve in the Amatole district of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa that is managed by Eastern Cape Parks.
The Southern Zanzibar–Inhambane coastal forest mosaic, also known as the Southern Swahili coastal forests and woodlands, is a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion of eastern Africa. It is a southern variation of Northern Zanzibar-Inhambane coastal forest mosaic. The ecoregion supports habitats of forest, savanna and swamps. The southern portion of the ecoregion is not as well studied due to the 1977-1992 civil war in Mozambique.
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Ilanda Wilds is a nature reserve along Amanzimtoti River in the town of Amanzimtoti, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. This small area of land contains various habitat types, ranging from steep rocky slopes to various riverine habitats, forest and small patches of grassland.
Areas of forest which grow in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa mostly on south facing slopes in higher rainfall areas, and along the humid coastal areas. Different types of forest can be identified by their species composition which depends mostly on the altitude, latitude and substrate in which they grow. South facing slopes are favourable for the development of forest as they are more shaded, and therefore cooler and retain more moisture than the northern slopes. The extra moisture on the south slopes is not only favoured by forest trees, but also helps to prevent or subdue wildfires. Fires can also be blocked by cliff faces and rocks or boulders on these slopes, and by streams or rivers at the base of the slopes. The coastal regions are conducive to forest formation, because of high rainfall and humidity which are favoured by forest trees and also help to prevent or subdue fires. The rivers of the coastal areas are also broader than further inland, which may often prevent fires from spreading long distances, and fires generally burn uphill and therefore more often away from areas at low altitude.
The Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany Hotspot (MPA) is a biodiversity hotspot, a biogeographic region with significant levels of biodiversity, in Southern Africa. It is situated near the south-eastern coast of Africa, occupying an area between the Great Escarpment and the Indian Ocean. The area is named after Maputaland, Pondoland and Albany. It stretches from the Albany Centre of Plant Endemism in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, through the Pondoland Centre of Plant Endemism and KwaZulu-Natal Province, the eastern side of Eswatini and into southern Mozambique and Mpumalanga. The Maputaland Centre of Plant Endemism is contained in northern KwaZulu-Natal and southern Mozambique.
Cape Flats Dune Strandveld is an endangered vegetation type. This is a unique type of Cape Strandveld that is endemic to the coastal areas around Cape Town, including the Cape Flats.
Helderberg Nature Reserve is a 398-hectare (980-acre) nature reserve in Somerset West, South Africa.
Kogelberg Nature Reserve is a nature reserve of 3,000 ha comprising the Kogelberg Mountain Range, to the east of Cape Town, South Africa.
The Krantzkloof Nature Reserve, managed by Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, conserves 668 ha of the Molweni and Nkutu River gorges that incise the sandstone Kloof plateau in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The reserve conserves coastal scarp forest, sourveld grassland, a cliff face biotope, and aquatic environments along its rivers. Scarp forest is a threatened forest type, protected by South Africa's forests act of 1998, while the grassland is classified as KwaZulu-Natal sandstone sourveld, the most threatened terrestrial habitat in the Durban metropole. The reserve was established in 1950 and was augmented by land donations as late as 1999.
Hockley Woods is a large woodland in south-east Essex. It is a Local Nature Reserve, and parts are a Site of Special Scientific Interest. It is owned and managed by Rochford District Council.
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