The Knysna–Amatole montane forests

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecological and geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and c ...

, of the

tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF), also known as tropical moist forest, is a subtropical and tropical forest habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). Description TSMF is generally found in la ...

biome A biome () is a distinct geographical region with specific climate, vegetation, and animal life. It consists of a biological community that has formed in response to its physical environment and regional climate. In 1935, Tansley added the ...

, is in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. It covers an

Afromontane The Afromontane regions are subregions of the Afrotropical realm, one of the Earth's eight biogeographic realms, covering the plant and animal species found in the mountains of Africa and the southern Arabian Peninsula. The Afromontane regions o ...

area of in the

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape ( ; ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, and its largest city is Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth). Due to its climate and nineteenth-century towns, it is a common location for tourists. It is also kno ...

and

Western Cape The Western Cape ( ; , ) is a provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the List of South African provinces by area, fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , an ...

provinces.

Setting

The ecoregion, which is South Africa's smallest in area, covers two separate enclaves. * The

Knysna Knysna (; ) is a town with 76,150 inhabitants (2019 mid-year estimates) in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is one of the destinations on the loosely defined Garden Route tourist route. It is situated 60 kilometres east of the c ...

forest extends along the coast between 22°E and 25°E, generally along 34°S in a region called the

Garden Route The Garden Route (Afrikaans: ''Tuinroete'') is a stretch of the south-eastern coast of South Africa which extends from Witsand in the Western Cape to the border of Tsitsikamma Storms River in the Eastern Cape. The name comes from the verdant ...

. The KwaZulu-Cape coastal forest mosaic lies along the coast to the north-east. * The Amatole forests lie in the Amatole mountains, which lie inland and 400 km ENE of the Knysna forest. The ecoregion has a subtropical/warm-temperate climate (Cfb in the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

). Rainfall occurs year-round, and ranges from 525 mm to 1,220 mm per year in the Knysna forest, and from 750 mm to 1,500 mm in the Amatole forests.

Flora

The trees are of tropical and

afromontane The Afromontane regions are subregions of the Afrotropical realm, one of the Earth's eight biogeographic realms, covering the plant and animal species found in the mountains of Africa and the southern Arabian Peninsula. The Afromontane regions o ...

origin, and include ironwood (''

Olea capensis ''Olea capensis'', the black ironwood, is an African tree species in the olive family Oleaceae. It is widespread in sub-Saharan Africa: from the east in Somalia, Ethiopia and Sudan, south to the tip of South Africa, and west to Cameroon, Sierra ...

''), stinkwood (''

Ocotea bullata ''Ocotea bullata'', (stinkwood or black stinkwood, , , ) is a species of flowering tree native to South Africa. It produces very fine and valuable timber which was formerly much sought after to make furniture. Due to over-exploitation it is now ...

''), Outeniqua yellowwood (''

Afrocarpus falcatus ''Afrocarpus falcatus'' ( syn. ''Podocarpus falcatus'') is a species of tree in the family Podocarpaceae. It is native to the montane forests of southern Africa, where it is distributed in Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, and Eswatini. Common na ...

''), real yellowwood (''

Podocarpus latifolius ''Podocarpus latifolius'' (real yellowwood, broad-leaved yellowwood, or South African yellowwood, , , , ) is a large evergreen tree up to 35 m high and 3 m trunk diameter, in the conifer family Podocarpaceae; it is the type species of t ...

''), Cape holly (''

Ilex mitis ''Ilex mitis'' (commonly called Cape holly, African holly, waterboom or umDuma) is a tall, dense, evergreen tree that is indigenous to Sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar. It makes an excellent fast-growing hedge for gardens - growing tall, straig ...

''), white pear (''

Apodytes dimidiata ''Apodytes dimidiata'' (white pear or umDakane) is a bushy tree with white flowers bearing a fragrance reminiscent of fresh coconut, and small black and red fruits. It is usually about 5 m tall (but reaches a height of 20 m when growing ...

''), Cape beech (''

Rapanea melanophloeos ''Myrsine melanophloeos'', commonly known as Cape beech, Kaapse boekenhout (Afrikaans), isiCalabi (Zulu language, Zulu) or isiQwane sehlati (Xhosa language, Xhosa) is a dense evergreen tree that is native to the Afromontane, afromontane forests o ...

''), bastard saffron (''

Cassine peragua ''Cassine peragua'', also known as Cape saffron, bastard saffron and forest spoonwood, is a medium-sized tree with fragrant flowers, decorative fruits and a saffron-coloured trunk. It is indigenous to the Afromontane, Afro-montane forests of Sout ...

''), Cape plane (''

Ochna arborea ''Ochna arborea'' is a species of flowering plant in the Ochnaceae family. References arborea Arborea is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Oristano, Sardinia, Italy, whose economy is largely based on agriculture and cattle breeding ...

'' var. ''arborea''), assegai tree (''

Curtisia dentata ''Curtisia dentata'' (commonly known as the Assegai tree or Cape lancewood, , , ) is a flowering tree from Southern Africa. It is the sole species in genus ''Curtisia'', which was originally classed as a type of "dogwood" (''Cornaceae''), but i ...

''), kamassi (''

Gonioma kamassi ''Gonioma'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Apocynaceae first described as a genus in 1838. It is native to South Africa, Madagascar, and Eswatini Eswatini, formally the Kingdom of Eswatini, also known by its former official ...

''), white alder (''

Platylophus trifoliatus ''Platylophus trifoliatus'' is a species of trees in the family Cunoniaceae. It is endemic to South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Province ...

''), and red alder (''

Cunonia capensis ''Cunonia capensis'', the butterspoon tree, butterknife tree, African red alder, red alder or rooiels, is a small tree found in the afromontane forests of southern Africa, and along rivers. It is grown as an ornamental in gardens for its attracti ...

'').

Fauna

The forests were home to

African elephant African elephants are members of the genus ''Loxodonta'' comprising two living elephant species, the African bush elephant (''L. africana'') and the smaller African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''). Both are social herbivores with grey skin. ...

s, but the last count (2017-2019) suggested that only one adult female, age 45 years, survives. In addition

African leopard The African leopard (''Panthera pardus pardus'') is the nominate subspecies of the leopard, native to many countries in Africa. It is widely distributed in most of sub-Saharan Africa, but the historical range has been Habitat fragmentation, fragm ...

bushbuck Bushbuck is a common name that may refer to one of the following African antelopes: *Cape bushbuck The Cape bushbuck (''Tragelaphus sylvaticus''), also known as imbabala is a common, medium-sized bushland-dwelling, and a widespread species of ant ...

blue duiker The blue duiker (''Philantomba monticola'') is a small antelope found in central, southern and eastern Africa. It is the smallest species of duiker. The species was first described by Swedish naturalist Carl Peter Thunberg in 1789. 12 subspe ...

bushpig :''"Bush pig" may also refer to the red river hog.'' The bushpig (''Potamochoerus larvatus'') is a member of the pig family that inhabits forests, woodland, riverine vegetation and cultivated areas in East and Southern Africa. Probably introd ...

and other mammals are resident. The density and assortment of birds is not exceptionally high, but the buff-spotted flufftail ('' Sarothrura elegans''), Narina trogon ('' Apaloderma narina''), Knysna lourie (''

Tauraco corythaix The Knysna turaco (''Tauraco corythaix''), or, in South Africa, Knysna loerie, is a large turaco, one of a group of African musophagidae birds. It is a resident breeder in the mature evergreen forests of southern and eastern South Africa, and Esw ...

''), seven species of cuckoo, Knysna woodpecker ('' Campethera notata''), Knysna warbler ('' Bradypterus sylvaticus''), chorister robin-chat (''

Cossypha dichroa The chorister robin-chat (''Cossypha dichroa'') (previously known as the chorister robin) is a species of bird in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. It is found in South Africa and Eswatini. Its distribution stretches from the southern ...

''), Cape batis ('' Batis capensis'') and forest canary ('' Serinus scotops'') occur, while birds of prey found here include the crowned eagle ('' Stephanoaetus coronatus'') and the African wood owl ('' Strix woodfordii''). Reptiles include the endemic Knysna dwarf chameleon ('' Bradypodion damaranum'').

Human use and conservation

Thomas Henry Duthie was the first appointed Supervisor of Crown Forests and Lands. Despite the small size of the ecoregion, the Knysna and Amatole forests are South Africa's largest individual forests. The Knysna forest has been exploited for valuable timber since the 18th century, and the Amatole forests since the 20th century. Since 1939 the forests have mostly been within protected areas and are recovering well, although managed timber harvesting is allowed.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Knysna-Amatole Montane Forests Afromontane ecoregions Afromontane forests Afrotropical ecoregions Rainforests of Africa Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests Ecoregions of South Africa * Forests of South Africa Geography of the Eastern Cape Geography of the Western Cape