“FYNBOS” PLANT COMMUNITY ECOLOGY FIELD COURSE
PREAMBLE
Back in the 1980s-1990s I ran, for eleven years, what became a very successful three week, full-time residential
course, based at Bains Kloof for the 3rd year UCT Botany students. This residential course, together with two essays and
an individual project done during the following semester were all examined at the end of the semester. This workload
was equivalent to one full-time semester course (in those days this was the equivalent of one quarter of the final year
for a full-time student). During the residential part of the course students were also lectured on the theory of plant
community ecology, biogeography and other matters ecological, as well as being exposed to selected methods of field
data collection for vegetation assessment evaluation, analysis and presentation of results – basically following the
classic plant community classificatory techniques of the Zurich-Montpellier school of phytosociology as well as simple
gradient analysis using the Bray-Curtis ordination technique. During the three weeks each student also had to review
one short and one long research paper and present this to the class. Students were also progressively assessed for
participation – not just academically but for their general participation and contribution to group dynamics.
To me the reasons for the success of this course were:
1. That the theory and concepts of community plant ecology and biogeography were taught in an environment
where theory and practice could be field tested - and as a group we could discuss these matters 24/7
2. It exposed students to the fundamentals of basic field data gathering techniques for plant community
ecological analysis and understanding
3. It also gave participants some basic comprehension global vegetation patterns, how well we understand SA
vegetation dynamics, and then more specifically how the five major Biomes in the Cape Floristic Region (CFR)
relate to one another at a basic floristic and structural/functional level. As well as insights into what the key
biodiversity conservation requirements were for management, and how difficult this is to implement in the
modern world
4. By reviewing two research papers the students started to learn to analyse and critically assess the ecological
literature. This was further re-enforced when they the read the relevant literature for their two essays, and
was all pulled together when they had to plan and carry out their own mini-research project and present the
work in the format of a research paper in the format of a journal of their own choosing
5. I always encouraged a mix of students such that we had an engineer, social science, archaeology, mature-aged,
or some other person or persons with a non-biological background attending the course - to bring a different
perspective to that of the majority who were undergraduate botany/zoology majors
6. Being together in the field is fun and having the course as a residential full-time offering meant that the group
interacted not just at a plant ecological level but were integrated socially and learned to work and live together
as a team
7. That I am passionate about plant ecology and working in groups - believing that the best way of learning is from
interacting with one another under both good and challenging circumstances, and
8. Finally I managed to get the Science Faculty, within reason, to allow me to accept any student for the course even those without any biological background, as long as they were passionate about being in the field and in
particular willing to learn something about “fynbos” biogeography and ecology. All this thanks to a Dean,
Professor Jack de Wet, who was able to think outside the box that constrains many other academics in similar
positions.
INTRODUCTION
Today I notice that there seems to be a dearth of training opportunities at universities in general plant ecological
field data gathering skills for vegetation studies - and the basic analysis techniques and conceptual ecological
interpretation of the data collected. Thinking more about this fact it seemed to me that I could teach an overview of
these fundamentals in a five day partly residential full-time and enjoyable course.
The kind of people that I am targeting in this course are not only those who would like to learn a little more about the
ecology of the CFR because this will assist them in their own work and thus facilitate their advancement, but also for
those people with a basic but keen interest in learning more about the extremely complex natural world around them
here in the Western Cape. So participants can be existing or aspirant professional people, amateurs who are perhaps
working with C.R.E.W. or some similar organisation, or simply those ramblers and mountain walkers who are curious to
know more about the CFR.
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To do this I will take a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 20 people on each course. People who register will be sent
PDFs of some basic reading that they may wish to do before the course (but this reading is not obligatory unless you are
registering through UWC). Then in representative areas in each of the five major biomes in the CFR we will collect
standardised data and analysis the results for discussion. We will also compare the different Biomes using two basic
techniques (one classification and one gradient analysis), discuss our results and talk about the biodiversity conservation
management issues facing us in 2012.
PROVISIONAL PROGRAMME
Since the initial interest in this course is strong I am going to see if it is feasible to run two courses in 2013.
I have two UWC Honours students who have enrolled in this module so for those who wish they will be able to get
credit for this course if they register through UWC as the Service Provider (In the Department of Biodiversity and
Conservation Biology).
1. Suitable dates for me are Monday 27th to Saturday 1st June 2013.
2. Day one will be in Afromontane Forest (hopefully in Orange Kloof) where we will all meet at a place to be
announced at 09h00 - and then proceed to the study area. That day you will bring your own lunch and return
home Monday night.
3. On Tuesday we will all meet at a designated point near Melkbosch at 09h00 to collect data from Strandveld (or
Subtropical Thicket). Thereafter we will proceed to Elandsberg to collect data from West Coast Renosterveld
(own lunch) - and then go on to Bains Kloof to prepare supper and spend the next four nights in residence.
NOTE: It would be wise to share transport and once we have a list of participants I will circulate email addresses
so that you can arrange this amongst yourselves. There is limited and spartan accommodation in the UCT house
at Bains Kloof (own sleeping bags and towels), and there is other accommodation available in the village that
will be a little more expensive - and I guess more comfortable and certainly more private (I am not quite sure at
this stage exactly what is available and what the particular facilities are, but as and when I get this information I
can share it with those who are interested). I know too that there will be people with dietary requirements and
we will also sort this out once I confirm attendance.
4. Wednesday we will go to the Worcester Desert Gardens for most of the day and Thursday we will collect
mountain fynbos data from the Bains Kloof area. In these two evenings I think there will time to do some data
analysis and post mortems – and perhaps someone will bring and play a guitar so we can relax for a short while
before turning in.
5. On Friday we will spend most of the morning analysing all the data we have collected, start interpreting the
trends and discuss some of the implications for management, etc. That evening it would be nice to close the
course with a quiet supper and final summation of the course outcomes.
6. Saturday after breakfast we will pack our bags, clean and sweep the house and head for home by 10h00 or
thereabouts.
COURSE CONTENT
The main aim of the filed course above is to collect a variety of vegetation data from each site that we will later use
as representative examples of the plant communities from each Biome in the CFR. The data collected will be:
1. The general floristics (family, genus and species data; where we are able) at each site using various standard
sampling techniques (plot and plotless) and a range of species importance indices
2. Vegetation structural and functional attributes of each community/plot, and
3. Collection of data on species richness and minimal sample size determination.
The eventual aim is to consider how the five major vegetation types (or Biomes) in the CFR relate to each other
floristically and structurally/functionally by simply analysing the data we gather - and to a have an enjoyable time while
doing all of this. For those seriously interested in fynbos sensu lato I can provide a more extensive reading list, etc. (and
for those who register through UWC this will be an obligatory part of the course). So you can either participate because
you want to simply be better informed, or because you are seriously interested in floristic/ecological and therefore
management stuff.
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