Snapshots of Recovery
A picture paints a thousand words. As part of their efforts to document post-fire recovery of the fynbos landscape, the conservation team on Grootbos Private Nature Reserve selected sites for fixed-point photography and have already witnessed a striking transformation.
From bare, sandy soil dusted with ash in mid December, to the first signs of fresh new life in January, to a soft carpet of green draped over charred branches by May, these images capture the vital relationship between fynbos and fire. This project will demonstrate which plant species respond strongest to the burn and how community composition changes over time.
Related Discoveries
Fire and Fynbos on the Global Stage
The Royal Horticultural Society’s Chelsea Flower Show is the world’s foremost garden show, featuring a beautiful array of plants and designs from around the world. This year, the award-winning South African team, led by Leon Kluge, presented “Life After Fire” – a garden inspired by the recent, severe wildfires that swept through large areas of […]
A Sea of Crimson after the Flames
Across the stark, blackened flats and low-lying areas of Grootbos, thousands of crimson Candelabra lilies, Brunsvigia orientalis, have burst into spectacular bloom in the wake of the recent fires. For years, most of these plants lay hidden beneath dense fynbos, producing broad, strap-like leaves through winter and spring while steadily building reserves in their underground […]
Shaking Out Life: Seeds of the Broad-leaf Featherbush
Aulax umbellata (Broad-leaf Featherbush) has mastered the art of fire. This serotinous plant stores its seeds in tough, woody female cones, keeping them protected for years until the right moment arrives: a fire. In the video above, a burnt Aulax umbellata is gently shaken, releasing thousands of seeds that have been patiently waiting. After a […]