Title: Biodiversity status of coastal dune forests in South Africa
Abstract: People tend to settle close to the sea and hence place disproportionate pressure on coastlines and associated habitats, such as dune forests. Dune forests, by definition, are limited to a narrow belt along a coastline. Edge effects, area limitations, isolation, and the ebb and flow of climatic conditions accentuate the sensitivity of dune forests to human-made disturbances, which may put extraordinary pressures on the species living within them. This also holds for South Africa, where some 20 million people (40% of the population) live within 100 km of the coast (Department of Environmental Affairs, http://www.environment.gov.za/). Associated economic development and reliance on natural resources transform and fragment coastal landscapes and bring about habitat loss that may challenge the persistence of species (Arthurton et al., 2006).
Publication Year: 2014
Publication Date: 2014-03-27
Language: en
Type: book-chapter
Indexed In: ['crossref']
Access and Citation
Cited By Count: 4
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