Burning Nature’s Valley fynbos for preservation

NATURE'S VALLEY NEWS - No less than eight organisations recently joined hands to carry out a controlled burn in the Nature's Valley area.

Primarily a joint operation between SANParks and MTO, it was a prescribed block burn in the Nature's Valley fynbos, according to a Nature's Valley Trust (NVT) statement.

They were assisted by the Southern Cape Fire Protection Association, Working on Fire, Bitou Municipal Fire and Rescue Services, Garden Route District Municipality Fire and Rescue Services, Western Cape Provincial Traffic Services, and Eskom.

Carried out on 17 April, the burn covered approximately 235 hectares of fynbos.

"The objective of the ecological burn is not only to protect resources and reduce the risk of uncontrollable fires, but to ensure that the vegetation is kept healthy and productive," the NVT statement read.

Fynbos was the target of the controlled burn.

This type of burn requires a lot of planning and is scheduled on days when conditions are forecast to be optimal, with low wind speed and temperature.

"Fynbos (and the species that live there) are well adapted to and rely heavily on fire to remain in a healthy condition. Fire not only helps to remove dead plant material, but more importantly, to stimulate germination that encourages the area to thrive," NVT said.

"Many fynbos plant species need this fire to stimulate seed dispersal (or seed-bearing cones) and those dormant in the soil are triggered to germinate. Without fire, fynbos would eventually change to thicket and forest and over time numerous species would be lost, as seeds would not germinate."

Firefighters from Working on Fire helped to manage and control the burn.