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Do not fill this in! === Biodiversity === {{main|Biodiversity of South Africa}} {{See also|Wildlife of South Africa|Protected areas of South Africa|Marine biodiversity of South Africa}} [[File:South African Giraffes, fighting.jpg|thumb|[[South African giraffe]]s, Kruger National Park]] [[File:African Leopard Sabi Sands Fir0002 Oct18.jpg|thumb|The female [[African Leopard]] "Thandi" in the Djuma concession of the [[Sabi Sand Game Reserve]]]] South Africa signed the Rio [[Convention on Biological Diversity]] on 4 June 1994 and became a party to the convention on 2 November 1995.<ref>{{Cite web|title=List of Parties|url=http://www.cbd.int/convention/parties/list/|access-date=8 December 2012|archive-date=24 January 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110124005746/http://www.cbd.int/convention/parties/list/|url-status=live }}</ref> It has subsequently produced a [[Biodiversity action plan|National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan]], which was received by the convention on 7 June 2006.<ref name="cbd.int">{{Cite web|title=South Africa's National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan|url=http://www.cbd.int/doc/world/cm/cm-nbsap-01-p1-en.pdf|access-date=10 December 2012|archive-date=2 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130502141819/http://www.cbd.int/doc/world/cm/cm-nbsap-01-p1-en.pdf|url-status=live }}</ref> The country is ranked sixth out of the world's seventeen [[megadiverse countries]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Biodiversity of the world by countries|url=http://institutoaqualung.com.br/info_biodiversidade23.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101101120514/http://institutoaqualung.com.br/info_biodiversidade23.html|archive-date=1 November 2010|access-date=30 May 2010|publisher=Institutoaqualung.com.br}}</ref> [[Ecotourism in South Africa]] has become more prevalent in recent years, as a possible method of maintaining and improving biodiversity. Numerous mammals are found in the Bushveld including lions, [[African leopard]]s, [[Southeast African cheetah|South African cheetahs]], [[Southern white rhinoceros|southern white rhinos]], [[blue wildebeest]], [[kudu]]s, [[impala]]s, [[hyena]]s, [[hippopotamus]]es and [[South African giraffe]]s. A significant extent of the Bushveld exists in the north-east including Kruger National Park and the [[Sabi Sand Game Reserve]], as well as in the far north in the [[Waterberg Biosphere]]. South Africa houses many [[Endemism|endemic species]], among them the critically endangered [[riverine rabbit]] (''Bunolagus monticullaris'') in the Karoo. Up to 1945, more than 4,900 species of [[Fungus|fungi]] (including [[Lichen#Fungi|lichen-forming]] species) had been recorded.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Rong|first1=I. H.|last2=Baxter|first2=A. P.|year=2006|title=The South African National Collection of Fungi: Celebrating a centenary 1905–2005|journal=Studies in Mycology|volume=55|pages=1–12|doi=10.3114/sim.55.1.1|pmc=2104721|pmid=18490968}}</ref> In 2006, the number of fungi in South Africa was estimated at 200,000 species but did not take into account fungi associated with insects.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Crous|first1=P. W.|last2=Rong|first2=I. H.|last3=Wood|first3=A.|last4=Lee|first4=S.|last5=Glen|first5=H.|last6=Botha|first6=W. l|last7=Slippers|first7=B.|last8=De Beer|first8=W. Z.|last9=Wingfield|first9=M. J.|last10=Hawksworth|first10=D. L.|year=2006|title=How many species of fungi are there at the tip of Africa?|journal=Studies in Mycology|volume=55|pages=13–33|doi=10.3114/sim.55.1.13|pmc=2104731|pmid=18490969}}</ref> If correct, then the number of South African fungi dwarfs that of its plants. In at least some major South African ecosystems, an exceptionally high percentage of fungi are highly specific in terms of the plants with which they occur.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Marincowitz |first1=S.|last2=Crous|first2=P.W.|last3=Groenewald|first3=J.Z.|last4=Wingfield|first4=M.J.|year=2008|title=Microfungi occurring on Proteaceae in the fynbos. CBS Biodiversity Series 7|url=http://fabiserv.up.ac.za/webresources/pdf/02cccd42960c651fba2eee15dd3c180b.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130729211209/http://fabiserv.up.ac.za/webresources/pdf/02cccd42960c651fba2eee15dd3c180b.pdf|archive-date=29 July 2013|access-date=26 June 2013|name-list-style=amp}}</ref> The country's Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan does not mention fungi (including lichen-forming fungi).<ref name="cbd.int" /> With more than 22,000 different [[vascular plant]]s, or about 9% of all the known species of plants on Earth,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lambertini|first=Marco|title=A Anturalist's Guide to the Tropics|date=15 May 2000|publisher=University Of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0-226-46828-0|edition=Revised edition (15 May 2000)|page=46|language=en|chapter=The Flora / The Richest Botany in the World}}</ref> South Africa is particularly rich in plant diversity. The most prevalent biome is the [[grassland]], particularly on the Highveld, where the plant cover is dominated by different [[Poaceae|grasses]], low shrubs, and [[acacia]], mainly camel-thorn (''[[Vachellia erioloba]]''). Vegetation is sparse towards the north-west because of low rainfall. There are numerous species of water-storing succulents, like [[aloe]]s and [[euphorbia]]s, in the very hot and dry Namaqualand area. And according to the [[World Wide Fund for Nature|World Wildlife Fund]], South Africa is home to around a third of all succulent species.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|last=Trenchard|first=Tommy|date=2021-07-31|title=In South Africa, Poachers Now Traffic in Tiny Succulent Plants|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/31/world/africa/south-africa-poachers-tiny-succulent-plants.html|access-date=2022-06-27|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The grass and thorn [[savanna]] turns slowly into a bush savanna towards the north-east of the country, with denser growth. There are significant numbers of [[Adansonia|baobab]] trees in this area, near the northern end of Kruger National Park.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Plants and Vegetation in South Africa|url=http://www.southafrica-travel.net/pages/e_plants.htm|access-date=30 October 2011|publisher=Southafrica-travel.net|archive-date=28 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111028175454/http://www.southafrica-travel.net/pages/e_plants.htm|url-status=live }}</ref> The fynbos biome, which makes up the majority of the area and plant life in the [[Cape Floristic Region]], is located in a small region of the Western Cape and contains more than 9,000 of those species, or three times more plant species than found in the [[Amazon rainforest]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lewton |first=Robin Cherry & Thomas |title=South Africa's flammable floral kingdom |url=https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20190304-south-africas-flammable-floral-kingdom |access-date=2022-07-16 |website=www.bbc.com |language=en}}</ref> making it among the richest regions on earth in terms of plant diversity. Most of the plants are [[evergreen]] hard-leaf plants with fine, needle-like leaves, such as the [[sclerophyll]]ous plants. Another uniquely South African flowering plant group is the genus ''[[Protea]]'', with around 130 different species. While South Africa has a great wealth of flowering plants, only 1% of the land is forest, almost exclusively in the humid [[KwaZulu–Cape coastal forest mosaic|coastal plain of KwaZulu-Natal]], where there are also areas of [[Southern Africa mangroves]] in river mouths. Even smaller reserves of forests are out of the reach of fire, known as [[Knysna–Amatole montane forests|montane forests]]. Plantations of imported tree species are predominant, particularly the non-native [[eucalyptus]] and pine. [[File:Flora at Cape Peninsula.JPG|thumb|left|[[Cape Floral Region Protected Areas]]]] South Africa has lost a large area of natural habitat in the last four decades, primarily because of overpopulation, sprawling development patterns, and deforestation during the 19th century. The country had a 2019 [[Forest Landscape Integrity Index]] mean score of 4.94/10, ranking it 112th globally out of 172 countries.<ref name="FLII-Supplementary">{{Cite journal|last1=Grantham|first1=H. S.|last2=Duncan|first2=A.|last3=Evans|first3=T. D.|last4=Jones|first4=K. R.|last5=Beyer|first5=H. L.|last6=Schuster|first6=R.|last7=Walston|first7=J.|last8=Ray|first8=J. C.|last9=Robinson|first9=J. G.|last10=Callow|first10=M.|last11=Clements|first11=T.|display-authors=1|year=2020|title=Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity – Supplementary Material|journal=Nature Communications|volume=11|issue=1|page=5978|doi=10.1038/s41467-020-19493-3|issn=2041-1723|pmc=7723057|pmid=33293507|doi-access=free|last12=Costa|first12=H. M.|last13=DeGemmis|first13=A.|last14=Elsen|first14=P. R.|last15=Ervin|first15=J.|last16=Franco|first16=P.|last17=Goldman|first17=E.|last18=Goetz|first18=S.|last19=Hansen|first19=A.|last20=Hofsvang|first20=E.|last21=Jantz|first21=P.|last22=Jupiter|first22=S.|last23=Kang|first23=A.|last24=Langhammer|first24=P.|last25=Laurance|first25=W. F.|last26=Lieberman|first26=S.|last27=Linkie|first27=M.|last28=Malhi|first28=Y.|last29=Maxwell|first29=S.|last30=Mendez|first30=M.|last31=Mittermeier|first31=R.|last32=Murray|first32=N. J.|last33=Possingham|first33=H.|last34=Radachowsky|first34=J.|last35=Saatchi|first35=S.|last36=Samper|first36=C.|last37=Silverman|first37=J.|last38=Shapiro|first38=A.|last39=Strassburg|first39=B.|last40=Stevens|first40=T.|last41=Stokes|first41=E.|last42=Taylor|first42=R.|last43=Tear|first43=T.|last44=Tizard|first44=R.|last45=Venter|first45=O.|last46=Visconti|first46=P.|last47=Wang|first47=S.|last48=Watson|first48=J. E. M.|bibcode=2020NatCo..11.5978G }}</ref> South Africa is one of the worst affected countries in the world when it comes to invasion by [[Introduced species|alien species]] with many (e.g., [[Acacia mearnsii|black wattle]], [[Acacia saligna|Port Jackson willow]], ''[[Hakea]]'', ''[[Lantana]]'' and ''[[Jacaranda]]'') posing a significant threat to the native biodiversity and the already scarce water resources. Also [[woody plant encroachment]] of native plants in grasslands poses a threat to biodiversity and related ecosystem services, affecting over 7 million hectares.<ref>[https://www.dffe.gov.za/sites/default/files/reports/indigenousbushencroachment.pdf Towards a policy on indigenous bush encroachment in South Africa (2019)], Department of Environmental Affairs, Pretoria, South Africa</ref> The original [[Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests|temperate forest]] found by the first European settlers was exploited until only small patches remained. Currently, South African hardwood trees like [[real yellowwood]] (''[[Podocarpus latifolius]]''), stinkwood (''[[Ocotea bullata]]''), and South African black ironwood (''[[Olea capensis]]'') are under strict government protection. Statistics from the [[Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries|Department of Environmental Affairs]] show a record 1,215 rhinos were killed in 2014.<ref>{{Cite news|date=22 January 2015|title=Progress in the war against poaching|work=Environmental Affairs|location=South Africa|url=https://www.environment.gov.za/mediarelease/molewa_waragainstpoaching2015|url-status=dead|access-date=22 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150123231507/https://www.environment.gov.za/mediarelease/molewa_waragainstpoaching2015|archive-date=23 January 2015}}</ref> Since South Africa is home to a third of all succulent species (many endemic to the Karoo), it makes it a hotspot for plant poaching, leading to many species to be threatened with extinction.<ref name=":1" /> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. 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