South Africa’s Greater Cape Floristic Region is one of the world’s hottest spots for biodiversity. Home to two hotspots with the richest temperate flora and third richest marine endemism in the world, these areas are jumpin’ and jivin’ to a lively beat. However, these species’ songs could be cut short as their environments change. Of the 9,000 plant species swaying to the biodiversity beat, 69% of them are endemic to the area, and over 1,000 of them are facing extinction. BioSCape, an international collaboration of scientists, seeks to tune into their habitats and understand the different melodies at play, both helpful and harmful.
To do that, the BioSCape team will study terrestrial and aquatic environments in the Greater Cape Floristic Region (GCFR). They’ll be using imaging spectroscopy ranging from UV to thermal wavelengths and lidar. These remotely sensed data will combine with existing and new field observations of the spatial distribution of species, ecosystems, and their characteristics. Together, these observations enable high-resolution mapping of biodiversity, functional traits, and environmental variations and local disturbances (weather, human activity, land degradation, etc.). The BioSCape terrestrial projects will study a variety of characteristics of the landscape, primarily plant diversity and its impacts on the ecosystem. This includes the plants role in ecosystem function and the atmosphere, canopy and soil studies, post-fire recovery, invasive species, and the relationship between vegetation diversity and animal diversity. Aquatic projects will also look at the biodiversity of the region in both marine and freshwater environments. Teams will look at phytoplankton diversity, harmful algae blooms, cyanobacteria, and aquatic vegetation. Some BioSCape projects will focus on the interactions between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems primarily looking at diversity along rivers and in estuaries. Many of the projects also look at the impacts of climate change, fire, and drought. A key part of BioSCape is using the data in decision-making about the region. The project works with multiple stakeholders including government programs and conservation organizations in South Africa that can use the data in their work. For example, the data collected will be helpful in addressing harmful algal blooms impact fisheries, recreation, and ecotourism. The research will also inform future studies of biodiversity using remote sensing instruments.
While many environmental programs have focused on biochemical factors, BioSCape shifts this focus to measuring and understanding functional, phylogenetic, and taxonomic biological diversity as key components of ecosystem function. It sets an example that can be scaled in future projects studying biodiversity in other regions. BioSCape hosts various participatory processes about the several aspects of the project including multi-stakeholder priorities and data application needs.