doi: 10.1111/ecog.03860 42 1–13 ECOGRAPHY Research Are forest-shrubland mosaics of the Cape Floristic Region an example of alternate stable states? Michael D. Cramer, Simon C. Power, Anastas Belev, Lindsey Gillson, William J. Bond, Michael T. Hoffman and Lars O. Hedin M. D. Cramer (http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0989-3266) (
[email protected]), S. C. Power, L. Gillson, W. J. Bond and M. T. Hoffman, Dept of Biological Sciences, Univ. of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa. – A. Belev and L. O. Hedin, Dept of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton Univ., Princeton, NJ, USA. Ecography The idea of alternate stable states (ASS) has been used to explain the juxtaposition 42: 1–13, 2018 of distinct vegetation types within the same climate regime. ASS may explain the doi: 10.1111/ecog.03860 co-existence of relatively inflammable closed-canopy Afrotemperate forest patches (‘Forest’) within fire-prone open-canopy Fynbos in the Cape Floristic Region (CFR) Subject Editor: Thorsten Wiegand on sandstone-derived soils. We evaluated the hypothesis that although fire and local Editor-in-Chief: Miguel Araújo topography and hydrology likely determined the paleogeographic boundaries of Accepted 3 September 2018 Forest, present-day boundaries are additionally imposed by emergent edaphic proper- ties and disturbance histories. We studied vegetation and edaphic properties of Forest- Transition-Fynbos vegetation at two sites within the CFR on sandstone-derived soils and tracked historical change using aerial photography. Whereas Forest and Fynbos have changed little in extent or density since 1945, transition vegetation increased into areas formerly occupied by Fynbos.