Falling Pines Cache Traditional Cache
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Newlands Forrest is littered with fallen pine trees - which over time fall due to a weak root system. Pines root downward and not outward offering little strength and stability.
Newlands Forest is a conservancy area on the eastern slopes of Table Mountain, beside the suburb of Newlands, Cape Town. It is owned and maintained by the Table Mountain National Parks Board, along with the City Parks Department of Cape Town, and includes a Fire Station, Nursery and Reservoir.
The forest itself is a popular walking and jogging destination, close and easily accessible from the city's southern suburbs. Due to its location on the mountain slopes, there are impressive views eastward over the Cape Flats.
In Newlands Forest, there are also 2 types of commercial plantation, Pines from Europe and America, and Gums from Australia.
Over many decades, large swaths of the Cape Peninsula were cleared of their indigenous vegetation types in order to make way for commercial logging, and these two species were imported and cultivated en masse to supply the Cape timber industry. These species were chosen for their fast growth, the quality of their wood and their straight uniform growth which made them easy to harvest. However, they rapidly spread and became invasive. When the logging was eventually stopped, the final crop of trees was allowed to remain un-harvested, and today forms an important recreational area for the inhabitants of the surrounding suburbs.
Both the pines and the eucalyptus("gum") trees are Category 2 invasive weeds, which rapidly seed into the surrounding indigenous forests and fynbos. The invasive trees then gradually outgrow and kill these surrounding ecosystems.
In addition, the leaf-litter of pines and gums changes the pH of the surrounding soil, poisoning other plant life. The trees probably evolved this feature to kill competing plants, and it is so effective that pine or gum forests in southern Africa eventually turn into monocultures or "green deserts". Consequently, on-going maintenance is needed to keep these trees contained within the plantations. There is also a policy in place to regularly "thin" the remaining plantations so as to allow some other species to survive in between the pines.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
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