Nicola van Wilgen-Bredenkamp – The Conversation

Proteas growing outside Cape Town, South Africa. Johann Lourens/Getty Images

February 11, 2026

Cape Town’s wildflowers are a world treasure: six insights from a new checklist

Dian Spear, Stellenbosch University; Nicola van Wilgen-Bredenkamp, Stellenbosch University; Patricia Holmes, Stellenbosch University; Ronell R Klopper, University of Pretoria, and Tony Rebelo, South African National Biodiversity Institute

The latest checklist of Table Mountain flora shows that Cape Town is still a global hotspot for threatened flowering plants.

Lyretail Anthias over coral reef, Aliwal Shoal, Indian Ocean, South Africa. Getty Images

January 18, 2024

Cash‑strapped conservationists in South Africa are struggling to collect biodiversity data – how to change that

Dian Spear, University of Cape Town; Nicola van Wilgen-Bredenkamp, Stellenbosch University, and Tony Rebelo, South African National Biodiversity Institute

More tools are available to collate biodiversity data that can be used for conservation decision making.

Scientists’ involvement in media reporting on fire leads to more nuanced and balanced messages. Cathy Withers-Clarke via shutterstock

March 24, 2022

South African media treat fire as foe – its ecosystem benefits get lost in the blaze

Izak Smit, University of Pretoria; Dian Spear, University of Cape Town; Marina Joubert, Stellenbosch University, and Nicola van Wilgen-Bredenkamp, Stellenbosch University

Fire must be allowed to play its natural role.

Wildfires are the inevitable consequence of three factors coming together at the same time: an ignition, the weather and fuel. Brenton Geach/Gallo Images via Getty Images

April 22, 2021

The Table Mountain fire: what we can learn from the main drivers of wildfires

Brian Van Wilgen, Stellenbosch University and Nicola van Wilgen-Bredenkamp, Stellenbosch University

The fynbos vegetation that historically clothed the slopes of Table Mountain is highly inflammable. This has been worsened by the spread of alien trees that burn more intensely than the fynbos.

Contact Nicola for