Its failure led to a local training college for foresters in 1912, which was transferred to Saasveld in 1932 [10] During the 20th century Tokai plantation was used for the provision of wood during the two World Wars.

[12] In 1884, Joseph Storr Lister planted Monterey Pines in the first attempt at commercial afforestation at Tokai.

[14] Tokai Park is unusually rich and stands out amongst its counterparts making it a significant conservation area for the City of Cape Town and a site of global interest.

[17][18] With over 2500 indigenous plant species the Peninsula is exceptionally rich even by Cape Floral standards.

Additionally there are very few cities on earth with 150 plant species threatened with extinction, let alone in a single vegetation type within their borders (Cape Flats Sand Fynbos).

Despite its remarkable species richness in a small area, Tokai Park is adjacent to a large conservation area, the World Heritage Site Table Mountain National Park (SANParks), and thus is not an isolated fragment and avoids associated management problems.

The midslopes comprise deep, fertile, loamy soils, derived from the older Cape Suite granites, which support Peninsula Granite Fynbos plant communities, but which have been converted elsewhere on the Peninsula to vineyards and leaf urban suburbs.

[22] Less than 1% is conserved at present, making Tokai the most important nature reserve for this veld type.

It thus qualifies nationally as Critically Endangered, both on account of its destruction and its high numbers of threatened species.

It is a relatively fertile soil, and consequently the vineyards and most expensive real estate in the city occurs on what used to be Granite Fynbos.

Because of its high carrying capacity, this is where the large herds of game, predators, and baboons used to occur historically in the southern Peninsula.

Silver Tree groves, lush riverine corridors and fertile, well-watered soils are in especial short supply along the west coast, and Constantia was one of the first farms developed by Europeans.

Afrotemperate Forest cannot cope with fire, consequently it is confined to a few fire-safe kloofs at Tokai, minute pockets compared to the larger expanses in Orangekloof and Kirstenbosch.

[20] Passive restoration involved a simple harvesting of plantations with no management nor prescribed burns to stimulate the Fynbos seedbanks.

[32] Subsequently, alien shrubs were systematically removed with pulling and cut stump treatment by management and a local Friends group.

[33] At some sites, active restoration included species that had disappeared from the Fynbos seedbanks being replanted, amongst them the Rondevlei Spiderhead, Cape Flats Conebush and Iron Heath.

[5] This exceptional recovery is largely due to Fynbos seedbanks which are still intact after over 100 years of rotational plantations.

[32] Furthermore, Tokai Park has been identified as one of the top 80 priority areas for active restoration in Cape Town, out of thousands of vegetation remnants.

[30] It is possible that close to 500 species of plants will establish naturally here – based on a historical study by Purcell in the Bergvliet area.

[17] Following the successful plant recovery at Tokai Park, wildlife such as Cape Fox, Porcupine, Caracal and wild bees are now recorded here, with more animal species expected as vegetation reaches maturity (later successional stage).

[35][36] A study was done comparing animal diversity in plantations relative to restored fynbos, using small mammals as bio-indicators (due to their high reproductive outputs and fast population turnover rates).

Many people enjoy walks around the perimeter trail at Lower Tokai, or on the numerous single track paths through the Fynbos, where others prefer to frequent Upper Tokai Park for its mountain biking trails and hiking up Constantiaberg.

[40] The Tokai Restoration Trail at Tokai Park is a short walk that showcases some rare plant species at Tokai, and includes 7 information boards on the following topics:[41] Plant species showcased to date on the trail include: the Whorl Heath (Erica verticillata), the Yellow Creeping Brightfig (Lampranthus reptans), Capeflats Conebush (Leucadendron levisanus), Wattleleaf Conebush (Leucadendron macowanii), Snakestem Pincushion (Leucospermum hypophyllocarpodendron subsp.

[41] There are 21 mountain biking trails at Tokai Park, and they are divided into three categories depending on their difficulty.