Southern miombo woodlands

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Southern miombo woodlands
Kasungu miombo1.jpg
Miombo woodland in Kasungu National Park, Malawi
AT0719 map.png
Map of the Southern miombo woodlands ecoregion
Ecology
Realm Afrotropical
Biome Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands
Geography
Area408,200 km2 (157,600 sq mi)
Countries Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe
Conservation
Conservation status vulnerable [1]
Protected22.5% [2]

The Southern miombo woodlands is a tropical grasslands and woodlands ecoregion extending across portions of Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Contents

It is one of four miombo woodlands ecoregions that span the African continent south of the Congo forests and East African savannas.

Geography

The Eastern miombo woodlands covers the hills and low plateaus in the watersheds of the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers, north and south of the Zambezi, and north and east of the Limpopo. The drier Zambezian and mopane woodlands occupy the lowlands along the Zambezi and its major tributaries, including the Shire and Lugenda, and the lowlands of the Limpopo. To the north and northwest, the Eastern miombo woodlands transition to the Central Zambezian miombo woodlands. To the southwest, they transition to the Southern Africa bushveld. The Southern Zanzibar-Inhambane coastal forest mosaic bounds the ecoregion on the southeast, along the Indian Ocean coast. [1]

Zambia's capital Lusaka and Zimbabwe's capital Harare are in the ecoregion.

Flora

The predominant vegetation is savanna and open-canopy woodland. The predominant trees are species of Brachystegia (aka miombo), Julbernardia , and Isoberlinia . [1]

Some eastward-facing mountains intercept winds from the Indian Ocean, and orographic rainfall sustain pockets of moist evergreen forest. These include the Moribane forest in Mozambique, and the Haroni and Rusitu reserves and Chirinda forest in Zimbabwe. The flora is similar to the coastal evergreen forests, and canopy trees include Newtonia buchananii , Celtis mildbraedii , and Khaya anthotheca .

Fauna

The ecoregion is home to several large grazing mammals, including the African bush elephant (Loxodonta africana), black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis), white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum), African buffalo (Synerus caffer), roan antelope (Hippotragus equinus), sable antelope (Hippotragus niger), Lichtenstein's hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus lichtensteinii), southern reedbuck (Redunca arundium), greater kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros), common eland (Taurotragus oryx), and common tsessebe (Damaliscus lunatus). These large grazers generally have a low population density and large ranges, except for the roan antelope, which occurs in higher densities. [1]

Larger carnivores include lion (Panthera leo), leopard (Panthera pardus), cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus), spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta), African wild dog (Lycaon pictus), caracal (Caracal caracal), and side-striped jackal (Lupulella adusta). [1]

Protected areas and conservation

22.5% of the ecoregion is in protected areas. [2] Protected areas which cover part of the ecoregion include:

Related Research Articles

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The Miombo woodland is a tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome. It includes four woodland savanna ecoregions characterized by the dominant presence of Brachystegia and Julbernardia species of trees, and has a range of climates ranging from humid to semi-arid, and tropical to subtropical or even temperate. The trees characteristically shed their leaves for a short period in the dry season to reduce water loss, and produce a flush of new leaves just before the onset of the rainy season with rich gold and red colours masking the underlying chlorophyll, reminiscent of temperate autumn colours in the temperate zone.

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Wildlife of Zimbabwe Native fauna and flora of Zimbabwe

The wildlife of Zimbabwe occurs foremost in remote or rugged terrain, in national parks and private wildlife ranches, in miombo woodlands and thorny acacia or kopje. The prominent wild fauna includes African buffalo, African bush elephant, black rhinoceros, southern giraffe, African leopard, lion, plains zebra, and several antelope species.

Eastern miombo woodlands

The Eastern miombo woodlands (AT0706) are an ecoregion of grassland and woodland in northern Mozambique, southern Tanzania, and southeastern Malawi.

Wildlife of Malawi

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The wildlife of Zambia refers to the natural flora and fauna of Zambia. This article provides an overview, and outline of the main wildlife areas or regions, and compact lists of animals focusing on prevalence and distribution in the country rather than on taxonomy. More specialized articles on particular groups are linked from here.

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Angolan miombo woodlands

Angolan miombo woodlands cover most of central Angola and extend into the Democratic Republic of Congo. They are part of the larger miombo ecosystem that covers much of eastern and southern Africa.

Central Zambezian miombo woodlands

The densely forested Central Zambezian miombo woodlands that cut across southern central Africa are one of the largest ecoregions on the continent and home to a great variety of wildlife, including many large mammals.

Southern Zanzibar–Inhambane coastal forest mosaic Tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion of eastern Africa

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Zambezian coastal flooded savanna

The Zambezian coastal flooded savanna is a flooded grasslands and savannas ecoregion in Mozambique. It includes the coastal flooded savannas and grasslands in the deltas of the Zambezi, Pungwe, Buzi, and Save rivers.

Zambezian and mopane woodlands Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands ecoregion of southeastern Africa.

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Cheringoma Plateau

The Cheringoma Plateau is a low plateau in Sofala Province of Mozambique. It lies mostly within Cheringoma, Muanza, and Marromeu districts.

The Zambezian region is a large biogeographical region in Africa. The Zambezian region includes woodlands, savannas, grasslands, and thickets, extending from east to west in a broad belt across the continent. The Zambezian region lies south of the rainforests of the Guineo-Congolian region. The Zambezian region is bounded by deserts and xeric shrublands on the southwest, the Highveld grasslands of South Africa to the south, and the subtropical Maputaland forests on the southeast.

Njesi Highlands Mountain range in Mozambique

The Njesi Highlands are a range of mountains in northern Mozambique.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Southern miombo woodlands". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund.
  2. 1 2 "Southern miombo woodlands. DOPA Explorer. Accessed 13 August 2021.