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
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]

Climate change

This ecoregion is believed to be a biodiversity hotspot, and one which is particularly vulnerable to climate change. In the more intense climate change scenarios where globally averaged warming reaches 4.5 °C (8.1 °F), around 90% of Miombo's amphibian species, 86% of its bird species and 80% of its mammal species are predicted to disappear from the area. [3] [4]

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geography of Mozambique</span> Geographical features of Mozambique

The geography of Mozambique consists mostly of coastal lowlands with uplands in its center and high plateaus in the northwest. There are also mountains in the western portion. The country is located on the east coast of southern Africa, directly west of the island of Madagascar. Mozambique has a tropical climate with two seasons, a wet season from October to March and a dry season from April to September.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geography of Zambia</span>

Zambia is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa, to the east of Angola. It has a total area of 752,618 square kilometres, of which 9 220 km2 is water.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roan antelope</span> Species of mammal

The roan antelope is a large savanna-dwelling antelope found in western, central, and southern Africa. Named for its roan colour, it has lighter underbellies, white eyebrows and cheeks and black faces, lighter in females. It has short, erect manes, very light beards and prominent red nostrils. It is one of the largest antelope, measuring 190–240 cm (75–94 in) from head to the base of the tail, and a 37–48 cm (15–19 in) long tail. Males weigh 242–300 kg (534–661 lb) and females 223–280 kg (492–617 lb). Its shoulder height is around 130–140 cm (51–55 in).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miombo</span> Central African biome

The Miombo woodland is a tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome located primarily in Central Africa. 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 wet season with rich gold and red colours masking the underlying chlorophyll, reminiscent of autumn colours in the temperate zone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Congolian forest–savanna mosaic</span> Forest and savanna ecoregion of Central Africa

The Northern Congolian forest–savanna mosaic is a forest and savanna ecoregion of central Africa. It extends east and west across central Africa, covering parts of Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, and Uganda. It is part of the belt of transitional forest-savanna mosaic that lie between Africa's moist equatorial Guineo-Congolian forests and the tropical dry forests, savannas, and grasslands to the north and south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildlife of Zimbabwe</span> 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sioma Ngwezi National Park</span>

Sioma Ngwezi National Park is a 5,000-square-kilometre park in the south west corner of Zambia. It is undeveloped and rarely visited, lacking roads and being off the usual tourist tracks, but this may change in the future.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern miombo woodlands</span>

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildlife of Malawi</span>

The wildlife of Malawi is composed of the flora and fauna of the country. Malawi is a landlocked country in southeastern Africa, with Lake Malawi taking up about a third of the country's area. It has around 187 species of mammal, some 648 species of birds have been recorded in the country and around 500 species of fish, many of them endemic, are found in its lakes and rivers. About 20% of the country has been set aside as national parks and game and forest reserves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildlife of Mozambique</span> Flora and fauna of Mozambique

The wildlife of Mozambique consists of the flora and fauna of this country in southeastern Africa. Mozambique has a range of different habitat types and an ecologically rich and diverse wildlife. This includes 236 species of mammal, 740 species of bird and 5,692 species of vascular plant. The Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany hotspot, with significantly high levels of biodiversity, stretches from the southern tip of Mozambique into northeastern South Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildlife of Zambia</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zambezian flooded grasslands</span> Flooded grassland ecoregion in Africa

The Zambezian flooded grasslands is an ecoregion of southern and eastern Africa that is rich in wildlife.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angolan miombo woodlands</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Zambezian miombo woodlands</span>

The Central Zambezian miombo woodlands ecoregion spans southern central Africa. Miombo woodland is the predominant plant community. It is one of the largest ecoregions on the continent, and home to a great variety of wildlife, including many large mammals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Zanzibar–Inhambane coastal forest mosaic</span> Tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion of eastern Africa

The Southern Zanzibar–Inhambane coastal forest mosaic, also known as the Southern Swahili coastal forests and woodlands, is a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion of eastern Africa. It is a southern variation of Northern Zanzibar-Inhambane coastal forest mosaic. The ecoregion supports habitats of forest, savanna and swamps. The southern portion of the ecoregion is not as well studied due to the 1977-1992 civil war in Mozambique.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zambezian coastal flooded savanna</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zambezian and mopane woodlands</span> Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands ecoregion of southeastern Africa.

The Zambezian and mopane woodlands is a tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands ecoregion of southeastern Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zambezian region</span> Biogeographical region in Africa

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.

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.
  3. Warren, R.; Price, J.; VanDerWal, J.; Cornelius, S.; Sohl, H. (March 14, 2018). "The implications of the United Nations Paris Agreement on climate change for globally significant biodiversity areas". Climatic Change. 147 (3–4): 395–409. Bibcode:2018ClCh..147..395W. doi:10.1007/s10584-018-2158-6. S2CID   158490978.
  4. "Climate change risk for half of plant and animal species in biodiversity hotspots". ScienceDaily . March 13, 2018. Retrieved January 23, 2023.