The Afromontane regions are subregions of the Afrotropical realm, one of the Earth's eight biogeographic realms, covering the plant and animal species found in the mountains of Africa and the southern Arabian Peninsula. The Afromontane regions of Africa are discontinuous, separated from each other by lower-lying areas, and are sometimes referred to as the Afromontane archipelago, as their distribution is analogous to a series of sky islands.
Afromontane Zones. I. West African and Cameroon highlands, II. Ethiopian and Arabian highlands, III. Western (Albertine) Rift, IV. Eastern Rift. V. Southern Rift, VI. Eastern Highlands, VII. Drakensberg
Afromontane communities occur above 1,500–2,000 metres (4,900–6,600 ft) elevation near the equator, and as low as 300 metres (980 ft) elevation in the Knysna-Amatole montane forests of South Africa. Afromontane forests are generally cooler and more humid than the surrounding lowlands.
Although some Afromontane enclaves are widely separated, they share a similar mix of plant species which are often distinct from the surrounding lowland regions.[1]Podocarps, of genera Podocarpus and Afrocarpus, are a characteristic tree, along with Prunus africana, Hagenia abyssinica, Juniperus procera, and Olea spp.. In the higher mountains, the Afromontane forest or woodland zone transitions to a higher Afroalpine zone of grasslands, shrublands, or moorlands.[2][3]
In South Africa, Afromontane forests cover only 0.5% of the country's land area. The Afromontane forests occur along the mountainous arc of the Drakensberg Range, from Limpopo Province in the northeast to the Western Cape Province in the southwest. The Afromontane forests generally occur in well-watered areas, including ravines and south-facing slopes. The Afromontane forests are intolerant of fire, and the frequent fires of the surrounding fynbos, savanna, and grassland limit the expansion of the forests. Despite their small area, the Afromontane forests of South Africa produce valuable timber, particularly the real yellowwood(Podocarpus latifolius), Outeniqua yellowwood(Afrocarpus falcatus), and stinkwood(Ocotea bullata).
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Referencesedit
^ abcWhite, F.; Unesco; Association pour l'étude taxonomique de la flore d'Afrique tropicale; United Nations Sudano-Sahelian Office (1983). Vegetation of Africa : a descriptive memoir to accompany the Unesco/AETFAT/UNSO vegetation map of Africa. Paris: Unesco. ISBN92-3-101955-4. OCLC 10387142.
^Brochmann, Christian; Gizaw, Abel; Chala, Desalegn; Kandziora, Martha; Eilu, Gerald; Popp, Magnus; Pirie, Michael D.; Gehrke, Berit (2021-07-19). "History and evolution of the afroalpine flora: in the footsteps of Olov Hedberg". Alpine Botany. Springer Science and Business Media LLC. 132 (1): 65–87. doi:10.1007/s00035-021-00256-9. ISSN 1664-2201. S2CID 237643374.
^Kandziora, Martha; Gehrke, Berit; Popp, Magnus; Gizaw, Abel; Brochmann, Christian; Pirie, Michael D. (2022-05-26). "The enigmatic tropical alpine flora on the African sky islands is young, disturbed, and unsaturated". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 119 (22): e2112737119. Bibcode:2022PNAS..11912737K. doi:10.1073/pnas.2112737119. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC9295768. PMID 35617436.
Galley, C. & Linder, H. P. (2006) Geographical affinities of the Cape flora, South Africa. Journal of Biogeography 33 (2), 236–250.
February 16, 2024
afromontane, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, june, 2012, le. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Afromontane news newspapers books scholar JSTOR June 2012 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Afromontane regions are subregions of the Afrotropical realm one of the Earth s eight biogeographic realms covering the plant and animal species found in the mountains of Africa and the southern Arabian Peninsula The Afromontane regions of Africa are discontinuous separated from each other by lower lying areas and are sometimes referred to as the Afromontane archipelago as their distribution is analogous to a series of sky islands Afromontane Zones I West African and Cameroon highlands II Ethiopian and Arabian highlands III Western Albertine Rift IV Eastern Rift V Southern Rift VI Eastern Highlands VII Drakensberg Contents 1 Geography 2 Flora 2 1 Plant communities 3 Distribution 4 Afromontane ecoregions 5 External links 6 ReferencesGeography editAfromontane communities occur above 1 500 2 000 metres 4 900 6 600 ft elevation near the equator and as low as 300 metres 980 ft elevation in the Knysna Amatole montane forests of South Africa Afromontane forests are generally cooler and more humid than the surrounding lowlands The Afromontane archipelago mostly follows the East African Rift from the Red Sea to Zimbabwe with the largest areas in the Ethiopian Highlands the Albertine Rift Mountains of Uganda Rwanda Burundi Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania and the Eastern Arc highlands of Kenya and Tanzania Other Afromontane regions include the Drakensberg range of southern Africa the Cameroon Highlands and the Cameroon Line volcanoes including Mount Cameroon Bioko and Sao Tome Flora editAlthough some Afromontane enclaves are widely separated they share a similar mix of plant species which are often distinct from the surrounding lowland regions 1 Podocarps of genera Podocarpus and Afrocarpus are a characteristic tree along with Prunus africana Hagenia abyssinica Juniperus procera and Olea spp In the higher mountains the Afromontane forest or woodland zone transitions to a higher Afroalpine zone of grasslands shrublands or moorlands 2 3 The plant families Curtisiaceae and Oliniaceae are Afromontane endemics and family Barbeyaceae is a near endemic The tree genera Afrocrania Balthasaria Curtisia Ficalhoa Hagenia Kiggelaria Kuloa Leucosidea Platypterocarpus Trichocladus Widdringtonia and Xymalos are Afromontane endemics or near endemics as are the plant genera Ardisiandra Cincinnobotrys and Stapfiella 1 Plant communities edit Afromontane areas have a wide range of plant communities including intermediate types These include Afromontane rain forest Afromontane rain forest is found on wetter slopes from southern Ethiopia to Malawi mostly between 1200 and 2500 meters elevation It occurs on wetter slopes where average annual rainfall is from 1250 to 2500 mm or higher Elevation and location varies somewhat based on distance from the equator or from the sea and the size and configuration of the highland where it occurs Mature rain forests generally have an upper stratum of trees 25 to 45 meters high a middle stratum 14 to 30 meters high a lower stratum 6 to 15 meters high a shrub layer of 3 to 6 meters high and a sparse herbaceous ground layer The tree crowns of the upper strata are typically open and the middle strata may be continuous but rarely forms a dense canopy while the lower tree stratum is typically dense Most trees are evergreen Afromontane rain forests can be similar in structure to lowland Guineo Congolian rain forests but the species mostly differ from lowland forests Typical trees include Aningeria adolfi friederici Cola greenwayi Cylicomorpha parviflora Diospyros abyssinica Drypetes gerrardii Entandrophragma excelsum Ficalhoa laurifolia Gambeya gorungosana Kuloa usambarensis Mitragyna rubrostipulata Myrianthus holstii Ochna holstii Olea capensis Parinari excelsa Podocarpus milanjianus Prunus africana Strombosia scheffleri Syzygium guineense subsp afromontanum Tabernaemontana johnstonii and Xymalos monospora Tree ferns Cyathea spp lianas and epiphytes including ferns mosses and species of Begonia Impatiens Streptocarpus and Peperomia are abundant 1 Distribution edit nbsp Eastern Afromontane biodiversity hotspotIn South Africa Afromontane forests cover only 0 5 of the country s land area The Afromontane forests occur along the mountainous arc of the Drakensberg Range from Limpopo Province in the northeast to the Western Cape Province in the southwest The Afromontane forests generally occur in well watered areas including ravines and south facing slopes The Afromontane forests are intolerant of fire and the frequent fires of the surrounding fynbos savanna and grassland limit the expansion of the forests Despite their small area the Afromontane forests of South Africa produce valuable timber particularly the real yellowwood Podocarpus latifolius Outeniqua yellowwood Afrocarpus falcatus and stinkwood Ocotea bullata Afromontane ecoregions editTropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forestsAlbertine Rift montane forests Democratic Republic of the Congo Burundi Rwanda Tanzania Uganda Cameroonian Highlands forests Cameroon Nigeria East African montane forests Kenya South Sudan Tanzania Uganda Eastern Arc forests Tanzania Kenya Ethiopian montane forests Djibouti Eritrea Ethiopia Somalia Sudan Guinean montane forests Guinea Cote d Ivoire Liberia Sierra Leone Knysna Amatole montane forests South Africa Southern Afrotemperate Forest Western Cape Province of South Africa Mount Cameroon and Bioko montane forests Cameroon Equatorial Guinea Montane grasslands shrublands and woodlandsAngolan montane forest grassland mosaic Angola Angolan scarp savanna and woodlands Angola Drakensberg alti montane grasslands and woodlands Lesotho South Africa Drakensberg montane grasslands woodlands and forests Lesotho South Africa Eswatini East African montane moorlands Kenya South Sudan Tanzania Uganda Eastern Zimbabwe montane forest grassland mosaic Mozambique Zimbabwe Ethiopian montane grasslands and woodlands Eritrea Ethiopia Ethiopian montane moorlands Ethiopia Highveld grasslands Lesotho South Africa Jos Plateau forest grassland mosaic Nigeria Maputaland Pondoland bushland and thickets Mozambique South Africa Eswatini Southern Afrotemperate Forest Western Cape Province of South Africa Rwenzori Virunga montane moorlands Democratic Republic of the Congo Rwanda Uganda South Malawi montane forest grassland mosaic Malawi Mozambique Southern Rift montane forest grassland mosaic Malawi Tanzania Deserts and xeric shrublandsSouthwestern Arabian montane woodlands Saudi Arabia Yemen External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Afromontane Eastern Afromontane Biodiversity Hotspot Conservation International Eastern Afromontane from Hotspots Revisited Conservation International References edit a b c White F Unesco Association pour l etude taxonomique de la flore d Afrique tropicale United Nations Sudano Sahelian Office 1983 Vegetation of Africa a descriptive memoir to accompany the Unesco AETFAT UNSO vegetation map of Africa Paris Unesco ISBN 92 3 101955 4 OCLC 10387142 Brochmann Christian Gizaw Abel Chala Desalegn Kandziora Martha Eilu Gerald Popp Magnus Pirie Michael D Gehrke Berit 2021 07 19 History and evolution of the afroalpine flora in the footsteps of Olov Hedberg Alpine Botany Springer Science and Business Media LLC 132 1 65 87 doi 10 1007 s00035 021 00256 9 ISSN 1664 2201 S2CID 237643374 Kandziora Martha Gehrke Berit Popp Magnus Gizaw Abel Brochmann Christian Pirie Michael D 2022 05 26 The enigmatic tropical alpine flora on the African sky islands is young disturbed and unsaturated Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 119 22 e2112737119 Bibcode 2022PNAS 11912737K doi 10 1073 pnas 2112737119 ISSN 0027 8424 PMC 9295768 PMID 35617436 Galley C amp Linder H P 2006 Geographical affinities of the Cape flora South Africa Journal of Biogeography 33 2 236 250 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Afromontane amp oldid 1158871140, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
