Ecoregions of Africa

Ecoregions of Africa
Name	Ecoregions of Africa
Caption	Major terrestrial ecoregions and biomes of Africa
Area km2	30370000
Biome	Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests; tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests; tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands; deserts and xeric shrublands; Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub; montane grasslands and shrublands; flooded grasslands and mangroves
Countries	Algeria; Angola; Benin; Botswana; Burkina Faso; Burundi; Cameroon; Cape Verde; Central African Republic; Chad; Comoros; Congo; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Djibouti; Egypt; Equatorial Guinea; Eritrea; Eswatini; Ethiopia; Gabon; Gambia; Ghana; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Ivory Coast; Kenya; Lesotho; Liberia; Libya; Madagascar; Malawi; Mali; Mauritania; Mauritius; Morocco; Mozambique; Namibia; Niger; Nigeria; Republic of the Congo; Rwanda; Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic; São Tomé and Príncipe; Senegal; Seychelles; Sierra Leone; Somalia; South Africa; South Sudan; Sudan; Tanzania; Togo; Tunisia; Uganda; Zambia; Zimbabwe

Ecoregions of Africa. Africa's terrestrial ecoregions span deserts, rainforests, montane zones, savannas and Mediterranean woodlands across the Sahara, Sahel, Horn of Africa, Guinea Highlands and Eastern Arc Mountains. Major political units and conservation actors such as the African Union, United Nations Environment Programme, Convention on Biological Diversity, IUCN and regional bodies shape policy amid pressures from states including South Africa, Kenya, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Morocco.

Overview

African ecoregions are defined using frameworks developed by institutions like the World Wide Fund for Nature, IUCN Red List of Ecosystems partners, Commission on Ecosystem Management and the Global 200. Continental gradients link the Atlas Mountains, Drakensberg, Ruwenzori Mountains, Albertine Rift, Ethiopian Highlands and Mount Kenya to lowland systems such as the Congo Basin, Niger Delta, Zambezi River floodplains and the Okavango Delta. Historic events like the Last Glacial Maximum and tectonic processes related to the East African Rift have driven range shifts recorded by researchers at institutions such as the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Smithsonian Institution, Natural History Museum, London, African Wildlife Foundation and national parks administrations like Kruger National Park and Serengeti National Park.

Classification and Major Ecoregions

Biomes follow classifications applied by WWF and biogeographers: tropical moist forests (e.g. Congo Basin, Madagascar lowland forests), tropical dry forests (e.g. Zambezian woodlands), savannas and grasslands (e.g. Miombo woodlands, Sudanian savanna, Serengeti), deserts (e.g. Sahara Desert, Namib Desert, Kalahari), Mediterranean woodlands (e.g. Maghreb), montane ecosystems (e.g. Eastern Afromontane, Drakensberg montane forests, grasslands, and shrublands), flooded grasslands and mangroves (e.g. Sengo-Limpopo floodplains, Guinea mangroves). Regional assessments by Conservation International, BirdLife International, IUCN Red List and national ministries delineate ecoregions used in planning for areas like Okavango Delta Ramsar Site, Selous Game Reserve, Virunga National Park and Simien Mountains National Park.

Biogeography and Environmental Factors

Climatic drivers include the Intertropical Convergence Zone, monsoon influences from the Indian Ocean, Mediterranean cyclones affecting Algeria and Tunisia, and Atlantic moisture affecting the Guinea Coast. Soil and geology link ecoregions to formations such as the Congo Craton, Kalahari Basin, Saharan erg systems, Cameroon Volcanic Line and Ethiopian Plateau. River systems—the Nile River, Congo River, Niger River, Zambezi River and Orange River—and lakes like Lake Victoria, Lake Tanganyika and Lake Malawi structure wetland ecoregions. Human-managed landscapes intersect with agroecological zones in nations such as Ghana, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Tanzania and Uganda where protected area designations interact with land-use regimes overseen by organizations like Food and Agriculture Organization and African Development Bank.

Biodiversity and Endemism

Africa hosts globally significant endemism: the Congo Basin supports endemic primates including ranges overlapping with Bonobo populations and species catalogued by the IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group, while Madagascar harbors endemic lemurs assessed by the Lemur Conservation Network and described by researchers at Université d'Antananarivo and Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle. Avian endemics occur across the Albertine Rift, Cape Floristic Region and Somali-Masai woodlands, noted by BirdLife International and regional bird clubs. Flora hotspots such as the Cape Floristic Region are recognized under the Global 200 and studied by institutes like SANBI, Kew Gardens and University of Cape Town. Freshwater endemism in Lake Malawi cichlids links to evolutionary studies at University of Zurich and Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology collaborators.

Threats and Conservation

Major threats include habitat conversion for agriculture in Sahel countries like Mali and Niger, illegal wildlife trade networks transiting through ports such as Mombasa and Douala, logging in the Congo Basin driven by companies registered in China and EU markets, mining concessions in DRC and Ghana, invasive species in Seychelles and Mauritius, and climate impacts documented by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Conservation responses include transboundary initiatives like the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, community-based natural resource management programs in Namibia, payment for ecosystem services pilots supported by the World Bank and protected area designations under national legislatures and multilateral treaties such as the CITES.

Regional Ecoregion Profiles

- North Africa: Mediterranean woodlands and desert mosaics around the Atlas Mountains, Sahara Desert dunes, oases in Algeria and Egypt, with heritage sites like Tadrart Acacus and conservation efforts involving UNESCO. - West Africa: Guinean forests, Sudanian savanna and coastal mangroves in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ghana and Nigeria; pressures from cocoa production, logging concessions and regional bodies like the Economic Community of West African States. - Central Africa: Congo Basin rainforests across Gabon, Republic of the Congo and DRC with key protected areas Salonga National Park and Lomami National Park; initiatives led by Central African Forest Commission. - East Africa: Eastern Arc Mountains, Albertine Rift and savannas of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda supporting species in Mount Kilimanjaro, Serengeti National Park and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park; tourism and pastoralism shape land use. - Southern Africa: Miombo and mopane woodlands, Kalahari and Namib deserts, Cape fynbos of South Africa and Lesotho highlands with management by agencies such as SANParks and community conservancies. - Island systems: Madagascar, Comoros, Seychelles and São Tomé and Príncipe with high endemism and conservation programs by WWF, Conservation International and national ministries.

Category:Biogeography of Africa