Southern miombo woodlands
The Southern miombo woodlands is a tropical grasslands and woodlands ecoregion extending across portions of Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
| Southern miombo woodlands | |
|---|---|
 Miombo woodland in Kasungu National Park, Malawi | |
 Map of the Southern miombo woodlands ecoregion | |
| Ecology | |
| Realm | Afrotropical |
| Biome | Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands |
| Geography | |
| Area | 408,200 km2 (157,600 sq mi) |
| Countries | Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe. |
| Conservation | |
| Conservation status | vulnerable |
It is one of four miombo woodlands ecoregions that span the African continent south of the Congo forests and East African savannas.
Setting
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.
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.
Protected areas and conservation
Protected areas which cover part of the ecoregion include:
- Kasungu National Park in Malawi
- Zinave National Park in Mozambique
- Lower Zambezi, Lukusuzi, and South Luangwa national parks in Zambia
- Chizarira and Matusadona national parks and Chipinge Safari Area in Zimbabwe
References