The Central Zambezian miombo woodlands ecoregion spans southern central

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

Miombo woodland The Miombo woodland is a tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome (in the World Wide Fund for Nature scheme) located primarily in Central Africa. It includes four woodland savanna ecoregions (listed below) characterized b ...

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.

Location and description

The region covers a large area stretching northeast from

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

, including the southeast section of the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

, the northern half of

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

, a large section of western

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

, southern

Burundi Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili language, Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French language, French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the ...

, and northern and western

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...

. In the Congo the ecoregion is almost conterminous with

Katanga Province Katanga was one of the four large provinces created in the Belgian Congo in 1914. It was one of the eleven provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo between 1966 and 2015, when it was split into the Tanganyika Province, Tanganyika, Hau ...

. In Zambia it covers the northern half of the country above

Lusaka Lusaka (; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was ab ...

, including the eastern and western "ears" and the

Copperbelt The Copperbelt () is a natural region in Central Africa which sits on the border region between northern Zambia and the southern Democratic Republic of Congo. It is known for copper mining. Traditionally, the term ''Copperbelt'' includes the ...

. In Tanzania it covers the western inland provinces between

Lake Victoria Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. With a surface area of approximately , Lake Victoria is Africa's largest lake by area, the world's largest tropical lake, and the world's second-largest fresh water lake by surface area after ...

Lake Tanganyika Lake Tanganyika () is an African Great Lake. It is the second-oldest freshwater lake in the world, the second-largest by volume, and the second-deepest, in all cases after Lake Baikal in Siberia. It is the world's longest freshwater lake. ...

and

Lake Malawi Lake Malawi, also known as Lake Nyasa in Tanzania and Lago Niassa in Mozambique, is an African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the East African Rift system, located between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania. It is the fifth largest fre ...

. The area is mostly flat plateau, and the soils are poor. There is a

tropical climate Tropical climate is the first of the five major climate groups in the Köppen climate classification identified with the letter A. Tropical climates are defined by a monthly average temperature of 18 °C (64.4 °F) or higher in the cool ...

with a long dry season, up to seven months, which leaves the forest vulnerable to fires, and a rainy season from November to March. The woodland is interspersed with riverside

dambo A dambo is a class of complex shallow wetlands in central, southern and eastern Africa, particularly in Zambia, Malawi and Zimbabwe. They are generally found in higher rainfall flat plateau areas and have river-like branching forms which in themsel ...

s (grassy wetlands), which may constitute up to thirty percent of the region.

Flora

The woodlands contain much typical

miombo The Miombo woodland is a tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome (in the World Wide Fund for Nature scheme) located primarily in Central Africa. It includes four woodland savanna ecoregions (listed below) characterized b ...

flora of high trees with shrub and grassland underneath, but has much other plant life too. There are typically more

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...

trees than in most miombo woodlands. The classic miombo trees ''

Brachystegia ''Brachystegia'' is a genus of tree of the subfamily Detarioideae that is native to tropical Africa. Trees of the genus are commonly known as miombo, and are dominant in the miombo woodlands of central and southern tropical Africa. The Zambezian ...

'', ''

Julbernardia ''Julbernardia'' is a genus of plants in the family Fabaceae. There are eight species found in tropical Africa. They are medium-sized trees. Species accepted by the Plants of the World Online as of February 2021: *''Julbernardia baumii'' *''Ju ...

'', and ''

Isoberlinia ''Isoberlinia'' is a genus in the family Fabaceae of five species of tree native to the hotter parts of tropical Africa. They are an important component of miombo woodlands. The leaves have three or four pairs of large leaflets and stout seed po ...

'' dominate the woodlands with other tree species such as ''

Pterocarpus angolensis ''Pterocarpus angolensis'' (African teak, wild teak, pt, Girassonde, af, Kiaat, st, Morôtô, tn, Mokwa, ve, Mutondo, sn, Mukwa, sn, Mubvamaropa, zu, Umvangazi) is a species of ''Pterocarpus'' native to southern Africa, in Angola, Mozamb ...

'', ''

Albizia ''Albizia'' is a genus of more than 160 species of mostly fast-growing subtropical and tropical trees and shrubs in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae. The genus is pantropical, occurring in Asia, Africa, Madagascar, America and A ...

'' sp. and ''

Afzelia quanzensis ''Afzelia quanzensis'' (pod mahogany, af, peulmahonie, ve, mutokota, zu, inkehli) is a protected tree in South Africa. This deciduous tree can grow up to 20m in height, and has smooth, grey bark, which can flake in irregular patches. It has glo ...

''. Under the trees lie important areas of plants such as the herbaceous ''

Crotalaria ''Crotalaria'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae (subfamily Faboideae) commonly known as rattlepods. The genus includes over 700 species of herbaceous plants and shrubs. Africa is the continent with the majority of ''Crotalari ...

'' and ''

Indigofera ''Indigofera'' is a large genus of over 750 species of flowering plants belonging to the pea family Fabaceae. They are widely distributed throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Description Species of ''Indigofera'' are mo ...

''.

Fauna

The fauna is diverse. The grasses, shrubs and trees sustain many large mammals including

black rhino The black rhinoceros, black rhino or hook-lipped rhinoceros (''Diceros bicornis'') is a species of rhinoceros, native to eastern and southern Africa including Angola, Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Eswatini, Tanzania ...

, Cape buffalo, African elephants, and

antelope The term antelope is used to refer to many species of even-toed ruminant that are indigenous to various regions in Africa and Eurasia. Antelope comprise a wastebasket taxon defined as any of numerous Old World grazing and browsing hoofed mammals ...

s such as elands,

sable antelope The sable antelope (''Hippotragus niger'') is an antelope which inhabits wooded savanna in East and Southern Africa, from the south of Kenya to South Africa, with a separate population in Angola. Taxonomy The sable antelope shares the genus ''Hi ...

, roan antelope,

Lichtenstein's hartebeest Lichtenstein's hartebeest (''Alcelaphus buselaphus lichtensteinii'')Wilson, Don E. & Reeder, DeeAnn M. (editors). 2005. Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed), Johns Hopkins University Press, 2,142 ppAvailable ...

, and

sitatunga The sitatunga or marshbuck (''Tragelaphus spekii'') is a swamp-dwelling antelope found throughout central Africa, centering on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, parts of Southern Sudan, Equatorial Guinea, ...

. Large carnivores include

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...

(''Panthera leo''),

leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, a ...

(''Panthera pardus''),

cheetah The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat native to Africa and central Iran. It is the fastest land animal, estimated to be capable of running at with the fastest reliably recorded speeds being , and as such has evolved specialized ...

(''Acinonyx jubatus''),

spotted hyena The spotted hyena (''Crocuta crocuta''), also known as the laughing hyena, is a hyena species, currently classed as the sole extant member of the genus ''Crocuta'', native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is listed as being of least concern by the IUC ...

(''Crocuta crocuta''), striped hyena (''Hyaena hyaena''),

African wild dog The African wild dog (''Lycaon pictus''), also called the painted dog or Cape hunting dog, is a wild canine which is a native species to sub-Saharan Africa. It is the largest wild canine in Africa, and the only extant member of the genus '' Ly ...

(''Lycaon pictus'') and

side-striped jackal The side-striped jackal (''Lupulella adusta)'' is a canine native to central and southern Africa. Unlike the smaller and related black-backed jackal (''Lupulella mesomelas''), which dwells in open plains, the side-striped jackal primarily dwell ...

(''Canis adustus''). There are also many

primate Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians (monkeys and apes, the latter including huma ...

s in the woodlands, particularly in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, including

yellow baboon The yellow baboon (''Papio cynocephalus'') is a baboon in the family of Old World monkeys. The species epithet means "dog-head" in Greek, due to the dog-like shape of the muzzle and head. Yellow baboons have slim bodies with long arms and legs, a ...

and

chimpanzee The chimpanzee (''Pan troglodytes''), also known as simply the chimp, is a species of great ape native to the forest and savannah of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed subspecies. When its close relative th ...

. The

Gombe Stream National Park Gombe Stream National Park is a national park in Kigoma District of Kigoma Region in Tanzania, north of Kigoma, the capital of Kigoma Region.Tanzania National Parks“Gombe Stream National Park”, 2008. Established in 1968, it is one of the smal ...

chimpanzee reserve is in this ecoregion. The only

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

mammals are Monard's dormouse (''Graphiurus monardi''), Rosevear's lemniscomys (''Lemniscomys roseveari''),

Ansell's shrew Ansell's shrew (''Crocidura ansellorum'') is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is endemic to Zambia. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is threatened by habitat loss. References Ansell's ...

(''Crocidura ansellorum'') and Upemba shrew (''Crocidura zimmeri''). The woodlands are also home to many reptiles and birds. There are two endemic bird species, both found in the area of the ecoregion within the Democratic Republic of the Congo: the

Lake Lufira weaver The Lufira masked weaver (''Ploceus ruweti''), also known as Ruwet's masked weaver or the Lake Lufira weaver, is a species of bird in the Ploceidae, weaver family, Ploceidae. It is Endemism, endemic to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its na ...

(''Ploceus ruweti'') and the

black-lored waxbill The black-lored waxbill (''Estrilda nigriloris'') is a species of estrildid finch found around the Lualaba River and Lake Upemba in the southern part of The Democratic Republic of the Congo. It has an estimated global extent of occurrence of less ...

(''Estrilda nigriloris''). There are nineteen endemic reptiles and thirteen endemic amphibians; a particularly rich area for these is

Upemba National Park Upemba National Park is a large national park in Haut-Lomami, Lualaba Province & Haut-Katanga Province (formerly in Katanga Province) of the southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, formerly Zaire. Geography At the time of the creation of Upe ...

Urban areas and settlements

Although the ecoregion does include large areas of wilderness and national parkland, there are also areas with quite heavy population densities, particularly in Malawi and Burundi and in densely populated urban areas such as

in Zambia, around which the forest has been largely cleared for planting, firewood and charcoal production. Most of Zambia north of Lusaka is in this ecoregion, including the

cities of

Ndola Ndola is the third largest city in Zambia and third in terms of size and population, with a population of 475,194 (''2010 census provisional''), after the capital, Lusaka, and Kitwe, and the second largest in terms of infrastructure development aft ...

Kitwe Kitwe is the third largest city in terms of infrastructure development (after Lusaka and Ndola) and second largest city in terms of size and population (after Lusaka) in Zambia. With a population of 517,543 (''2010 census provisional'') Kitwe is ...

Chingola Chingola is a city in Zambia's Copperbelt Province, the country's copper-mining region, with a population of 216,626 (2010 census). It is the home of Nchanga Copper Mine, a deep-shaft high-grade content copper mining operation, which subsequent ...

, location of the huge Nchanga Mines,

Luanshya Luanshya is a town in Zambia, in the Copperbelt Province near Ndola. It has a population of 117,579 (2008 census). Luanshya was founded in the early part of the 20th century after two prospector/explorer, William Collier shot and killed a Roan A ...

, and the Central Province former mining town of

Kabwe Kabwe is the capital of the Zambian Central Province and the Kabwe District, with a population estimated at 202,914 at the 2010 census. Named Broken Hill until 1966, it was founded when lead and zinc deposits were discovered in 1902. Kabwe also ...

(Broken Hill). In Congo, Katanga has a copper and

cobalt Cobalt is a chemical element with the symbol Co and atomic number 27. As with nickel, cobalt is found in the Earth's crust only in a chemically combined form, save for small deposits found in alloys of natural meteoric iron. The free element, pr ...

mining industry, and there is a railway line north through the province from the capital

Lubumbashi Lubumbashi (former names: ( French), (Dutch)) is the second-largest city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, located in the country's southeasternmost part, along the border with Zambia. The capital and principal city of the Haut-Katanga ...

. In Tanzania the

port of

Kigoma Kigoma is a city and lake port in Kigoma-Ujiji District in Tanzania, on the northeastern shores of Lake Tanganyika and close to the border with Burundi and The Democratic Republic of the Congo. It serves as the capital for the surrounding Kigoma R ...

is the starting point for a visit to

Threats and preservation

Threats to the area include

bushmeat Bushmeat is meat from wildlife species that are hunted for human consumption, most often referring to the meat of game in Africa. Bushmeat represents a primary source of animal protein and a cash-earning commodity for inhabitants of humid tropi ...

hunting, in particular the

poaching Poaching has been defined as the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set a ...

of elephant and rhino. Fire is damaging throughout the region and where there are human populations fire is more common, including the burning of woodland to create agricultural land or for charcoal, for example in Central Zambia. In the highly urbanised Copperbelt areas of Zambia and the Congo the forest has been extensively cleared for charcoal and farming, and waterways polluted by the mining industry, while the civil war in the Congo has led to considerable damage to the environment there.

Protected areas

26.5% of the ecoregion is in protected areas. These include large areas of national park, game reserve, and other protected areas.

Angola

Cameia National Park Cameia National Park is a national park in the Moxico province of Angola, located at about 1100 m above sea level. Covering a surface of 14.450 km. It shares its name with the nearby municipality of Cameia. The Cameia– Luacano road forms the n ...

Burundi

* Bururi Forest Nature Reserve * Kigwena Forest Nature Reserve *

Ruvubu National Park Ruvubu National Park is a national park in Burundi covering that was established in 1980. Its borders fall within the provinces of Karuzi, Muyinga, Cankuzo and Ruyigi. The park touches neighboring Tanzania to the south, the valley of the Ruvubu ...

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Kundelungu National Park Kundelungu National Park is a national park of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, located in Haut-Katanga Province. The park was first established in 1970. It is approximately . The park is the site of Lofoi Falls, a high waterfall (one of th ...

Lake Tshangalele Nature Reserve Lake Tshangalele, also known as Lake Lufira or Mwadingusha Reservoir, is an artificial lake in the south-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is located about 20 km east of the city of Likasi in the old province of Katanga. It lies a ...

* Lufira Biosphere Reserve *

Malawi

Nyika National Park Nyika National Park is Malawi’s largest national park, with an area of 3200 km2 (1250 mile2). Location and road access The park covers practically the whole of the Nyika Plateau in northern Malawi, about 480 km north of Lilongwe and 60 km ...

Kasungu National Park Kasungu National Park is a national park in Malawi. It is located west of Kasungu, about 175 km north of Lilongwe, extending along the Zambian border. Kasungu National Park, established in 1970, is the second-largest in Malawi at , with an ...

Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve (also known as Nkhotakota Game Reserve or Nkhotakota Wildlife Preserve), is the largest and oldest wildlife reserve in Malawi, near Nkhotakota. The park's hilly terrain features dambos and miombo woodlands as the domin ...

* Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve

Tanzania

Katavi National Park Katavi National Park is a Tanzanian national park created in 1974 and is located in Katavi Region, Tanzania. It is a very remote park that is less frequently visited than other Tanzanian national parks. The park is approximately in area, which m ...

* Mahale Mountains National Park *

Ruaha National Park Ruaha National Park is a national park in Tanzania. The addition of the Usangu Game Reserve and other important wetlands to the park in 2008 increased its size to about . The park is about west of Iringa. The park is a part of the Rungwa-Kizigo ...

Rubondo Island National Park Rubondo Island National Park is one of two Tanzanian national parks located on an island in Lake Victoria (the other being Saanane Island National Park). The Island is administered by Geita District of Geita Region, and as a National Park, the i ...

Zambia

Kafue National Park Kafue National Park is the largest national park in Zambia, covering an area of about 22,400 km² (similar in size to Wales or Massachusetts). It is one of the largest parks in Africa and is home to 152 different species of mammals. The park ...

in western Zambia, * Isangano National Park,

Lavushi Manda National Park Lavushi Manda National Park is a national park in the Muchinga Province of Zambia with an area of 1,500 sq km. It is the 11th largest of the 20 National Parks in Zambia. The park was initially gazetted as a Game Reserve in 1941, and was ...

, and privately-managed

Kasanka National Park Kasanka National Park is a park located in the Chitambo District of Zambia’s Central Province, Zambia, Central Province. At roughly , Kasanka is one of Zambia’s smallest national parks. Kasanka was the first of Zambia’s national parks to b ...

in central Zambia * Chembe Bird Sanctuary in the Copperbelt *

Mweru Wantipa National Park Mweru Wantipa National Park is named after Lake Mweru Wantipa in the Northern Province, Zambia, Northern Province of Zambia. Once hosting abundant wildlife including lion, elephant, and black rhinoceros, it has had no management and protection fo ...

Lusenga Plain National Park Lusenga Plain National Park is a national park in the Kawambwa District, Luapula Province, Zambia, Luapula Province of Zambia, to the south-east of Lake Mweru. Originally a grounds for hunting, Lusenga Plain was converted into one of Zambia's nat ...

, and

Nsumbu National Park Nsumbu National Park (also called Sumbu) lies on the western shore of Lake Tanganyika near its southern extremity, in Zambia's Northern Province. It covers about 2000 km² and has some 80 km of lake shore including four bays (Kasaba, Ka ...

in northern Zambia. *

North Luangwa National Park North Luangwa National Park is a national park in Zambia, the northernmost of the three in the valley of the Luangwa River. Founded as a game reserve in 1938, it became a national park in 1972 and now covers 4,636 km². Like the South Luangw ...

South Luangwa National Park South Luangwa National Park is in eastern Zambia, the southernmost of three national parks in the valley of the Luangwa River. It is a world-renowned wildlife haven which is known to locals simply as "the South Park."Concentrations of game along ...

West Lunga National Park West Lunga National Park is a remote wildlife haven in dense forest in the North-Western Province of Zambia. It lies between the West Lunga River and Kabompo River about 10 km north of the gravel road from Solwezi to Kabompo, and covers ab ...

References

External links

Wildworld photoDevelopment of a MIOMBO woodland dynamics model in Zambezian Africa Using Malawi as a case studyOpportunities and challenges for sustainable management of miombo woodlands: the Zambian perspective
{{coord, 8.8, S, 30.26, E, display=title, type:forest_region:TZ-source:google_maps . Afrotropical ecoregions Ecoregions of Africa Ecoregions of Angola Ecoregions of Burundi Ecoregions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Ecoregions of Malawi Ecoregions of Tanzania Ecoregions of Zambia * * * * * * * * Forests of Angola Forests of Burundi Forests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Forests of Malawi Forests of Tanzania Forests of Zambia Grasslands of Africa Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands Zambezian region