The Ethiopian montane forests is a

tropical moist broadleaf forest Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF), also known as tropical moist forest, is a subtropical and tropical forest habitat (ecology), habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Description TSMF is generally foun ...

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of l ...

in eastern Africa. It covers the middle elevations of the

Ethiopian Highlands The Ethiopian Highlands is a rugged mass of mountains in Ethiopia in Northeast Africa. It forms the largest continuous area of its elevation in the continent, with little of its surface falling below , while the summits reach heights of up to . ...

in Ethiopia and extends into neighboring Eritrea, Sudan, Djibouti, and Somaliland. The ecoregion includes distinctive

Afromontane 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 ...

forests, woodlands, grasslands, and shrublands. The ecoregion's

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...

is threatened by deforestation, conversion to agriculture, and overgrazing.

Geography

The Ethiopian montane forests lie between 1,100 and 1,800 meters elevation. They extend throughout the middle elevations of the

, which are mostly in Ethiopia and reach into neighboring

Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...

and

Somaliland Somaliland,; ar, صوماليلاند ', ' officially the Republic of Somaliland,, ar, جمهورية صوماليلاند, link=no ''Jumhūrīyat Ṣūmālīlānd'' is a ''de facto'' sovereign state in the Horn of Africa, still conside ...

. The ecoregion also includes several outlying mountains, including Jebel Elba,

Jebel Hadai Aweb Jabal, Jabel, Jebel or Jibal may refer to: People * Jabal (name), a male Arabic given name * Jabal (Bible), mentioned in the Hebrew Bible Places In Arabic, ''jabal'' or ''jebel'' (spelling variants of the same word) means 'mountain'. * Dzhebel ...

, and Jebel Ower in eastern Sudan, and the Goda and Mabla mountains in Djibouti. The montane forests are bounded at lower elevations by tropical grasslands and savannas on the west and southwest, and deserts and dry shrublands on the east and southeast. Above 1800 meters, the montane forests transition to the

Ethiopian montane grasslands and woodlands The Ethiopian montane grasslands and woodlands is a montane grasslands and shrublands ecoregion in Ethiopia. It occupies the middle elevations of the Ethiopian Highlands, between the high-altitude Ethiopian montane moorlands and the lower-elevatio ...

, which are home to distinct higher-elevation forests, woodlands, and grasslands.

Climate

Moisture-bearing winds from the Red Sea provide rainfall throughout the year. The highlands generate

orographic precipitation Orography is the study of the topographic relief of mountains, and can more broadly include hills, and any part of a region's elevated terrain. Orography (also known as ''oreography'', ''orology'' or ''oreology'') falls within the broader discipl ...

, and are generally cooler and more humid than the lower-elevation deserts and dry shrublands that bound the highlands on the east and south. Orographic effects create fog and cloud cover which keep humidity high and help sustain forests. Southwesterly winds bring rainfall from May to October. Average annual rainfall varies with location, from 600 to 1500 mm. The southern and southwestern portions of the ecoregion generally have higher rainfall.

Flora

The montane forest belt has several natural plant communities, including closed-canopy forests and open-canopied woodlands interspersed with grassland, savanna, and shrubland. The ecoregion's

flora includes species distinct to Africa's highland regions, often mixed with typical lowland species. In most of the ecoregion the natural vegetation has been heavily altered by livestock grazing, conversion to agriculture, and plantations of exotic trees. Kolla is an open woodland found at lower elevations. Characteristic trees are species of ''

Terminalia Terminalia may refer to: * Terminalia (festival), a Roman festival to the god of boundaries Terminus * ''Terminalia'' (plant), a tree genus * Terminalia (insect anatomy), the terminal region of the abdomen in insects * ''Polyscias terminalia'', a ...

Commiphora The genus of the myrrhs, ''Commiphora'', is the most species-rich genus of flowering plants in the frankincense and myrrh family, Burseraceae. The genus contains approximately 190 species of shrubs and trees, which are distributed throughout th ...

Boswellia ''Boswellia'' is a genus of trees in the order Sapindales, known for its fragrant resin. The biblical incense frankincense is an extract from the resin of the tree ''Boswellia sacra'', and is now produced also from '' B. frereana''. Frankincens ...

'', and ''

Acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus na ...

''. Areas of the south and west with higher rainfall are home to Afromontane rain forests and Afromontane moist transitional forests. Characteristic trees of the highlands' Afromontane rain forests include ''

Diospyros abyssinica ''Diospyros abyssinica'' (also known as ''giant diospyros'', or ''Kôforonto'' and ''Baforonto'' in local languages spoken in parts of Mali, ''blidzo'', ''blitcho'', ''gblit∫o'', ''blonyat∫o'' or ''gblεt∫o'' in some Ghanaian languages) is ...

Fleroya rubrostipulata ''Mitragyna rubrostipulata'' is a tree indigenous to East Africa. It is native from Ethiopia through east-central tropical Africa ( Burundi, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zaire) to Mozambique. It grows in wet forests up to 2,000&n ...

Macaranga capensis ''Macaranga'' is a large genus of Old World tropical trees of the family Euphorbiaceae and the only genus in the subtribe Macaranginae (tribe Acalypheae). Native to Africa, Australasia, Asia and various islands of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, ...

Ochna holstii ''Ochna''Linnaeus C (1753) ''Sp. Pl.'' 1: 513. is a genus comprising 86 species of evergreen trees, shrubs and shrublets belonging to the flowering plant family ''Ochnaceae''. These species are native to tropical woodlands of Africa, the Mascare ...

Olea capensis ''Olea capensis'', the black ironwood, is an African tree species in the olive family Oleaceae. It is widespread in sub-Saharan Africa: from the east in Somalia, Ethiopia and Sudan, south to the tip of South Africa, and west to Cameroon, Sierra ...

, Pouteria adolfi-friedericii,

Prunus africana ''Prunus africana'', the African cherry, has a wide distribution in Africa, occurring in montane regions of central and southern Africa and on the islands of Bioko, São-Tomé, Grande Comore, and Madagascar. It can be found at above sea level. I ...

'', and ''

Syzygium guineense ''Syzygium guineense'' ( bm, Kokisa) is a leafy forest tree of the family Myrtaceae, found in many parts of Africa both wild and domesticated. Both its fruits and leaves are edible; the pulp and the fruit skin are sucked and the seed discarded. I ...

'', along with the tree ferns ''

Cyathea dregei ''Alsophila dregei'', synonym ''Cyathea dregei'', (common tree fern or ''gewone boomvaring'' in Afrikaans) is a widespread species of tree fern in southern Africa. Within South Africa, it co-occurs with the indigenous forest tree fern (''A. c ...

'' and '' Cyathea manniana''.Kindt R, van Breugel P, Orwa C, Lillesø JPB, Jamnadass R and Graudal L (2015) Useful tree species for Eastern Africa: a species selection tool based on the VECEA map. Version 2.0. World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) and Forest & Landscape Denmark. //vegetationmap4africa.org The lower portions of the

Harenna Forest The Harenna Forest is a montane tropical evergreen forest in Ethiopia's Bale Mountains. The forest covers the southern slope of the mountains, extending from 1450 to 3200 meters elevation. The Bale Mountains are in Ethiopia's Oromia Region, and fo ...

in the southern highlands includes a distinct woodland community, with an open canopy of ''

Warburgia ugandensis ''Warburgia ugandensis'', also known as Ugandan greenheart or simply greenheart tree, is a species of evergreen tree native to East Africa. Countries in which the plant species is found include Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. The wood is resistant to ...

Croton macrostachyus ''Croton macrostachyus'' is a species of flowering plant native to the mountains of Sub-Saharan Africa. Description ''Croton macrostachyus'' is a deciduous tree. It generally grows 6 to 12 meters tall, and occasionally up to 30 meters. It has a ...

'', and ''

Afrocarpus gracilior ''Afrocarpus gracilior'' (syn. ''Podocarpus gracilior'') is a species of coniferous tree in the family Podocarpaceae known as benet in Marakwet and East African yellowwood, African fern tree, or bastard yellowwood in English It is native to eas ...

'', and wild coffee (''Coffea arabica'') as the dominant understory shrub.

Fauna

Native birds include

Harwood's spurfowl Harwood's spurfowl (''Pternistis Harwoodi''), also known as Harwood's Francolin, is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae. It is a grey-brown bird with red bill and tail, and red bare skin around the eyes. Both sexes have similar coloring, ...

(''Pternistis harwoodi''),

Ruspoli's turaco Ruspoli's turaco (''Menelikornis ruspolii''), also known as Prince Ruspoli's turaco, is a species of bird in the family Musophagidae. It is endemic to southern Ethiopia where its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests. It is th ...

(''Menelikornis ruspolii''), and

yellow-throated seedeater The yellow-throated seedeater (''Crithagra flavigula'') is a species of finch in the family Fringillidae. It is found only in Ethiopia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland and subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassl ...

(''Crithagra flavigula''), which are endemic to the Ethiopian Highlands.

Protected areas

7.43% of the ecoregion is in protected areas. These include portions of several of Ethiopia's national parks – Arsi Mountains, Awash, Nechisar,

Omo Omo or OMO may refer to: Geography Ethiopia * Omo River (Ethiopia), in southern Ethiopia is the largest Ethiopian river outside the Nile Basin and namesake for all the topics below * Omo Nada, one of the woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia ...

, Chebera Churhura, Borena, and

Maze A maze is a path or collection of paths, typically from an entrance to a goal. The word is used to refer both to branching tour puzzles through which the solver must find a route, and to simpler non-branching ("unicursal") patterns that lea ...

. Two UNESCO-designated

biosphere reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

s, Kafa and Yayu, cover portions of the western highlands. Eritrea's

Yob Wildlife Reserve Yob Wildlife Reserve is a protected area in the Northern Red Sea and Anseba regions of northern Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of ...

and Erkawit Wildlife Sanctuary also protect portions of the ecoregion.

References

{{reflist Afrotropical ecoregions Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests Ecoregions of Ethiopia Ecoregions of Djibouti Ecoregions of Eritrea Ecoregions of Sudan Ecoregions of Somalia Forests of Ethiopia Afromontane ecoregions Afromontane forests Ecoregions of Somaliland