East Saharan Montane Xeric Woodlands
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The East Saharan montane xeric woodlands is an
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 ...
of central Africa, a number of high mountains in the middle of the huge area of savanna on the edge of the
Sahara Desert , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...
.


Location and description

The ecoregion covers the higher elevations of the
Ennedi Plateau The Ennedi Plateau is located in the northeast of Chad, in the regions of Ennedi-Ouest and Ennedi-Est. It is considered a part of the group of mountains known as the Ennedi Massif found in Chad, which is one of the nine countries that make up ...
and the
Ouaddaï Highlands Ouaddaï Highlands is an area in east of Chad along the border with Sudan. The Ennedi Plateau and the Ouaddaï highlands in the east of Chad complete the image of a gradually sloping basin, which descends towards Lake Chad. There are also central ...
of eastern Chad and the extinct volcano system
Jebel Marra The Marrah Mountains or Marra Mountains ( Fur, Fugo Marra; ar, جبل مرة, Jebel Marra are a range of volcanic peaks in a massif that rises up to . They are the highest mountains in Sudan. Geography The mountains are located in the center of ...
in Darfur, western Sudan. These mountain ranges rise above the semi-desert sahelian Acacia
savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland- grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...
at the southern edge of the
Sahara Desert , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...
. The ecoregion covers an area of . The summer rains are irregular, even more so in Chad than on Jebel Marra, which has two crater lakes.


Flora

Plant life includes many species typical of the sahel belt including ''
Ammania gracilis ''Ammannia gracilis'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Lythraceae. It is native to Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (1 ...
'', the grass ''
Panicum ''Panicum'' (panicgrass) is a large genus of about 450 species of grasses native throughout the tropical regions of the world, with a few species extending into the northern temperate zone. They are often large, annual or perennial grasses, growi ...
laetum'', the
forb A forb or phorb is an herbaceous flowering plant that is not a graminoid (grass, sedge, or rush). The term is used in biology and in vegetation ecology, especially in relation to grasslands and understory. Typically these are dicots without woo ...
'' Chrozophora brocchiana'' and the herbs '' Farsetia stenoptera'', ''
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 mos ...
senegalensis'' and ''
Tephrosia ''Tephrosia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the pea family, Fabaceae. It is widespread in both the Eastern and Western Hemisphere, where it is found in tropical and warm-temperate regions. The generic name is derived from the Greek word τ ...
gracilipes''. One classic element of the natural flora was Laperrine's Olive ''(Olea europaea laperrinei)''.


Fauna

Water from mountain streams makes the area an important habitat for wildlife such as a numbered of threatened antelope species such as
addax The addax (''Addax nasomaculatus''), also known as the white antelope and the screwhorn antelope, is an antelope native to the Sahara Desert. The only member of the genus ''Addax'', it was first described scientifically by Henri de Blainvil ...
''(Addax nasomaculatus)'',
Dama gazelle The dama gazelle (''Nanger dama''), also known as the addra gazelle or mhorr gazelle, is a species of gazelle. It lives in Africa, in the Sahara desert and the Sahel. A critically endangered species, it has disappeared from most of its former r ...
''(Gazella dama)'',
Dorcas gazelle The dorcas gazelle (''Gazella dorcas''), also known as the ariel gazelle, is a small and common gazelle. The dorcas gazelle stands about at the shoulder, with a head and body length of and a weight of . The numerous subspecies survive on vegeta ...
''(Gazella dorcas)'' and
Red-fronted gazelle The red-fronted gazelle (''Eudorcas rufifrons'') is widely but unevenly distributed gazelle across the middle of Africa from Senegal to northeastern Ethiopia. It is mainly resident in the Sahel zone, a narrow cross-Africa band south of the S ...
''(Gazella rufifrons)''. Endemic species include the Arid Thicket Rat ''(
Grammomys aridulus The arid thicket rat (''Grammomys aridulus'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found only in Sudan. Its natural habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that ...
)'' from Jebel Marra. The mountains are home to birds of both Eurasia and Africa, species include Nubian bustard ''(
Neotis nuba The Nubian bustard (''Neotis nuba'') is a species of bird in the bustard family. This is a medium-large bustard found in the sparsely vegetated interface between the southern margins of the Sahara desert and the northern part of the Sahel. It is ...
)'' and Cinereous Vulture ''(
Aegypius monachus The cinereous vulture (''Aegypius monachus'') is a large raptor in the family Accipitridae and distributed through much of temperate Eurasia. It is also known as the black vulture, monk vulture and Eurasian black vulture. With a body length of , ...
)''.


Threats and preservation

Jebel Marra has been inhabited since antiquity and although the steep mountain valley areas are mainly uninhabited and undisturbed, habitat on the more accessible slopes has been affected. In Chad the ecoregion is thinly populated, mainly by nomadic pastoralists. Recent conflict in both Chad and Darfur have meant that less agriculture is taking place and to an extent original flora is reestablishing.


See also

*
West Saharan montane xeric woodlands The West Saharan montane xeric woodlands is an ecoregion that extends across several highland regions in the Sahara. Surrounded at lower elevations by the largely barren Sahara, the West Saharan montane xeric woodlands are isolated refuges of pla ...


References


External links

* {{WWF ecoregion, name=East Saharan montane xeric woodlands, id=at1303 Afromontane ecoregions Afrotropical ecoregions Deserts and xeric shrublands Ecoregions of Chad Ecoregions of Sudan Geography of Chad