Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany Hotspot
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany Hotspot (MPA) is a
biodiversity hotspot A biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region with significant levels of biodiversity that is threatened by human habitation. Norman Myers wrote about the concept in two articles in ''The Environmentalist'' in 1988 and 1990, after which the c ...
, a biogeographic region with significant levels of biodiversity, in
Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number o ...
. It is situated near the south-eastern coast of Africa, occupying an area between the Great Escarpment and the
Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...
. The area is named after Maputaland, Pondoland and Albany. It stretches from the Albany Centre of Plant Endemism in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, through the Pondoland Centre of Plant Endemism and KwaZulu-Natal Province, the eastern side of Eswatini (known as Swaziland until 2018) and into southern
Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
and Mpumalanga. The Maputaland Centre of Plant Endemism is contained in northern KwaZulu-Natal and southern Mozambique.


Geography

This ecoregion covers globally all the humid subtropical climate zones of Africa (the latter being located almost exclusively in South Africa), an area of . It forms a broad coastal strip extending from the extreme south of Mozambique and north-east of Mpumalanga to the east of Eastern Cape Province in South Africa, including the Wild Coast. It also includes eastern Swaziland and borders southern and eastern Lesotho. It consists of three regions more or less biologically close but each with its own characteristics. Maputaland (also known as Tongaland) refers to the southern part of
Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
, Swaziland and northern KwaZulu-Natal, Pondoland includes central and southern KwaZulu-Natal, and Albany is the eastern part of Eastern Cape. The terrain in this region is complex, providing a great diversity of landscapes with varied reliefs. It encompasses the southeast of the Great Escarpment and down to the edge of the
Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...
. As a result, this ecoregion includes much of the
Drakensberg The Drakensberg (Afrikaans: Drakensberge, Zulu: uKhahlambha, Sotho: Maluti) is the eastern portion of the Great Escarpment, which encloses the central Southern African plateau. The Great Escarpment reaches its greatest elevation – within t ...
range, especially in the south and centre of the area. One of the best-watered areas in South Africa, a large part of the area receives on average between per year and the Kwazulu-Natal coasts as well as parts of the Drakensberg exceed the annual . The northern part of the area consists mainly of medium and lowland plains with areas of ancient sand dunes, while the southern part has more rugged terrain with many cliffs cut by multiple streams. Inland, there are several ranges of mountain which include
Sneeuberge The Sneeuberge or Sneeuberg mountain range was historically known as “Sneeuwbergen”, meaning ‘snow mountains’ in Cape Dutch, and refers to a significant portion of Southern Africa's Great Escarpment in the Cradock, Murraysburg, Richmo ...
, Winterberg,
Amathole Mountains Amatola, Amatole or Amathole are a range of densely forested mountains, situated in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The word ''Amathole'' means ‘calves’ in Xhosa, and Amathole District Municipality, which lies to the south, is named ...
, Ngeli Range,
Lebombo Mountains The Lebombo Mountains, also called Lubombo Mountains ( pt, Montes Libombos), are an , narrow range of mountains in Southern Africa. They stretch from Hluhluwe in KwaZulu-Natal in the south to Punda Maria in the Limpopo Province in South Africa in ...
and Ngoye Range.


Biodiversity

The vegetation cover is mainly composed of
forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...
s, shrubland,
bushveld The Bushveld (from af, bosveld, af, bos 'bush' and af, veld) is a tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands, sub-tropical woodland ecoregion of Southern Africa. It encompasses most of Limpopo Province and a small part of ...
and
meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat, or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non- woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring or arti ...
s. About 80% of the remaining forests of South Africa occur in this region, and nearly 600 species of trees are represented here, the highest diversity of any temperate forest in the world. Among the large number of plants in this ecoregion, about 1900 are
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 else ...
. The Albany region also has a great diversity of succulent plants, notably arborescent plants, differing from the leafy succulent species of the Karoo desert. Although the hotspot was originally envisaged as referring to the wide diversity of vascular plant species, the pattern of plant endemism is matched by numerous endemic vertebrates. The degree of endemism among plants in this hotspot is 23.5% whereas the degree of endemism among vertebrates is 5.1% and near-endemism 4.9%. If the area of the hotspot was redefined as the "Greater Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany" area, an increase of 73%, to include the Great Escarpment area, the vertebrate endemism would total 146 species (19 freshwater fishes, 29 amphibians, 75 reptiles, 15 birds and 8 mammals), a figure 135% higher than the 62 vertebrate species for the MPA as presently defined. Most of the endemic vertebrates in the ecoregion inhabit the forests and grasslands, and many have niche habitat requirements such as rocky outcrops or marshy areas within these larger
biome A biome () is a biogeographical unit consisting of a biological community that has formed in response to the physical environment in which they are found and a shared regional climate. Biomes may span more than one continent. Biome is a broader ...
s; the Sloggett's vlei rat and the Natal red rock hare are quite widespread in the area while the woodbush legless skink and the robust golden mole have narrower habitat requirements.


Vegetation types


List of endemic plants (incomplete)

The endemic plants found in the Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany Hotspot include: * '' Albizia suluensis'' * ''
Allophylus natalensis ''Allophylus natalensis'', commonly known as the dune false crowberry or dune false currant, is a species of plant in the genus ''Allophylus'' native to south-eastern Africa. Description ''Allophylus natalensis'' is a small evergreen tree with a ...
'' * ''
Aloe thraskii ''Aloe thraskii'', the dune aloe, is a South African plant in the genus ''Aloe''. Description The dune aloe is a tall, fast-growing, un-branched aloe, which develops a very large rosette. The long, pale, grey-green leaves are deeply grooved o ...
'' * '' Atalaya alata'' * '' Atalaya natalensis'' * '' Baphia racemosa'' * '' Brachylaena discolor'' * ''
Deinbollia oblongifolia ''Deinbollia oblongifolia'' is a shrub or small tree in the family Sapindaceae. It is commonly known as the dune soap-berry and is found in coastal vegetation from the Eastern Cape of South Africa, through KwaZulu-Natal to southern Mozambiqu ...
'' * ''
Encephalartos natalensis ''Encephalartos natalensis'', the Natal cycad or giant cycad, is a species of cycad that is endemic to the Qumbu and Tabankulu areas of the northern part of the Eastern Cape, and through most of KwaZulu-Natal. The number of mature individuals of ...
'' * '' Encephalartos woodii'' * ''
Ficus bizanae The Pondoland fig (''Ficus bizanae'') is a species of fig that is endemic to forests of coastal South Africa, where it is threatened by habitat loss. Their figs are borne on old wood, in small clusters on stumpy branchlets. Their leaves have ent ...
'' * ''
Isoglossa woodii ''Isoglossa woodii'', commonly known as buckweed, is a monocarpic shrub of the family Acanthaceae, growing up to 4 m tall. It grows in colonies in coastal forest areas of KwaZulu-Natal and marginally into Eastern Cape, South Africa. Descri ...
'' * '' Jubaeopsis caffra'' * '' Millettia grandis'' * ''
Raphia australis ''Raphia australis'', the giant palm or rafia, is a species of raffia palm in the family Arecaceae. It is found around Kosi Bay in southern Mozambique and northeastern KwaZulu Natal in South Africa. It is threatened by habitat loss caused by dra ...
'' * ''
Stangeria eriopus ''Stangeria eriopus'' is a cycad endemic to southern Africa. It is the sole species in the genus ''Stangeria'', most closely related to the Australian genus ''Bowenia'', with which it forms the family Stangeriaceae. Description ''Stangeria eriop ...
'' * '' Tephrosia pondoensis''


Gallery

Image:Coast_Coral_Tree_flowers_07_08_2010.JPG, '' Erythrina caffra''; endemic to the Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany Hotspot Image:Aloe_thraskii_25_06_2010.JPG, ''
Aloe thraskii ''Aloe thraskii'', the dune aloe, is a South African plant in the genus ''Aloe''. Description The dune aloe is a tall, fast-growing, un-branched aloe, which develops a very large rosette. The long, pale, grey-green leaves are deeply grooved o ...
''; endemic to the Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany Hotspot Image:Forest_Pink_Hibiscus.JPG, '' Hibiscus pedunculatus''; near-endemic to the Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany Hotspot Image:Dracaena_aletriformes_Isoglossa_woodii.JPG, ''
Dracaena aletriformis ''Dracaena aletriformis'' is commonly known as the large-leaved dragon tree. These plants are found in forest in the eastern areas of South Africa from Port Elizabeth to northern and eastern Limpopo. They are also found in Eswatini, but are mo ...
'' (near-endemic) and ''
Isoglossa woodii ''Isoglossa woodii'', commonly known as buckweed, is a monocarpic shrub of the family Acanthaceae, growing up to 4 m tall. It grows in colonies in coastal forest areas of KwaZulu-Natal and marginally into Eastern Cape, South Africa. Descri ...
'' (endemic)


See also

* * * * * * * *


References


Bibliography

* Pooley, E. (1993). ''The Complete Field Guide to Trees of Natal, Zululand and Transkei''. . * Pooley, E. (1998). ''A Field Guide to Wild Flowers; KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Region''. .


External links


Conservation InternationalMaputaland-Pondoland-Albany Hotspot
{{Biodiversity of South Africa, biohot Afrotropical realm Natural history of South Africa Biota of South Africa