The Western Zambezian grasslands is a

tropical grassland The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

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 ...

of eastern

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

and adjacent parts of

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

. It is situated in two sections, to the north and south of the

Barotse Floodplain The Barotse Floodplain, also known as the Bulozi Plain, Lyondo or the Zambezi Floodplain, is one of Africa's great wetlands, on the Zambezi River in the Western Province of Zambia. It is a designated Ramsar site, regarded as being of high conserv ...

. The region supports herds of

ungulates Ungulates ( ) are members of the diverse clade Ungulata which primarily consists of large mammals with hooves. These include odd-toed ungulates such as horses, rhinoceroses, and tapirs; and even-toed ungulates such as cattle, pigs, giraffes, ca ...

, including Zambia's largest herd of Blue Wildebeast ('' Connochaetes taurinus'').

Topography

The Western Zambezian grasslands are found in areas of sandy soil north and south of the

in eastern Zambia. They are characterized by deep, sandy, nutrient-poor soils which are waterlogged during the rainy season, and become very dry during the dry season. They are intertwined with the

Zambezian Cryptosepalum dry forests The Zambezian dry evergreen forest, also known as the Zambezian ''Cryptosepalum'' dry forest, is a tropical dry broadleaf forest ecoregion of Southern Africa. It consists of several areas of thick forest in western Zambia and adjacent Angola. It ...

ecoregion, which is found on similar soils at slightly higher elevations with better drainage. Surrounding ecoregions include the

Zambezian flooded grasslands The Zambezian flooded grasslands is an ecoregion of southern and eastern Africa that is rich in wildlife. Setting The Zambezian flooded grasslands can be found on seasonally- or permanently-flooded lowlands in the basin of the Zambezi and neighb ...

of the Barotse Floodplain, the

Angolan miombo woodlands Angolan miombo woodlands cover most of central Angola and extend into the Democratic Republic of Congo. They are part of the larger miombo ecosystem that covers much of eastern and southern Africa. Location and description This area of savanna an ...

to the northwest, the Central Zambezian miombo woodlands to the northeast and east, and the

Zambezian Baikiaea woodlands The Zambezian ''Baikiaea'' woodlands is an ecoregion in Africa. It includes dry deciduous forest and woodland, thicket, and grassland, dominated by the tree ''Baikiaea plurijuga''. The ecoregion has a semi-arid climate, and is a transition between ...

to the east and south.Burgess, Neil, Jennifer D’Amico Hales, Emma Underwood (2004). ''Terrestrial Ecoregions of Africa and Madagascar: A Conservation Assessment''. Island Press, Washington DC.

Climate

The climate of the ecoregion is '' Oceanic climate, subtropical highland variety'' (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

(Cwb)). This climate hass cool summers and cool, but not cold, winters. It is usually associated with coastal areas in mid-latitudes, but is also experienced at higher altitudes inland. Temperatures and precipitation are relatively even throughout the year, with no month averaging below , and no month averaging above . Mean precipitation is 800 to 1,000 mm/year.

Flora and fauna

About 38% of the cover is herbaceous vegetation, 28% is closed deciduous forest, 20% is open broadleaf forest, 8% is shrub covered, and the remainder is wetland.

Protected areas

About 51.2% of the ecoregion is within an officially protected area, including

Sioma Ngwezi National Park Sioma Ngwezi National Park is a 5,000-square-kilometre park in the south west corner of Zambia. It is undeveloped and rarely visited, lacking roads and being off the usual tourist tracks, but this may change in the future. Description Like most ...

Liuwa Plain National Park Liuwa Plain National Park is a national park in Zambia's Western Province. "Liuwa" means "plain" in the local Liuwa language, a dialect of Lozi language, and the plains originally served as a hunting ground for Lubosi Lewanika, the Litunga (ki ...

, West Zambezi Game Management Area, Chizera Game Management Area, and several forest reserves.

References

External links

* {{WWF ecoregion, name=Western Zambezian grasslands, id=at0724 Afrotropical ecoregions Ecoregions of Angola Ecoregions of Zambia Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands Zambezian region