The Zambezian dry evergreen forest, also known as the Zambezian ''Cryptosepalum'' dry forest, is a

tropical dry broadleaf forest The tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forest is a habitat (ecology), habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature and is located at tropical and subtropical latitudes. Though these forests occur in climates that are warm year-roun ...

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 Southern Africa. It consists of several areas of thick forest in western

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 ...

and adjacent

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

. It is one of the largest areas of tropical evergreen forest outside the equatorial zone.

Location

The forest are found on rolling hills of sandy soil drained by the

Kabompo River The Kabompo River is one of the main tributaries of the upper Zambezi River. It flows entirely in Zambia, rising to the east of the source of the Zambezi, in North-Western Province along the watershed between the Zambezi and Congo river basins w ...

of northern Barotseland in Western

, with one area across the border in

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

. The

Western Zambezian grasslands The Western Zambezian grasslands is a tropical grassland ecoregion of eastern Zambia and adjacent parts of Angola. It is situated in two sections, to the north and south of the Barotse Floodplain. The region supports herds of ungulates, including ...

separate the forest enclaves from one another. 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 ...

, part of 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 neighbo ...

ecoregion, lies to the southwest. The

Central Zambezian miombo woodlands The Central Zambezian miombo woodlands ecoregion spans southern central Africa. Miombo woodland 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 ...

and 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 ...

lie on the better soils to the east and west, respectively. The ecoregion is at 1100 to 1200 meters elevation. The climate is tropical savanna, with average annual temperature around 21°C.

Flora

The characteristic trees are tall evergreen mavunda trees ''(

Cryptosepalum exfoliatum pseudotaxus ''Cryptosepalum exfoliatum'' is a species of tree native to tropical Africa. It is the dominant tree species in the Zambezian Cryptosepalum dry forests ecoregion of Zambia and Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_ ...

)''. Other trees include ''

Brachystegia spiciformis ''Brachystegia spiciformis'', commonly known as zebrawood, or msasa, is a medium-sized African tree having compound leaves and racemes of small fragrant green flowers. The tree is broad and has a distinctive amber and wine red colour when the y ...

Brachystegia longifolia ''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 ...

Brachystegia floribunda ''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 ...

Colophospermum mopane ''Colophospermum mopane'', commonly called mopane, mopani, balsam tree, butterfly tree, or turpentine tree, is a tree in the legume family ( Fabaceae), that grows in hot, dry, low-lying areas, in elevation, in the far northern parts of southern ...

, Syzygium guineense afromontanum, Bersama abyssinica,

Erythrophleum africanum ''Erythrophleum africanum'', the African blackwood, is a legume species in the genus ''Erythrophleum'' found in savannahs of tropical Africa. It produces a gum similar to gum arabic. The larvae of '' Charaxes phaeus'', the demon emperor, and of ...

'', and ''

Combretum elaeagnoides ''Combretum'', the bushwillows or combretums, make up the type genus of the family Combretaceae. The genus comprises about 272 species of trees and shrubs, most of which are native to tropical and southern Africa, about 5 to Madagascar, but the ...

''. There is a dense undergrowth of creepers and shrub thickets, with mosses carpeting the ground in the denser forests.

Fauna

The forests are home to a variety of wildlife including ungulates such

yellow-backed duiker The yellow-backed duiker (''Cephalophus silvicultor'') is a forest dwelling antelope in the order Artiodactyla from the family Bovidae. Yellow-backed duikers are the most widely distributed of all duikers. They are found mainly in Central and West ...

blue duiker The blue duiker (''Philantomba monticola'') is a small antelope found in central, southern and eastern Africa. It is the smallest duiker. The species was first described by Swedish naturalist Carl Peter Thunberg in 1789. 12 subspecies are ident ...

and their

predator Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...

s, as well as other species such as

bushpigs :''"Bush pig" may also refer to the red river hog. The bushpig (''Potamochoerus larvatus'') is a member of the pig family that inhabits forests, woodland, riverine vegetation and cultivated areas in East and Southern Africa. Probably introduce ...

. The only two endemic species are a mammal

Rosevear's striped grass mouse Rosevear's lemniscomys or Rosevear's striped grass mouse (''Lemniscomys roseveari'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found in Zambia and possibly Angola, where its natural habitat is cryptosephalum dry forest. The species is ...

, and a bird

white-chested tinkerbird The white-chested tinkerbird (''Pogoniulus makawai'') is a species of bird in the Lybiidae family (African barbets). It is endemic to the Zambezian Cryptosepalum dry forests of Zambia. It is only known from the single type specimen, collected in ...

''(Pogoniulus makawai)''. However the latter has not been actually spotted since 1964 and may in fact be a variant of the common and widespread

yellow-rumped tinkerbird The yellow-rumped tinkerbird (''Pogoniulus bilineatus'') is a bird species in the family Lybiidae (African barbets), which is native to the moist tropical and subtropical regions of sub-Saharan Africa. Relationships It used to be placed in the ...

''(Pogoniulus bilineatus)''. The forests are particularly rich in birdlife, with nearly 400 species found here, including: the ''Guttera edouardi kathleenae'' subspecies of the crested guineafowl,

olive long-tailed cuckoo The olive long-tailed cuckoo (''Cercococcyx olivinus'') is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae Cuckoos are birds in the Cuculidae family, the sole taxon in the order Cuculiformes . The cuckoo family includes the common or European ...

''(Cercococcyx olivinus)'', Ross's turaco ''(Musophaga rossae)'',

Cabanis's greenbul Cabanis's greenbul (''Phyllastrephus cabanisi''), also known as Cabanis's bulbul, is a species of songbird in the bulbul family, Pycnonotidae. It is found in east-central and south-central Africa. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical ...

''(Phyllastrephus cabanisi)'', purple-throated cuckoo-shrike ''(Campephaga quiscalina)'', Boulton's batis ''(Batis margaritae)'', African crested-flycatcher ''(Trochocercus cyanomelas)'', common square-tailed drongo ''(Dicrurus ludwigii)'',

black-fronted bushshrike The black-fronted bushshrike (''Chlorophoneus nigrifrons'') is a passerine bird of the bushshrike family, Malaconotidae. It inhabits forests mainly in East Africa. It forms a superspecies with the many-colored bushshrike (''C. multicolor'') a ...

''(Telophorus nigrifrons)'', Perrin's bushshrike ''(T. viridis viridis)'', olive sunbird ''(Nectarinia olivacea)'', forest weaver ''(Ploceus bicolor)'' and black-tailed waxbill ''(Estrilda perreini)''. There are many species of reptiles and amphibians typical of tropical and southern Africa although none are endemic to the region.

Threats and preservation

These dry forests stand on infertile sandy soil with little surface water and are therefore uninhabitable and fairly undisturbed, apart from poaching of wildlife. More research is needed into the flora and fauna of the area.

Protected areas

23.21% of the ecoregion is in protected areas. They include

Kafue Kafue is a town in the Lusaka Province of Zambia and it lies on the north bank of the Kafue River, after which it is named. It is the southern gateway to the central Zambian plateau on which Lusaka and the mining towns of Kabwe and the Copperbe ...

and West Lunga national parks, Chibwika Ntambu, Chizera, Lukwakwa, and West Zambezi game management areas, and Chavuma, Kasesi, Mambwe, and Namboma forest reserves.

References

External links

* {{WWF ecoregion, name=Zambezian ''Cryptosepalum'' dry forests, id=at0203
Zambezian ''Cryptosepalum'' dry forests (Encyclopedia of Earth)
Afrotropical ecoregions Ecoregions of Angola Ecoregions of Zambia Tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests Zambezian region Cryptosepalum