The Ethiopian montane moorlands is a

montane grasslands and shrublands Montane grasslands and shrublands is a biome defined by the World Wildlife Fund. The biome includes high elevation grasslands and shrublands around the world. The term "montane" in the name of the biome refers to "high elevation", rather than th ...

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 ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

. It lies above 3,000 meters elevation in 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 . ...

, the largest Afroalpine region in Africa. The montane moorlands lie above the tree line, and consist of grassland and moorland with abundant herbs and shrubs adapted to the high elevation conditions.

Geography

The ecoregion occupies an area of . The ecoregion covers areas above elevation, extending up to 4,550 meters on Ras Dashen, the highest peak in the Ethiopian Highlands. Below the montane moorlands is the Ethiopian montane grasslands and woodlands ecoregion.Burgess, Neil, Jennifer D’Amico Hales, Emma Underwood (2004). ''Terrestrial Ecoregions of Africa and Madagascar: A Conservation Assessment''. Island Press, Washington DC. The

Sanetti Plateau The Sanetti Plateau is a major plateau of the Ethiopian Highlands, in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. The plateau is the highest part of the Bale Mountains, and is located within Bale Mountains National Park.L.J.G. van der Maesen, X.M. van der Bu ...

in the

Bale Mountains The Bale Mountains (also known as the Urgoma Mountains) are mountain ranges in the Oromia Region of southeast Ethiopia, south of the Awash River, part of the Ethiopian Highlands. They include Tullu Demtu, the second-highest mountain in Ethiopia ...

is the largest single area of moorland.

Climate

The ecoregion has a montane tropical climate. Rainfall varies across the ecoregion – as high as 2,500 mm in the southwest, and as little as 1,000 mm in the north. There is an annual dry season, which can last for only two months in the southwest and up to ten 10 months in the north. Frosts are common throughout the year, especially in the November-to-March winter months.

Flora

The main vegetation plant communities are moorland, grassland, and herb meadow. The moorland is characterized by shrubs from a half-meter to a meter high, including tree heath (''Erica arborea''), ''

Erica trimera ''Erica trimera'' is a species of flowering plant. It is a shrub or tree which grows in the mountains of eastern and central Africa. Description ''Erica trimera'' is an evergreen shrub or tree which grows from .4 to 12 meters in height, with a ...

'', and other shrubs. The giant lobelia ''

Lobelia rhynchopetalum ''Lobelia rhynchopetalum'', the giant lobelia, is a plant endemic to Ethiopia. Its habitat is the Afroalpine climate of the Semien Mountains and Bale Mountains National Park Bale Mountains National Park (BMNP) is a national park in Ethiopia. Th ...

'' can reach up to 6 meters when flowering. Herbs and grasses grow between the shrubs, including species of ''

Helichrysum The genus ''Helichrysum'' consists of an estimated 600 species of flowering plants in the sunflower family (Asteraceae). The type species is '' Helichrysum orientale''. They often go by the names everlasting, immortelle, and strawflower. The nam ...

, Alchemilla'', and ''

Cerastium ''Cerastium'' is a genus of annual, winter annual, or perennial plants belonging to the family Caryophyllaceae. They are commonly called mouse-ear chickweed. Species are found nearly worldwide but the greatest concentration is in the northern tem ...

'', and the grasses ''

Festuca ''Festuca'' (fescue) is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the grass family Poaceae (subfamily Pooideae). They are evergreen or herbaceous perennial tufted grasses with a height range of and a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on ever ...

'' spp. and ''

Aira ''Aira'' is a genus of Old World plants in the grass family, native to western and southern Europe, central and southwest Asia, plus Africa. The common name, shared with the similar related genera ''Deschampsia'' and ''Koeleria'', is hair-gras ...

'' spp. The sedge '' Carex monostachya'' is common in wet areas. Six Afro-alpine plant communities occur in the Guassa Community Conservation Area of the northern Highlands – ''Festuca'' grassland, '' Euryops-Alchemilla'' shrubland, Mima mound (''Euryops-Festuca'' grassland), ''Erica'' moorland, ''Helichrysum-Festuca'' grassland, and swamp grassland. Guassa is the local name for four species of native ''Festuca'' bunchgrasses which are valued by local communities for thatching and rope- and basket-making.Ashenafi, Z. T., Leader-Williams, N., & Coulson, T. (2012). Consequences of Human Land Use for an Afro-alpine Ecological Community in Ethiopia. Conservation and Society, 10(3), 209–216. http://www.jstor.org/stable/26393078

Fauna

The endangered Ethiopian wolf (''Canis simensis'') is endemic to the ecoregion. It lives in open moorlands where it hunts rodents. There are two subspecies – a northern subspecies, ''C. s. simensis'', which lives north of the Rift Valley, and the southeastern subspecies, ''C. s. citernii'', which lives in Bale Mountains National Park and surrounding areas. Of the 14 rodent species endemic to the Ethiopian Highlands, six are endemic to the montane moorlands ecoregion. These include the Ethiopian mole-rat (''Tachyoryctes macrocephalus''), Nikolaus' mouse (''Megadendromus nikolausi''), Ethiopian narrow-headed rat (''Stenocephalemys albocaudata''), gray-tailed narrow-headed rat (''Stenocephalemys griseicauda''), and black-clawed brush-furred rat (''Lophuromys melanonyx'').

Protected areas

41.26% of the ecoregion is in protected areas. Protected areas in the ecoregion include

Simien Mountains National Park Simien Mountains National Park is the largest national park in Ethiopia. Located in the North Gondar Zone of the Amhara Region, its territory covers the highest parts of the Simien Mountains and includes Ras Dashan, the highest point in Eth ...

, Bale Mountains National Park, Arsi Mountains National Park, and Chebera Churchura National Park.

External links

*
Ethiopian montane moorlands (DOPA)

References

{{reflist Ecoregions of Ethiopia Afromontane ecoregions Ethiopian Highlands Montane grasslands and shrublands