The South Saharan steppe and woodlands, also known as the South Sahara desert, is a
deserts and xeric shrublands
Deserts and xeric shrublands are a biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Deserts and xeric (ancient Greek xērós, “dry") shrublands form the largest terrestrial biome, covering 19% of Earth's land surface area. Ecoregions in this h ...
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 northern
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
. This band is a transitional region between the Sahara's very arid center (the Sahara desert ecoregion) to the north, and the wetter
Sahelian Acacia savanna
The Sahel (; ar, ساحل ' , "coast, shore") is a region in North Africa. It is defined as the ecoclimatic and biogeographic realm of transition between the Sahara to the north and the Sudanian savanna to the south. Having a hot semi-arid cli ...
ecoregion to the south. In pre-modern times, the grasslands were grazed by migratory gazelles and other ungulates after the rainfalls. More recently, over-grazing by domestic livestock have degraded the territory. Despite the name of the ecoregion, there are few 'woodlands' in the area; those that exist are generally acacia and shrubs along rivers and in wadis.
Mali
Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mal ...
Niger
)
, official_languages =
, languages_type = National languagesSudan. It extends east and west across the continent in a band, forming a transition between the hyper-arid
Sahara Desert
, photo = Sahara real color.jpg
, photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972
, map =
, map_image =
, location =
, country =
, country1 =
, ...
to the north and the Sahel grasslands and savannas to the south.
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 ...
(BSh)). This climate is characteristic of steppes, with hot summers and cool or mild winters, and minimal precipitation. The coldest month averages above . Movements of the equatorial Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) bring summer rains during July and August which average 100 to 200 mm, but vary greatly from year to year. These rains sustain summer pastures of grasses and herbs, with dry woodlands and shrublands along seasonal watercourses.
Flora and fauna
Almost 99% of the region is bare ground or sparse vegetation that is dependent on uncertain rainfall. The grasses are typically canegrass (''
Eragrostis
''Eragrostis'' is a large and widespread genus of plants in the grass family, found in many countries on all inhabited continents and many islands.
''Eragrostis'' is commonly known as lovegrass or canegrass. The name of the genus is derived fr ...
''), needlegrasses (''
Aristida
''Aristida'' is a very nearly cosmopolitan genus of plants in the grass family. ''Aristida'' is distinguished by having three awns (bristles) on each lemma of each floret. The genus includes about 300 species found worldwide, often in arid warm ...
''), and species of genus '' Stipagrostis''. The herbs include (''
Tribulus
''Tribulus'' is a genus of plants in the family Zygophyllaceae and found in diverse climates and soils worldwide from latitudes 35°S to 47°N. The best-known member is '' T. terrestris'' (puncture vine), a widespread invasive species and weed.
...
''), (''
Heliotropium
''Heliotropium'' is a genus of flowering plants in the heliotrope family, Heliotropiaceae. There are around 325 species in this almost cosmopolitan genus, which are commonly known as heliotropes (sg. ). It is highly toxic for dogs and cats.
...
''), and (''
Pulicaria
''Pulicaria'' is a genus of flowering plant in the sunflower family, native to Europe, Asia, and Africa. In North America ''Pulicaria'' is known by the common name false fleabane.
''Pulicaria'' species accepted by the Plants of the World Onlin ...
''). Characteristic tree species are the umbrella thorn acacia (''
Acacia tortilis
''Vachellia tortilis'', widely known as ''Acacia tortilis'' but now attributed to the genus '' Vachellia'', is the umbrella thorn acacia, also known as ''umbrella thorn'' and Israeli babool, a medium to large canopied tree native to most of Afr ...
Balanites aegyptiaca
''Balanites aegyptiaca'' (also known as the Egyptian balsam) is a species of tree, classified as a member of either the Zygophyllaceae or the Balanitaceae. This tree is native to much of Africa and parts of the Middle East.
There are many comm ...
''), and ('' Maerua crassifolia''). Along the southern edge are steppes featuring clumps of bunchgrass (''
Panicum turgidum
''Panicum turgidum'' is an old world clumping desert bunchgrass of the genus '' Panicum''. It is a plant of arid regions across Africa and Asia, and has been introduced to other parts of the world.
Description
''Panicum turgidum'' is a perennia ...
'').
Most of the animals of the region have been reduced to small populations, including the critically endangered addax (also known as the white antelope) (''
Addax nasomaculatus
The addax (''Addax nasomaculatus''), also known as the white antelope and the screwhorn antelope, is an antelope native to the Sahara Desert. The monotypic taxon, only member of the genus ''Addax'', it was first described scientifically by He ...
''), the endangered slender-horned gazelle ('' Gazella leptoceros''), the vulnerable Dorcas gazelle (''
Gazella dorcas
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 ...
''), the critically endangered dama gazelle ('' Gazella dama''), the near threatened striped hyena ('' Hyaena hyaena''), the vulnerable cheetah ('' Acinonyx jubatus''), the endangered wild dog (''
Lycaon pictus
The African wild dog (''Lycaon pictus''), also called the painted dog or Cape hunting dog, is a wild canine which is a native species to sub-Saharan Africa. It is the largest wild canine in Africa, and the only extant member of the genus '' ...
''), and the ostrich (''
Struthio camelus
The common ostrich (''Struthio camelus''), or simply ostrich, is a species of flightless bird native to certain large areas of Africa and is the largest living bird species. It is one of two extant species of ostriches, the only living members o ...
'').
Ecoregion delineation
In 2001, WWF devised Terrestrial Ecoregions of the World (TEOW) "a biogeographic regionalization of the Earth's terrestrial biodiversity". The 2001 regionalization divided the deserts of the Sahara into several ecoregions. The South Saharan steppe and woodlands ecoregion included the transitional region between the
Sahelian Acacia savanna
The Sahel (; ar, ساحل ' , "coast, shore") is a region in North Africa. It is defined as the ecoclimatic and biogeographic realm of transition between the Sahara to the north and the Sudanian savanna to the south. Having a hot semi-arid cli ...
and the Sahara's hyper-arid center, designated the Sahara desert ecoregion.
In 2017, the authors of the 2001 system proposed a revised ecoregion system for the Sahara. The South Saharan steppe and woodlands ecoregion was extended into the central Sahara, and renamed South Sahara desert. Two new ecoregions, the West Sahara desert and East Sahara desert, were designated in the hyper-arid center.
Protected areas
Approximately 11% of the ecoregion is officially protected in some form. These include:
*
Aïr and Ténéré National Nature Reserve
The Aïr and Ténéré National Nature Reserve is a national nature reserve in Niger. It includes several overlapping reserve designations, and is designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It covers both the eastern half of the Aïr Mountains and ...