The Madagascar succulent woodlands are a

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 l ...

in southwestern and central western

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

. Native plants survive in the arid climate and long dry season with adaptations like succulent leaves, water storing trunks, photosynthetic stems, and dropping leaves during the dry season. The ecoregion is threatened by various human activities.

Geography

The succulent woodlands are found in the southwest and centre-west of Madagascar, in the

rain shadow A rain shadow is an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region, on the side facing away from prevailing winds, known as its leeward side. Evaporated moisture from water bodies (such as oceans and large lakes) is carrie ...

region that receives less moisture than the east and the Central Highlands. The climate is tropical and dry, with rainfall ranging from 575 to 1,330 mm per year, and a marked dry season from May to October. To the north, the succulent woodlands make a transition into the

Madagascar dry deciduous forests The Madagascar dry deciduous forests represent a tropical dry forest ecoregion situated in the western and northern part of Madagascar. The area has high numbers of endemic plant and animal species but has suffered large-scale clearance for agric ...

, while to the south they border the even drier

Madagascar spiny thickets The Madagascar spiny forests (also known as the Madagascar spiny thickets) is an ecoregion in the southwest of Madagascar. The vegetation type is found on poor substrates with low, erratic winter rainfall. The ecoregion contains an outstanding pr ...

, and to the east the

Madagascar subhumid forests The Madagascar subhumid forests are a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion that covers most of the Central Highlands of the island of Madagascar. They are included in the WWF's Global 200 list of outstanding ecoregions. Most of the origin ...

. They are bounded on the west by the

Mozambique Channel The Mozambique Channel (french: Canal du Mozambique, mg, Lakandranon'i Mozambika, pt, Canal de Moçambique) is an arm of the Indian Ocean located between the Southeast African countries of Madagascar and Mozambique. The channel is about long ...

Flora

The vegetation is similar to the dry deciduous forests to the north, but includes more dry-adapted,

xerophytic A xerophyte (from Greek ξηρός ''xeros'' 'dry' + φυτόν ''phuton'' 'plant') is a species of plant that has adaptations to survive in an environment with little liquid water, such as a desert such as the Sahara or places in the Alps or th ...

species. Forests and open-canopied woodlands, reaching in height, contain trees and shrubs of the families

Burseraceae The Burseraceae are a moderate-sized family of 17-19 genera and about 540 species of flowering plants. The actual numbers differ according to the time period in which a given source is written describing this family. The Burseraceae are also kno ...

Euphorbiaceae Euphorbiaceae, the spurge family, is a large family of flowering plants. In English, they are also commonly called euphorbias, which is also the name of a genus in the family. Most spurges, such as ''Euphorbia paralias'', are herbs, but some, e ...

Fabaceae The Fabaceae or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomenc ...

, and

Sapindaceae The Sapindaceae are a family of flowering plants in the order Sapindales known as the soapberry family. It contains 138 genera and 1858 accepted species. Examples include horse chestnut, maples, ackee and lychee. The Sapindaceae occur in tempera ...

. Notable endemic and near-endemic plants include two species of

baobab ''Adansonia'' is a genus made up of eight species of medium-to-large deciduous trees known as baobabs ( or ). They are placed in the Malvaceae family, subfamily Bombacoideae. They are native to Madagascar, mainland Africa, and Australia.Tropic ...

, '' Adansonia za'' and '' A. grandidieri'' (

near threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as that may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qualify fo ...

and

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inva ...

, respectively), the endemic tree hazomalany (''

Hazomalania voyronii ''Hernandia voyronii'', commonly known as Hazomalany, is a species of plant in the Hernandiaceae family. It is endemic to Madagascar. Description ''Hernandia voyronii'' is a large tree which grows from 15 to 25 meters tall. Range and habitat '' ...

''), and succulents in the genus ''

Pachypodium ''Pachypodium'' is a genus of succulent spine-bearing trees and shrubs, native to Madagascar and Africa. It belongs to the family Apocynaceae. Genus characteristics All ''Pachypodium'' are succulent plants that exhibit, to varying degrees, the ...

''.

Fauna

Between 60 and 90 bird species and eight

lemur Lemurs ( ) (from Latin ''lemures'' – ghosts or spirits) are Strepsirrhini, wet-nosed primates of the Superfamily (biology), superfamily Lemuroidea (), divided into 8 Family (biology), families and consisting of 15 genera and around 100 exist ...

species are found in the ecoregion and a number of mammals, frogs, and reptiles are endemic to the area. Native mammals include the

red-tailed sportive lemur The red-tailed sportive lemur (''Lepilemur ruficaudatus''), or red-tailed weasel lemur, is native to Madagascar like all lemurs. It is a nocturnal species feeding largely on leaves, though they also eat some fruit. Individuals weigh around , a ...

(''Lepilemur ruficaudatus''),

large-eared tenrec The large-eared tenrec (''Geogale aurita'') is a species of mammal in the Family (biology), family Tenrecidae. It is the only species in the Monotypic taxon, monotypic genus ''Geogale'', and the only member of the subfamily Geogalinae. It is ende ...

(''Geogale aurita''),

lesser hedgehog tenrec The lesser hedgehog tenrec (''Echinops telfairi'') is a species of mammal in the family Tenrecidae. It is the only species in the genus ''Echinops'' and is named in honour of Charles Telfair. It is endemic to Madagascar. Its natural habitats a ...

(''Echinops telfairi''), and Verreaux's sifaka (''Propithecus verreauxi verreauxi''). Endemic mammals include the narrow-striped mongoose (''Mungotictis decemlineata''),

Malagasy giant rat The Malagasy giant rat (''Hypogeomys antimena''), also known as the votsotsa or votsovotsa, is a nesomyid rodent found only in the Menabe region of Madagascar. It is an endangered species due to habitat loss, slow reproduction, and limited ra ...

(''Hypogeomys antimena''), and endangered

Madame Berthe's mouse lemur Madame Berthe's mouse lemur (''Microcebus berthae'') or Berthe's mouse lemur is the smallest of the mouse lemurs and the smallest primate in the world; the average body length is and seasonal weight is around . ''Microcebus berthae'' is one of ...

(''Microcebus berthae''), the world's smallest primate. Native limited-range birds include the

red-capped coua The red-capped coua (''Coua ruficeps'') 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 cuckoo, roadrun ...

(''Coua ruficeps''), Appert's greenbul (''Xanthomixis apperti''),

white-breasted mesite The white-breasted mesite (''Mesitornis variegatus'') is a ground-dwelling bird endemic to Madagascar. One of three species in the mesite family, Mesitornithidae, it is classified as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Natu ...

(''Mesitornis variegatus''), and

long-tailed ground roller The long-tailed ground roller (''Uratelornis chimaera'') is a species of bird in the ground roller family Brachypteraciidae, placed in the monotypic genus ''Uratelornis''. Endemic to arid spiny forests near the coast in southwestern Madagascar ...

(''Uratelorinis chimaera'').

Threats and conservation

The Madagascar succulent woodlands are threatened by burning, logging (which impacts species such as the endemic tree ''Hazomalania voyronii''), cattle and

goat farming Goat farming involves the raising and breeding of domestic goats (''Capra aegagrus hircus'') as a branch of animal husbandry. People farm goats principally for their meat, milk, fibre and skins. Goat farming can be very suited to product ...

, and hunting of several mammals. 4.63% of the ecoregion is in protected areas. Protected areas include

Zombitse-Vohibasia National Park ''Zombitse-Vohibasia'' is a national park in the Atsimo-Andrefana region of south-west Madagascar. It is north-east of the town of Toliara, the site of the nearest airport, and the Welcome Office is at Sakaraha from the park entrance. The park c ...

, Kirindy Mitea National Park, Andranomena Special Reserve, and Beza Mahafaly Special Reserve. The Menabe Antimena protected area, located in the west of the ecoregion, includes the northern portion of the Kirindy Forest. Large areas have been illegally logged, burned, and converted to

maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

fields, which threatens the area's wildlife, including Madame Berthe's mouse lemur.

References

External links