The Northern Congolian forest–savanna mosaic is a forest and savanna

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecological and geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and c ...

of central Africa. It extends east and west across central Africa, covering parts of

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to Central African Republic–Chad border, the north, Sudan to Central African Republic–Sudan border, the northeast, South Sudan to Central ...

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

South Sudan South Sudan (), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the north by Sudan; on the east by Ethiopia; on the south by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Kenya; and on the ...

, and

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

. It is part of the belt of transitional forest-savanna mosaic that lie between Africa's moist equatorial Guineo-Congolian forests and the tropical dry forests, savannas, and grasslands to the north and south.Burgess, Neil, Jennifer D'Amico Hales, Emma Underwood, et al. (2004). "Terrestrial Ecoregions of Africa and Madagascar: A Conservation Assessment". World Wildlife Fund. Island Press, 2004, pp. 294-296.

Geography

The Northern Congolian forest–savanna mosaic lies between the equatorial Congolian forests to the south and the drier East Sudanian savanna to the north. It extends from the Cameroon Highlands in the west, across central

and the southern

to southwestern

and northeastern

, where it is bounded on the east by flooded grasslands of the

Sudd The Sudd (, Nuer: Baki̱ec, Dinka: Toc) is a vast swamp in South Sudan, formed by the White Nile's '' Baḥr al-Jabal'' section. The Arabic word ' is derived from ' (), meaning "barrier" or "obstruction". The term "the sudd" has come to ref ...

, the eastern block of the East Sudanian savanna, and the

Albertine Rift montane forests The Albertine Rift montane forests ( French: ''Forêts montagnardes du Rift Albertin'') is a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion in east-central Africa. The ecoregion covers the mountains of the northern Albertine Rift, and is home to dis ...

. The ecoregion lies on a dissected plateau composed of ancient

precambrian The Precambrian ( ; or pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pC, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of t ...

rocks. Elevations range from 500 to 700 meters. Most of the plateau is drained by the northern tributaries of the

Congo River The Congo River, formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second-longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the third-largest river in the world list of rivers by discharge, by discharge volume, following the Amazon Ri ...

, except the easternmost portion which is drained by the

Nile River The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the longest river i ...

Climate

The ecoregion has a

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry "winter") and ''As'' (for a dry "summer"). The driest month has less than ...

. Average annual rainfall ranges from 1200 to 1600 mm. Rainfall is generally higher in the south, in the transition to the Congolian forests, and lower in the north at the edge of the Sudanian savanna. There is a summer rainy season and winter dry season. Temperatures range from 34 °C in the summer wet season to 13 °C in the cooler winter dry season.

Flora

The ecoregion is a mosaic of forest, open woodland, and grassland. Gallery forests occur along year-round rivers and in areas with year-round groundwater. Typical gallery forest trees include '' Berlinia grandiflora, Cola laurifolia, Cynometra vogelii, Diospyros elliotii, Parinari congensis'', and '' Pterocarpus santalinoides''. Remnants of semi-evergreen forest are found in the south, composed mostly of typical Congolian species like '' Afzelia africana, Aningeria altissima, Gambeya perpulchra, Cola gigantea, Morus mesozygia'', and '' Khaya grandifoliola''. Wooded and open grasslands are widespread. The ground is thickly covered by perennial grasses, including species of ''

Andropogon ''Andropogon'' (common names: beard grass, bluestem grass, broomsedge) is a widespread genus of plants in the grass family, native to much of Asia, Africa, and the Americas, as well as Southern Europe and various oceanic islands. Over 100 speci ...

Hyparrhenia ''Hyparrhenia'' is a genus of grasses. Many species are known commonly as thatching grass. They are mostly native to tropical Africa; some can be found in warmer areas in temperate Eurasia, Australia, and Latin America. These are annual and per ...

'', and '' Loudetia''. Trees, including '' Annona senegalensis, Burkea africana,

Combretum collinum ''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 Tropics, tropical and southern Africa, about 5 to Madagascar ...

, Hymenocardia acida, Parinari curatellifolia, Stereospermum kunthianum'', and species of ''

Vitex ''Vitex'' is a genus of flowering plants in the sage family Lamiaceae. It has about 250 species.Raymond M. Harley, Sandy Atkins, Andrey L. Budantsev, Philip D. Cantino, Barry J. Conn, Renée J. Grayer, Madeline M. Harley, Rogier P.J. de Kok, Tat ...

'' and ''

Strychnos ''Strychnos'' is a genus of flowering plants, belonging to the family Loganiaceae (sometimes Strychnaceae). The genus includes about 200 accepted species of trees and lianas. The genus is widely distributed around the world's tropics and is n ...

'', form open-canopied woodlands or are scattered in grassy savannas. Frequent human-caused fires have allowed grasslands to spread into areas formerly covered with forest or woodland. Isolated patches of dry forest are found in areas with sparse human population and few human-caused fires, particularly in the Central African Republic and central Cameroon. '' Isoberlinia doka'' is the dominant tree, with ''Afzelia africana, Burkea africana,

Anogeissus leiocarpus ''Terminalia leiocarpa'' (African birch; ) is a species of tree in the genus '' Terminalia''. It is a deciduous tree native of tropical Africa from Senegal and Guinea in the west to Eritrea in the east and as far south as the Democratic Republic ...

, Borassus aethiopum'', and species of ''

Terminalia Terminalia may refer to: * Terminalia (festival) Terminalia () was an ancient Roman festival in honour of the god Terminus, who presided over boundaries. His statue was merely a stone or post stuck in the ground to distinguish between propert ...

''.

Fauna

The ecoregion is home to various large mammals, including both forest- and grassland-adapted species. Grazing mammals include the

African bush elephant The African bush elephant (''Loxodonta africana''), also known as the African savanna elephant, is a species of elephant native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of three extant elephant species and, along with the African forest elephant, one ...

(''Loxodonta africana'') and

African forest elephant The African forest elephant (''Loxodonta cyclotis'') is one of the two living species of African elephant, along with the African bush elephant. It is native to humid tropical forests in West Africa and the Congo Basin. It is the smallest of the ...

(''Loxodonta cyclotis''), Kordofan giraffe (''Giraffa camelopardalis antiquorum''),

African buffalo The African buffalo (''Syncerus caffer)'' is a large sub-Saharan African bovine. The adult African buffalo's horns are its characteristic feature: they have fused bases, forming a continuous bone shield across the top of the head, referred to ...

(''Syncerus caffer''), eastern giant eland (''Taurotragus derbianus gigas''), lowland bongo (''Tragelaphus eurycerus eurycerus''),

waterbuck The waterbuck (''Kobus ellipsiprymnus'') is a large antelope found widely in sub-Saharan Africa. It is placed in the genus ''Kobus (antelope), Kobus'' of the family Bovidae. It was first Scientific description, described by Irish naturalist Will ...

(''Kobus ellipsiprymnus''), Buffon's kob (''Kobus kob kob''), roan antelope (''Hippotragus equinus''), and red-flanked duiker (''Cephalophus rufilatus'').

Lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...

s (''Panthera leo'') and

leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant cat species in the genus ''Panthera''. It has a pale yellowish to dark golden fur with dark spots grouped in rosettes. Its body is slender and muscular reaching a length of with a ...

s (''Panthera pardus'') are the top predators in the ecoregion.

Hippopotamus The hippopotamus (''Hippopotamus amphibius;'' ; : hippopotamuses), often shortened to hippo (: hippos), further qualified as the common hippopotamus, Nile hippopotamus and river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Sahar ...

(''Hippopotamus amphibius'') live in and near rivers and streams. Native

primate Primates is an order (biology), order of mammals, which is further divided into the Strepsirrhini, strepsirrhines, which include lemurs, galagos, and Lorisidae, lorisids; and the Haplorhini, haplorhines, which include Tarsiiformes, tarsiers a ...

s include the patas monkey (''Erythrocebus patas'') and

olive baboon The olive baboon (''Papio anubis''), also called the Anubis baboon, is a member of the family Cercopithecidae Old World monkeys. The species is the most wide-ranging of all baboons, being native to 25 countries throughout Africa, extending from ...

(''Papio anubis''). The western black rhinoceros (''Diceros bicornis longipes'') once ranged across the ecoregion, but is now thought to be extinct. The

northern white rhinoceros The northern white rhinoceros or northern white rhino (''Ceratotherium simum cottoni'') is one of two subspecies of the white rhinoceros (the other being the southern white rhinoceros). This subspecies is a grazer in grasslands and savanna wood ...

(''Ceratotherium simum cottoni'') once inhabited the eastern portion of the ecoregion, but is now extinct in the wild. Near-endemic mammals include Pousargues's mongoose (''Dologale dybowskii''), which also inhabits the Victoria Basin forest–savanna mosaic to the east, and the ochre mole-rat (''Fukomys ochraceocinereus''). Common birds include the red-headed lovebird (''Agapornis pullarius'') and

little greenbul The little greenbul (''Eurillas virens'') is a species of the bulbul family of passerine birds. It is found in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Taxonomy and systematics The little greenbul was originally described in the genus ''Andropadus'' an ...

(''Eurillas virens''). The forest ground-thrush (''Geokichla oberlaenderi'') is a near-endemic species. Endemic frogs include the Mauda River frog (''Phrynobatrachus albomarginatus''), Buta River frog (''P. scapularis''), eastern dwarf clawed frog (''Hymenochirus boulengeri''), and '' Ptychadena ingeri''. The Sudan beaked snake (''Letheobia sudanensis'') and the lizard '' Ichnotropis chapini'' are endemic reptiles.

Protected areas

A 2017 assessment found that 104,288 km², or 15%, of the ecoregion is in protected areas. Protected areas include Bénoué, Deng Deng, Faro, Mbam Djerem, Mbéré Valley, and Mpem and Djim national parks in Cameroon, Gashaka-Gumti National Park in Nigeria, Garamba National Park,

Virunga National Park Virunga National Park is a national park in the Albertine Rift Valley in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was created in 1925. In elevation, it ranges from in the Semliki River valley to in the Rwenzori Mountains. ...

, Bili-Uere Hunting Reserve, and Gangala-na-Bodio Hunting Reserve in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lantoto, Shambe, and Southern national parks in South Sudan, and Chinko Nature Reserve and Zemongo Faunal Reserve in the Central African Republic."Northern Congolian forest-savanna mosaic". DOPA Explorer. Accessed 9 November 2021

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External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Northern Congolian forest-savanna mosaic Northern Congolian forest–savanna mosaic, Afrotropical ecoregions Ecoregions of Cameroon Ecoregions of the Central African Republic Ecoregions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Ecoregions of South Sudan Ecoregions of Uganda * * * * * * * Grasslands of Cameroon Grasslands of the Central African Republic Grasslands of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Grasslands of South Sudan Grasslands of Uganda Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands