Miombo Ecoregion Vision Report - Biodiversity Foundation for Africa

MIOMBO ECOREGION 

VISION REPORT 

Jonathan Timberlake & Emmanuel Chidumayo 

December 2001 (published 2011) 

Occasional Publications in Biodiversity No. 20

WWF - SARPO 

MIOMBO ECOREGION 

VISION REPORT 

2001 

(revised August 2011) 

by 

Jonathan Timberlake & Emmanuel Chidumayo 

Occasional Publications in Biodiversity No. 20 

Biodiversity Foundation for Africa 

P.O. Box FM730, Famona, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe

PREFACE 

The Miombo Ecoregion Vision Report was commissioned in 2001 by the Southern Africa 

Regional Programme Office of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF SARPO). It 

represented the culmination of an ecoregion reconnaissance process led by Bruce Byers (see 

Byers 2001a, 2001b), followed by an ecoregion-scale mapping process of taxa and areas of 

interest or importance for various ecological and bio-physical parameters. The report was then 

used as a basis for more detailed discussions during a series of national workshops held across 

the region in the early part of 2002. The main purpose of the reconnaissance and visioning 

process was to initially outline the bio-physical extent and properties of the so-called Miombo 

Ecoregion (in practice, a collection of smaller previously described ecoregions), to identify 

the main areas of potential conservation interest and to identify appropriate activities and 

areas for conservation action. 

The outline and some features of the Miombo Ecoregion (later termed the Miombo– 

Mopane Ecoregion by Conservation International, or the Miombo–Mopane Woodlands and 

Grasslands) are often mentioned (e.g. Burgess et al. 2004). However, apart from two booklets 

(WWF SARPO 2001, 2003), few details or justifications are publically available, although a 

modified outline can be found in Frost, Timberlake & Chidumayo (2002). 

Over the years numerous requests have been made to use and refer to the original 

document and maps, which had only very restricted distribution. Now, 10 years after the 

original draft Vision Report was produced, we are making the report more widely available as 

a Biodiversity Foundation for Africa (BFA) publication. Only minor corrections or additions 

have been made to the original document, and maps from other publications have been added 

in. 

Another BFA Publication (No. 21, Timberlake et al. 2011) presents a series of maps 

showing the areas of biological importance, an output from a BFA consultancy. 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 

We would like to acknowledge the support of WWF SARPO in Harare, particularly Fortune 

Shonhiwa, Programme Office for the Miombo Ecoregion visioning process. The maps were 

mostly produced by WWF's GIS Unit.

LIST OF CONTENTS 

page 

PREFACE .................................................................................................................................. 2 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ....................................................................................................... 2 

LIST OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................... 3 

1. INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................. 5 

1.1 Ecoregion Conservation ................................................................................................ 5 

1.2 The Miombo Ecoregion ................................................................................................ 6 

1.3 The Ecoregion Conservation Planning Process ............................................................ 8 

1.4 Miombo Ecoregion Vision Report ................................................................................ 8 

2. PHYSICAL FEATURES AND PROCESSES ..................................................................... 9 

2.1 Extent and Physical Determinants................................................................................. 9 

2.2 Geology ......................................................................................................................... 9 

2.3 Landscape Evolution................................................................................................... 13 

2.4 Hydrological Processes ............................................................................................... 14 

2.4.1 Rainfall Processes ......................................................................................... 14 

2.4.2 Characteristics of the Plateau Surface.......................................................... 14 

2.4.3 Spatial Distribution of Surface Water .......................................................... 15 

2.4.4 Soil–Water Processes ................................................................................... 15 

2.5 Biophysical Processes ................................................................................................. 16 

3. BIOLOGICAL FEATURES AND SPECIES..................................................................... 18 

3.1 Ecoregion Boundary.................................................................................................... 18 

3.1.1 Inclusions and Exclusions ............................................................................ 18 

3.2 Vegetation Types......................................................................................................... 20 

3.3 Species......................................................................................................................... 23 

3.3.1 Plants ............................................................................................................ 23 

3.3.2 Mammals...................................................................................................... 23 

3.3.3 Birds ............................................................................................................. 25 

3.3.4 Reptiles / Amphibians .................................................................................. 25 

3.3.5 Fish............................................................................................................... 26 

3.3.6 Invertebrates................................................................................................. 26 

3.4 Areas of Evolutionary Significance ............................................................................ 28 

3.5 Areas Important for Animal Movement and Migration.............................................. 28 

4. ECOLOGICAL DETERMINANTS AND PROCESSES................................................... 30 

4.1 Ecological Determinants ............................................................................................. 30 

4.2 Biophysical Processes ................................................................................................. 30 

4.3 Plant Biomass and Herbivory...................................................................................... 31 

4.4 Carbon Storage and Sequestration .............................................................................. 31 

4.5 Nutrient Cycling.......................................................................................................... 32 

4.6 Fire .............................................................................................................................. 32 

4.7 Human Interactions ..................................................................................................... 33 

5. SOCIO-ECONOMIC FEATURES AND PROCESSES .................................................... 34 

5.1 Socio-Economic Context............................................................................................. 34

5.2 Key Socio-Economic Features and Processes............................................................. 34 

5.2.1 Socio-Political Factors .................................................................................. 34 

5.2.3 Cultural Processes ........................................................................................ 35 

5.2.4 Land Use and Socio-Economic Development ............................................. 35 

5.3 Economic and Policy Environment............................................................................. 39 

5.3.1 Socio-economic Threats and Opportunities ................................................. 39 

5.3.2 Cross-cutting Factors.................................................................................... 40 

5.3.3 Threats.......................................................................................................... 40 

5.3.4 Opportunities................................................................................................ 42 

6. CONSERVATION VISION AND AREAS OF BIOLOGICAL IMPORTANCE............. 44 

6.1 Vision Statement ......................................................................................................... 44 

6.1.1 Rationale........................................................................................................ 44 

6.2 Areas of Importance for Biodiversity Conservation ................................................... 45 

7. BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES ........................................................................... 64 

Appendix 1. List of endemic or near-endemic vertebrate taxa in the Miombo Ecoregion. ..... 69 

Appendix 2. Miombo Ecoregion habitats ................................................................................ 77 

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES 

Figure 1. The Miombo Ecoregion and southern Africa ........................................................... 7 

Figure 2. Southern Africa – physiography and altitude .......................................................... 10 

Figure 3. Miombo Ecoregion – rainfall................................................................................... 12 

Figure 4. Miombo Ecoregion – vegetation types .................................................................... 19 

Figure 5. Miombo Ecoregion – protected areas ...................................................................... 38 

Figure 6. Miombo Ecoregion – areas of biological importance.............................................. 47 

Figure 7. Miombo Ecoregion – areas of significance for habitat conservation ...................... 79 

Table 1. Revised Miombo Ecoregion vegetation units ........................................................... 20 

Table 2. Numbers of species recorded from the Miombo Ecoregion. .................................... 27 

Table 3. Protected areas within the Miombo Ecoregion ......................................................... 38 

Table 4. Identified areas of importance for conservation in the Miombo Ecoregion ............. 46

1. INTRODUCTION 

Miombo Ecoregion Report, page 5 

The mission of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is the conservation of nature and the 

promotion of sustainable use of natural resources. Historically, the strategy of WWF was largely 

based on single species, often driven by the need to respond to dramatic poaching levels of wellknown 

animal species and to address severe cases of habitat degradation and loss all over the 

world. While these campaigns were entirely legitimate, they may have inadvertently underemphasized 

some fundamental conservation imperatives such as conservation of large-scale 

ecological processes, maintaining viable populations of species, addressing habitat 

representativeness and ecosystem diversity. After reviewing the present challenges and lessons of 

conservation projects over the last 50 years, WWF International has decided that an ecoregion 

approach is the most appropriate to set conservation targets and priorities at a continental or 

worldwide level. This culminated in the determination of ecoregions across the world (Olson et 

al. 2001), with around 120 in Africa, and the selection of the Global 200 most important 

ecoregions (WWF 1999). 

As part of this approach, the WWF Southern Africa Regional Programme Office (WWF- 

SARPO) has embarked on an ecoregion conservation programme for the Miombo (or Southern 

Caesalpinoid Woodlands) Ecoregion. This is one of the Global 200 ecoregions, the largest of 21 

on mainland sub-Saharan Africa. The ecoregion provides a good example in which management 

of hydrological processes is central to maintaining its essential features, such as soil moisture 

regimes, dominant vegetation cover, characteristic species and associated evolutionary processes. 

In this regard, the sustainable management of water, involving the wise use of ubiquitous dambos 

(broad, seasonally-inundated drainage lines on the plateau) and the protection of major river 

catchments located in the deep aeolian Kalahari sands of Angola and Zambia, is crucial to 

ecological functioning. The goal of this programme is to contribute to the maintenance of 

biodiversity and functioning ecosystems in the Miombo Ecoregion for the benefit of people and 

nature, while the purpose is to extend that part of the ecoregion where biodiversity conservation 

and functioning ecosystems are fully incorporated into landuse practices, to the benefit of 

conservation of both agricultural lands and wildlands. 

1.1 Ecoregion Conservation 

Ecoregion conservation enables WWF to take a more comprehensive approach to biodiversity 

conservation without sacrificing sensitivity to local biodiversity issues and socio-economic 

conditions. This larger-scale, more integrated approach enables WWF to better assess both the 

proximate and root causes of biodiversity loss, and to design policy and management initiatives 

at appropriate levels from international trade policies to site-specific protected area management 

or community development projects. Moreover, it allows WWF to connect what it does at the 

local level with what needs to be done at national and international levels, to better link field 

work with policy work, and to build new partnerships in carrying this out. 

An ecoregion is defined as a relatively large unit of land or water that is biologically distinct 

from its neighbours, an area that harbours a characteristic set of species, communities, dynamics 

and environmental conditions. It embodies the general principles of ecosystem conservation and 

the major goals of conservation biology since it encompasses: (a) the representation of all 

broadly distinct broad communities and species assemblages, (b) the maintenance of viable plant 

and animal populations within large expanses of intact habitat, (c) special recognition of keystone 

ecosystems, habitats, species and phenomena, (d) conservation of large scale ecological


processes, and (e) conservation of species of special concern. It differs from other approaches in 

that it demands a visionary and strategic view in planning to conservation, it operates over large 

temporal and bio-geographical scales, and it requires an understanding of social and biological 

processes and dynamics operating at these scales. It is usually viewed in the long-term context of 

50 years. The broad spatial and temporal scale adopted requires an integrated and multidisciplinary 

approach where biological units are the basis for planning and activities. As an 

ecoregion unit may cross political boundaries, thinking must extend beyond national boundaries 

or programmes, even though requisite conservation actions happen nationally. The challenge is 

therefore to operate over these large spatial scales through coordinated and concerted actions 

across political boundaries. Although with many attendant difficulties, the often cross-boundary 

nature of the approach is vital to achieving long-term ecosystem conservation goals. 

1.2 The Miombo Ecoregion 

The Miombo Ecoregion, covering over 3.6 million square kilometres across 11 countries of 

southern Africa (Figure 1), comprises dry and moist woodlands that support some of the most 

important thriving large mammal populations left in Africa. Black rhinoceros, African elephant, 

African hunting dog, Cheetah and the Slender-nosed crocodile are some of the threatened 

species, along with many less-known species of plant, birds, reptiles, fish and insects. More than 

half of the estimated 8,500 plant species in this ecoregion are found nowhere else on Earth. There 

is also a distinctive bird, reptile and amphibian fauna. 

One of the region's main characteristics is the presence of large expanses of rolling savanna 

woodland on a gently undulating plain, interspersed with grassy drainage lines (dambos) in a 

regular catenary sequence. The pattern is distinct and repetitive. It is the juxtaposition of different 

vegetation types – nutrient poor and nutrient-rich woodland, areas of short nutritive grasses 

interspersed with taller rank grass, wetlands in an otherwise dry environment – that allows many 

of the large herbivores to survive. The herbivores move through the landscape seasonally, 

making the best use of forage resources in what is generally a nutrient-deficient and low 

carrying-capacity environment. In many respects, conservation of these woodlands needs to 

focus on broad landscape-level processes and hydrology rather than on specific habitats or 

species. 

The ecoregion is typified by a dominance of deciduous woodland composed of broad-leaved 

trees of the legume subfamily Caesalpinioideae. Owing to the deciduous nature of the woodland 

there is a well-developed grass layer which, in turn, gives rise to frequent and wide-spreading 

fires. Caesalpinoid woodlands are confined to the gently undulating, unrejuvenated Central 

African plateau at an altitude of 800–1200 m, although they come down to the coastal plain in 

Mozambique and Tanzania. The ecoregion is incised by the large river valleys of the Zambezi, 

Luangwa and Limpopo, and by the Rift Valley lakes of Tanganyika and Malawi. A number of 

major drainage basins such as the Zambezi, Limpopo, Save, Cuando, Kavango, Rufiji, Rovuma 

and Luapula (part of the Upper Congo) are incorporated. 

Although the ecoregion is commonly termed the Miombo Ecoregion, this is confusing as the 

Caesalpinoid woodlands which it comprises extend significantly beyond true miombo woodland. 

A unimodal rainfall pattern with distinct and prolonged dry seasons, coupled with the generally 

leached and impoverished soils, are major features. It is the combination of environmental 

factors– rainfall, length of dry period, soil nutrient status and fire – which is the probable main 

determinant of woodland limits and separates this from adjacent ecoregions.


Figure 1. The Miombo Ecoregion and southern Africa (from WWF SARPO 2003). 

The primary and direct impacts on the ecoregion come from the large and rapidly growing 

human population and its demand for agricultural land. Large areas of dry woodland, unlike 

moist forests, can be more easily converted to agricultural land owing to the lower above-ground 

woody plant biomass, though the social and environmental consequences are probably as 

profound as with moist forest. 

Most of the miombo savanna woodlands are inhabited, and there are few areas that can be 

considered at all pristine. Many rural people depend heavily on natural resources for their 

livelihoods. These conditions have led to a strong emphasis on the sustainable use of natural 

resources in the region, and on Community-based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) 

programmes. The region is considered by many to be a global model for CBNRM. As other 

organisations besides WWF are involved in natural resources management and conservation 

initiatives within the ecoregion, WWF's planning process will require collaboration with a range 

of partners. 

The Miombo Ecoregion is exceptionally large compared to many others, and also diverse. 

Although it can be split into a number of sub-regions (for example, Burgess et al. 2004), it was 

felt that its integrity should be retained, as it is this that gives rise to its uniqueness and 

importance. In some ways it could be said that conservation of the Miombo Ecoregion is more 

about conservation of processes operating at a landscape scale across thousands of square 

kilometres than about conservation of species or individual habitats.

1.3 The Ecoregion Conservation Planning Process 


The first step in the ecoregion conservation planning process is a reconnaissance to outline the 

current state of biological and socio-economic knowledge for the area and to identify major gaps. 

This stage involves a certain amount of data gathering and assessment. The reconnaissance also 

seeks to identify major factors influencing environmental change and loss of biodiversity, to 

identify key problems and opportunities for conservation interventions, and to provide a basis on 

which to plan a more comprehensive biological and socio-economic assessment. 

Both the reconnaissance and subsequent assessments provide the basis for developing a 

biodiversity conservation vision. The vision should set out long-term goals for conservation of 

the ecoregion's biodiversity, identify key sites, populations and ecological processes. It should 

guide the development of the action plan and any strategic decisions as circumstances and 

opportunities change. This is followed up by the development of a conservation action plan. 

The action plan sets the 10 to 15 year goals for conservation of the ecoregion's biodiversity, and 

identifies the actions needed to achieve those goals. It is a comprehensive blueprint for 

conservation action, and identifies the first steps on the road to achieving the vision. 

1.4 Miombo Ecoregion Vision Report 

This report has built upon the reconnaissance process and vision building workshop to produce a 

biodiversity vision. This vision is essentially a statement coupled with a series of biologically 

important areas that have been identified for special attention. These areas have been identified 

and mapped, and are described in this report. The expectation is that if we concentrate our 

conservation efforts on them with full recognition of the goals of biodiversity conservation, we 

should eventually realize our long-term biodiversity vision. 

The Vision Report is a further step in the ecoregion planning process. It has built upon the 

reconnaissance process but has advanced by producing a set of biologically important areas 

across the ecoregion in a participatory process that involved biologists and socio-economic 

experts. These areas represent overlaps in the occurrence and distribution of key taxa, species and 

genera and in some cases, ecological processes. Boundaries of some of these areas are still 

tentative, hence further refinement and detailed biological and associated socio-economic 

assessments will be needed, along with identification of opportunities for conservation. 

The major ecological processes identified during the reconnaissance and vision workshops have 

also been described, as are the major socio-economic opportunities and threats. It is worth stating 

that in this process an attempt was made to map out socio-economic processes, which will need 

to be seriously considered in the construction of conservation action plans. 

The report sets out to give an overview of the Caesalpinoid Woodland (Miombo) Ecoregion, and 

to describe its boundaries, biological and socio-economic attributes. Particular attention has been 

given to species diversity, regional endemism, global significance and to the ecological processes 

that both underpin and unify the ecoregion. Suggestions for further necessary short-term 

activities are also described.

2. PHYSICAL FEATURES AND PROCESSES 

2.1 Extent and Physical Determinants 


The Miombo Ecoregion covers over 3.8 million km 2 in central and southern Africa, extending 

from the west coast in Angola to the east coast in Mozambique and Tanzania. It includes all or 

part of 11 countries – Angola, Namibia, Botswana, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, 

Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania and Burundi. Much of 

the ecoregion is on the ancient African plateau with an altitude of 800 to 1250 m above sea level, 

but in the east the ecoregion transcends the escarpment and elements of the ecoregion can be 

found in the east African coastal zone, at 200 to 300 m altitude (Figure 2). In spite of the 

favourable elevation, the biological elements of the ecoregion give way to other biomes in the 

northeast, south and southwest. Elevation therefore does not fully determine the Miombo 

Ecoregion boundary. 

Overall, the Miombo Ecoregion boundary appears to be determined by the interaction of 

topography, precipitation and temperature. Climate is probably the most important determinant. 

The ecoregion occurs in the unimodal rainfall zone, except in the northeast in central Tanzania 

where rainfall tends to be bimodal. Mean annual rainfall is in the range of 600 to 1400 mm 

(Figure 3) and occurs from November to April. To the northwest, the boundary roughly follows 

the 1400 mm isohyet while to the northeast and south, the boundary follows the 600 mm isohyet. 

It is obvious that the biological elements of the ecoregion are ill-adapted to humid and arid 

conditions. In central and southern Africa both humid and arid conditions are associated with 

mean maximum temperatures higher than 30 o C. Much of the region therefore lies in the warm 

subhumid zone with a mean maximum temperature of 24–27 o C. 

2.2 Geology 

The geological foundation of much of south and central Africa consists of large, stable, Archaean 

crustal blocks called cratons, of relatively low metamorphic grade, separated by broad zones of 

more highly metamorphosed rocks known as mobile belts. The cratonic nuclei include the 

Congo, Tanzania, Kaapvaal and Zimbabwe cratons; dating indicates a long and complex 

geological history and gives ages ranging from around 3500 to 2600 million years (Ma). Cratonic 

stabilisation did not occur everywhere at the same time. In the Zimbabwe craton, which is the 

best exposed, some early stabilisation had been effected by 3300 Ma with final stabilisation at 

about 2600 Ma, accompanying the emplacement of vast volumes of potassium-rich granites. 

The cratons now consist of the deformed remains of volcano-sedimentary piles (greenstone belts) 

intruded by various, and numerous, granites. Metamorphic grade in the greenstone belts is such 

that primary textures and structures are often well preserved and the primary nature of the rocks 

is clear. For example, basaltic lavas dominate the volcanic pile and numerous examples of 

pillows indicate that eruption occurred under water. Also pockets of limestone, although now 

recrystallised, show fossil stromatolites in places indicating that, here at least, water depths were 

shallow. Typically, the basaltic greenstones weather to give fertile, reddish soils. Prominent 

among the associated chemical sediments are banded iron formations and ferruginous cherts, 

which often outcrop as prominent well-wooded ridges.

Figure 2. Southern Africa – physiography and altitude. 

Miombo Ecoregion Report, page 10


The mobile belts range from late Archaean to early Palaeozoic, with age groupings around 2700 

Ma, 2000–1800 Ma, 1400–1100 Ma and 950–450 Ma. In places they show evidence of 

metamorphism and deformation of more than one age. Rocks include granitic gneisses, 

metasediments and metavolcanics all at high metamorphic grade. Perhaps the oldest of these, the 

well-documented but still enigmatic Limpopo Belt, separates the Zambezi craton from the 

Kaapvaal craton to the south. It consists of a central zone of Archaean metasediments, with a 

major development of quartzites, flanked to the north and south by high grade rocks of the 

adjacent cratons. Metamorphism and tectonism is late Archaean, at around 2700 Ma, followed by 

a second, early Proterozoic, phase at 2000 Ma. 

Emplaced at 2580 Ma, and affording a magnificent marker for the end of the Archaean and the 

beginning of the Proterozoic, is the Great Dyke of Zimbabwe. Funnel-shaped in cross-section in 

its present erosion plane, it is not a true dyke but a NNE-trending line of contiguous, elongate, 

mafic/ultramafic, layered intrusions that almost bisects the craton. Gabbroic rocks form the upper 

part and ultramafic rocks, mainly pyroxenite and dunite, the major and lower part of the layered 

sequences. Weathering of the dunite has produced a surface serpentisation and nickel-rich soils 

that characteristically support unique, nickel-tolerant vegetation. 

Proterozoic sedimentary and volcanic rocks of various ages occur intermittently overlying the 

Archaean cratons. Most of these extend into the marginal Proterozoic mobile belts to become 

highly deformed and metamorphosed; in places they have also been thrust over the adjacent 

cratons during the deformation. Among these is the early Proterozoic Magondi Supergroup of 

basalts, quartzites, dolomitic marbles and metapelites, deposited on the NW side of the 

Zimbabwe craton. Orogeny around 2000–1800 Ma produced the Magondi Mobile Belt, involving 

the deformation of the Magondi rocks and underlying basement. On a larger scale, this is part of 

more widespread orogenic events affecting southern, central and eastern Africa at this time. On 

the northern flank of the Zimbabwe craton, the various metasediments and infolded basement of 

the Zambezi Belt were extensively deformed around 850 Ma. The belt cuts across the earlier 

Magondi Belt and extends west into southern and central Zambia to the Copperbelt. Eastwards it 

links with the N-trending Mozambique Mobile Belt, which straddles Zimbabwe's eastern 

international border with Mozambique and extends northwards as a major structural zone into 

Zambia, Tanzania and Uganda. In eastern Zimbabwe, the late Proterozoic Umkondo Group 

forms a cratonic cover of quartzites, shale and minor volcanics, and extends eastwards to become 

an integral part of the Mozambique Belt. 

Cratonic granite-greenstone terrains, mobile belts and cratonic cover rocks together form the 

Precambrian Basement platform on which the Phanerozoic rocks were deposited. This basement 

is host to economically important minerals – gold in the Archaean greenstone belts; chromitite 

and platinum group minerals in the Great Dyke; and copper in the Proterozoic, especially in the 

Copperbelt of Zambia and Katanga Province of the DRC. 

The most conspicuous rocks of Phanerozoic age in south and central Africa belong to the Karoo 

Supergroup. These were deposited on Gondwanaland from the late Pennsylvanian (Upper 

Carboniferous) to Jurassic Periods, a span of some 100 Ma, as this giant continent moved slowly 

across the South Pole and thence northwards to straddle the Equator before splitting to form the 

continents that are familiar today. The sequence of sedimentation in the intracontinental basin, 

from all the modern component fragments, reflects the steadily changing climate from frigid to 

cool temperate to warm temperate to hot desert. Finally, cracks opened across Gondwanaland 

and permitted the eruption of the vast numbers of basalt flows that constitute the uppermost part 

of the Karoo Supergroup. Thereafter the modern continents moved to their present positions.


In Africa, Karoo rocks can be traced from extensive areas across South Africa to Namibia, 

Botswana, Zimbabwe (particularly Matabeleland and the Zambezi Valley), Zambia and small 

patches in Malawi, Tanzania and Kenya. Lower Karoo rocks, deposited during the glacial and 

cool temperatures, are principally shales and sandstones with coal derived from Glossopteris 

flora. The basal formation is a tillite, which commonly rests on a glaciated pavement – the Pre- 

Karoo erosion surface. 

Figure 3. Miombo Ecoregion – rainfall. 

Upper Karoo sediments are lighter-coloured grits, sandstones, shales and mudstones that contain 

Permian therapsids, Triassic dinosaurs and a variety of plant fossils. Some of the finer grained 

rocks are highly erodible, and in certain localities in Hwange National Park, the floor of the 

Zambezi Valley and south of Harare exhibit spectacular gully and sheet erosion. The basalts can 

be seen today in Lesotho, the Limpopo Valley, Victoria Falls and smaller outliers elsewhere. 

The break-up of Gondwanaland produced new coastlines along the eastern and western margins 

of Africa, and Cretaceous and Cainozoic times are recorded by littoral sediments associated with 

shoreline fluctuations. In the hinterland, however, the Kalahari and Congo basins have been the 

loci of continental deposition. The most recent deposits are the Kalahari Sands which date from 

the Miocene Epoch and which have been blown repeatedly, in various directions, until the 

present day. Deposits of these sands now occur far beyond the present Kalahari region, in 

scattered patches through Zimbabwe and Zambia, and locally provide the uppermost soil for the 

Miombo Ecoregion. The underlying geology of the ecoregion covers a wide spectrum of rock


types ranging in age from Archaean onwards but, in itself, does not control the distribution of the 

Caesalpinoid woodlands. 

2.3 Landscape Evolution 

The landscapes in the Miombo Ecoregion are dependent mainly on the geology, climate and 

drainage, and usually have taken many millions of years to reach the present-day stage. 

The geological control is effected by the relevant resistance to weathering that the different rock 

types exhibit. Thus more resistant rocks, such as sandstones, quartzites and ironstone formations, 

are located along ridges and other high-standing areas, whereas soft rocks, such as shales and 

mudstones, occur in low-lying positions. Certain rock types weather to characteristic landforms. 

For example, the granite terrain, seen widely across Africa, shows curved exfoliated domes 

(bornhardts) and rectangularly jointed blocks (tors and inselbergs). 

Climate controls both temperature and rainfall, the latter producing the water essential for 

chemical weathering. Much of southern Africa, including the Miombo Ecoregion, experiences a 

marked dry season – wet season climatic regime, which leads to pediplanation as the dominant 

geomorphic process. 

Drainage governs the movement of water and soil particles to lower levels, ultimately to sea 

level. Incision of the river valleys provides the original 'notch' on the ground surface, from which 

pediplanation can advance. 

Pediplanation entails the retreat of hill slopes as rock is weathered and removed from the steepest 

slopes, with resultant advance of the lower pediment and concomitant diminution of the higher 

pediment. With the passage of time the areas at the higher level are reduced to become residuals 

(inselbergs) while the lower pediments coalesce to form pediplains (erosion surfaces). The 

erosion surfaces that can be traced throughout Africa south of the Sahara are: Pre-Karoo (300– 

200 Ma), Gondwana (170–135 Ma), Post-Gondwana (135–100 Ma), African (100–24 Ma), Post- 

African (24–5 Ma), Pliocene (5–2 Ma) and Quaternary (

2.4 Hydrological Processes 


A large part of the ecoregion is drained by the Zambezi River system that discharges into the 

Indian Ocean through Mozambique. Other rivers draining into the Indian Ocean are the Rufiji 

and Rovuma in southern Tanzania and Save and Limpopo in Zimbabwe and Mozambique. In the 

northwest the ecoregion is drained by the Congo River, the headwaters of which comprise the 

Chambeshi–Bangweulu–Luapula system in northern Zambia. The gradient in the headwaters of 

the Congo and Zambezi is low and extensive floodplains and swamps occur, such as the Bulozi 

floodplain in western Zambia, Bangweulu swamps, Lukanga swamps and Kafue Flats in central 

Zambia. The Luangwa is an exception, with its steeper gradient. Consequently there are no 

significant swamps along the Luangwa River. The tailwaters of the major rivers draining into the 

Indian Ocean have steeper gradients and therefore have fewer, if any, expansive wetland areas, 

apart from in their deltas which are outside the ecoegion. 

The distinctive drainage and hydrological characteristics are determined by three factors: the 

seasonal distribution of rainfall, the spatial distribution of surface water and the gradient of the 

plateau surfaces. 

2.4.1 Rainfall Processes 

The three main airstreams affecting the rainy season in the ecoregion are the Congo airstream, 

the south-east trades and the northeast monsoons (Davis 1971). The Congo air originates partly 

from the southeast trades of the South Atlantic ocean which curve inland over the Congo Basin 

as they approach the equator and reach the Miombo Ecoregion from the northwest. This air 

stream is very humid in its lower levels and can produce widespread rain when subjected to 

convergence. The south-east trades of the south Indian Ocean hold more moisture during the 

summer months (November to April) and bring rains to the northeastern portion of the ecoregion, 

especially in Tanzania where rainfall tends to be bimodal. The northeast monsoon originates in 

the Asiatic high pressure system and may bring rain to the eastern portion of the ecoregion in 

summer. 

Most of the rainfall occurs near the margins of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone along the 

Congo Air Boundary and at the northern limit of the southeast trades. Consequently, rainfall 

decreases from north to south across the ecoregion, except for areas at higher altitude and those 

in the proximity of lakes and swamps, both of which receive above-average rainfall compared to 

the surrounding areas. The rainy season is about 200 days in the north and 100 days in the south 

and valleys, such as the mid-Zambezi. However, there are substantial annual variations in the 

duration and amount of rainfall. 

2.4.2 Characteristics of the Plateau Surface 

The gently sloping plateau landscape that characterises the ecoregion has given rise to a sluggish, 

very widely-spaced drainage system. Drainage of the low plateau interfluves is probably effected 

mainly by sheet flow. Infiltration may account for a considerable proportion of the rainfall, 

especially in areas of Kalahari sands in the southwestern portion. The characteristic feature of the 

drainage in the headwaters of the plateau streams is the broad, shallow linear depressions known 

as dambos which may retain water and maintain streamflow well into the dry season. Dambos 

cover 10 to 15% of the area in the headwaters of the Zambezi and Congo, and about 5% in the 

middle waters of the Zambezi (Byers 2001a). The sluggish drainage has also given rise to


expansive wetlands in the headwaters of the major rivers that are important habitats for wildlife 

and fish. 

2.4.3 Spatial Distribution of Surface Water 

One characteristic feature of rainfall of the ecoregion is its high inter-annual variability. The 

coefficient of variation which is a measure of this variability decreases with increase in rainfall. 

Thus areas with low rainfall have highly variable rainfall. This coefficient varies from 35% in the 

southern parts of Zimbabwe that receive about 400 to 600 mm per year, to 25% along the central 

watershed which receives 700 to 900 mm per year. In Zambia the coefficient of variation ranges 

from 30% along the mid-Zambezi valley to 15% in the northern high rainfall belt. Most of 

Malawi has a coefficient of variation between 20 and 25%. 

Because of seasonal rainfall (November–April), peak flow occurs during February in the 

headwaters of the major rivers and as late as May in the tailwaters, well after the end of the rainy 

season. Most small streams dry up during the dry season while in larger streams flow is a small 

fraction of the wet season discharge. As there is virtually no rainfall in the dry season, 

streamflow is maintained by baseflow. Rainfall that contributes to streamflow and ground water 

recharge decreases from north to south across the ecoregion. Most of the discharge of the main 

rivers draining into the Indian Ocean is therefore derived from the wetter northern parts and is 

crucial to the maintenance of the East African Coast Ecoregion. 

2.4.4 Soil–Water Processes 

The plateau soils in the Miombo Ecoregion are of eluvial origin on basement quartzites, schists 

and granitic rocks. They are heavily leached and are poor in nutrients due to low organic matter, 

nitrogen and phosphorus content. This has arisen partly because of the poor acidic bedrock from 

which these soils are derived and partly due to the long period of weathering and leaching. These 

nutrient poor (dystrophic) soils have a low pH and high iron-aluminium toxicity, and range from 

sandy loam to sandy clay. As a result of the eluviation process, the clay content in the soil 

increases with depth, although most soils are generally shallow with a lateritic horizon. In areas 

of active erosion, such as escarpments, the topsoil is continuously removed, thereby exposing the 

lateritic material and/or bedrock. 

Topsoil (0–30 cm) moisture content varies from 50–70 cm) moisture content remains >10% throughout the year 

(Chidumayo 1997). This seasonality in topsoil moisture has implications for primary production 

by shallow-rooted plants. Plateau soils also show a fertility gradient from the high rainfall areas 

with poorer soils in the north to areas with low rainfall and relatively more fertile soils in the 

south. 

Low-lying areas, such as valleys, are run-on areas and have alluvial soils that are relatively more 

fertile (eutrophic). Landscape heterogeneity in the ecoregion has created a gradient in soil 

fertility between plateau landscapes and their adjacent valleys. Although low-lying areas receive 

less rainfall, this is augmented by run-off from the surrounding escarpments and/or plateaux that 

also sustains the alluviation process. Soil moisture regimes and fertility status are thus more 

favourable for primary production in valleys. This edaphic gradient also occurs at intermediate 

scale on the plateau landscapes where run-off from interfluves improves the soil moisture regime 

of run-on areas, such as dambos. At a small-scale, termite mounds also discharge run-off onto the 

surrounding area thereby creating mounds with deficient soil moisture, especially in drought 

years. Mound-building termites move the subsoil that has a higher clay content onto the land


surface. Because of this engineering work, termite mounds have soils that are more clayey than 

those of the surrounding areas, although their nutrient status may not necessarily be higher. All 

these soil-water processes create heterogeneity at different landscape scales and produce a variety 

of habitats in the Miombo Ecoregion that support differing biological communities. 

2.5 Biophysical Processes 

Although the major tectonic processes on the Central African plateau ended more than 2 million 

years ago, geomorphological processes are still active today in the ecoregion and are controlled 

primarily by rainfall (Cole 1963). Geomorphological processes are continuously modifying the 

relief and drainage, soils and micro-climate, thereby creating conditions more favourable for 

some plants and less favourable for others. In turn, this brings about the extension of some 

vegetation communities and the recession of others of which only relicts may remain in the 

future. The Central African plateau of the Miombo Ecoregion is being dissected in ongoing 

erosion cycles, especially at its edges, but also within itself. It is these processes that trigger the 

ever-changing composition of vegetation communities in the ecoregion and have implications for 

the conservation of biodiversity, especially in the face of climate change. 

Early hominids in Africa used fire at least 1.5 million years ago (Goldammer 1991) and have 

ever since acted as a dominant ecological factor influencing vegetation. The earliest positive 

evidence of the use of fire by man in central Africa is dated more than 53,000 years ago (Clark 

1959). It is also argued that during the 1800 years since the Iron Age man occupied the Miombo 

Ecoregion, vegetation changes have been brought about mainly through the burning and 

cultivating activities of man (West 1971). 

Fires in the Miombo Ecoregion occur regularly and frequently and originate from people 

preparing land for cultivation, collecting honey or making charcoal. Some fires are set by 

hunters, either to drive animals or to attract them later to the grass re-growth areas that were 

burnt, and by livestock herders to provide a green flush for their livestock and to control pests, 

such as ticks. Generally, people use fire to clear areas alongside paths connecting rural 

settlements. Such practices have probably been carried out for millennia. The fires occur 

throughout the dry season but most occur from July to October (Chidumayo 1997) and are 

fuelled largely by grass and woody plant leaf litter. Fire intensity is therefore linked to grass 

production in the previous rainy season, intensity of grazing and extent of woody plant cover. 

Fires tend to be more frequent and intense in areas of low woodland cover, medium to high 

annual rainfall, low grazing and low to medium human population density. 

Palaeo-fire regimes have varied with the influence of climate and man. It is difficult therefore to 

draw a general prehistoric fire regime in the Miombo Ecoregion. Even the present-day fire 

regime is difficult to define from objective data because direct field observations are too scarce 

and scattered, while satellite determination of fire and burned areas is still not able to give a good 

regional view of the phenomenon throughout the year (Delmas et al. 1991). At local scale fire 

return periods range from 1 to 2 years, but at regional scale this is estimated at 3 years (Frost 

1996). 

The impact of fire on vegetation depends on the intensity and timing in relation to plant 

phenology. Intensity varies with time of burning and amount of fuel. Late dry-season (August– 

November) fires are more intense and destructive than fires in the early dry season (April–July) 

when much of the vegetation is green and moist. Usually fire intensities in the late dry season are


5–18 times those observed for early dry season fires (Frost 1996). Late dry season fires are also 

more destructive because they occur when trees have flushed. 

Response to fire is variable among tree species. The extremes of the response continuum are 

defined by intolerant species that cannot survive fire, and are therefore are restricted to fire 

protected areas, and fire-tolerant species that survive regular intense fires. The trees of evergreen 

forests (e.g. Cryptosepalum, swamp and riparian forests), are nearly all highly intolerant of and 

easily damaged by fire, but trees in frequently burnt savanna vegetation in medium to high 

rainfall areas, including Brachystegia and Julbernardia species, are all fire tolerant. However, it 

is also true that all trees and shrubs will eventually be eliminated from savanna vegetation if the 

fires are sufficiently intense, and repeated during the late dry season over a sufficient number of 

years (West 1971). Under such conditions, the woody plants that persist are only those species 

which survive fire by underground tissues, from which they are able to re-sprout after fire during 

the next growing season. Grassland, in areas where edaphic conditions permit tree growth, is the 

ultimate product of fire because it is composed of plants most tolerant of fire. These plants are 

characterised by aerial parts that die off seasonally in the dry season and/or have dormant buds 

that are protected from fire damage by soil (geophytes and hemicryptophytes), or dead tissues 

just above the soil surface (chamaephytes) such as leaf bases or bulbs. Thus fire can cause 

changes in species composition and structure of vegetation. Frequent late dry-season fires 

eventually transform forest or woodland into open, tall grass savanna, with only isolated, firetolerant 

canopy trees and scattered smaller trees and shrubs (e.g. chipya vegetation). In contrast, 

woody plants are favoured by both early burning and complete fire protection. Fire therefore is 

one of the key ecological factors in Miombo Ecoregion and its management has considerable 

implications for biodiversity conservation.

3.1 Ecoregion Boundary 

3. BIOLOGICAL FEATURES AND SPECIES 


The revised Miombo Ecoregion, also termed the Southern Caesalpinoid woodlands, is an 

amalgamation of a number of the smaller ecoregions shown on the WWF-US Conservation 

Science Programme map "Terrestrial Ecoregions of Africa" (WWF 1999). It is a broad, 

heterogeneous region that covers a large part of south-central Africa, but with many internal 

similarities and links. In many respects the revised Miombo Ecoregion can be considered a 

"super ecoregion" or biome. 

This super-ecoregion is a broader unit than true miombo woodland (defined as woodland 

dominated by trees of the genera Brachystegia, Julbernardia and Isoberlinia with a welldeveloped 

grass layer), and is defined by the dominance (or high frequency) of trees belonging to 

the legume sub-family Caesalpinioideae, such as Brachystegia, Julbernardia, Isoberlinia, 

Baikiaea, Cryptosepalum, Colophospermum and Burkea. Its distribution and subdivisions are 

shown in Figure 4. 

White's original vegetation map (White 1983) was used as a basis for the revision, modified 

using a number of national and regional studies 1 . The final map closely follows the boundaries of 

the White's Zambezian Regional Centre of Endemism, except for the transition to the Guinea- 

Congolia and Zanzibar-Inhambane phytochoria. It also broadly corresponds to the broad-leaved 

dystrophic savanna woodlands of southern Africa (Huntley 1982). 

The revised Miombo Ecoregion extends from the upper edge of the Angolan escarpment in the 

west to the beginnings of the coastal woodlands and forests of Mozambique and Tanzania in the 

east (Southern Zanzibar–Inhambane coastal forest mosaic of Burgess et al. 2004), although it 

does not include those types. To the west and southwest it is bounded by Kalahari Acacia 

woodlands in Namibia and Botswana (Kalahari Acacia–Baikiaea Woodlands of WWF, in part), 

and to the south by Highveld grassland and mixed Acacia woodland in South Africa (Highveld 

Grasslands of WWF). To the north it grades into Guinea-Congolian moist evergreen forest of the 

Congo Basin (Southern Congolian Forest–Savanna Mosaic of WWF), while in the north-east it is 

bounded by dry Acacia-Commiphora bushland in Tanzania (Southern Acacia–Commiphora 

Bushlands and Thickets of WWF). Nomenclature of the revised units is quite different from that 

of the original WWF map, and in many cases the units are substantially different. A comparison 

with the WWF-US Ecoregion map is given in Table 1. The total area of the Miombo ecoregion 

(excluding water bodies and mountains) is 3,649,568 km 2 . 

3.1.1 Inclusions and Exclusions 

Although within the geographical extent of the southern Caesalpinoid woodlands, Afromontane 

forests and grassland (units 76, 77, 78, 80 (part) of WWF) are excluded from the biological and 

other descriptions of the ecoregion. Their ecology and species composition are very different. 

Also excluded are large water bodies such as lakes Kariba, Malawi and Tanganyika have been 

excluded. 

1 National and regional studies used were: Acocks 1975, Barbosa 1970, Bekker & de Wit 1991, Giess 1971, C. Hines 

(pers. comm. 2002), Low & Rebelo 1998, Mendelsohn & Roberts 1997, Mendelsohn et al. 2000, Pedro & Barbosa 

1955, Timberlake et al. 1993, Timberlake et al. 1994, Wild & Barbosa 1967.


Figure 4. Miombo Ecoregion – vegetation types (from WWF SARPO 2003).


Edaphic grasslands, floodplains, dambos and wetlands are, however, included within the revised 

ecoregion. They are considered to be an integral part of the woodland landscape and ecological 

processes, and functionally are not separable. 

Table 1. Revised Miombo Ecoregion vegetation units. 2 

Vegetation unit WWF (1999) unit area (km 2 ) 

Itigi thicket 48 15,405 

Cryptosepalum dry forest 32 37,908 

Wet miombo woodland 49 (most), 50 1,358,175 

Dry miombo woodland 52, 53 1,214,533 

Burkea–Terminalia woodland 57 (part) 96,162 

Mopane woodland 54 (part), 55 (part) 384,037 

Baikiaea woodland 51, 58 (part) 260,171 

Acacia–Combretum woodland 54 (part) 103,887 

Wetland grasslands 56 (part), 63 179,290 

Other areas (not part of ecoregion), e.g. water 

bodies, mountains 

167,636 

TOTAL 3,817,204 

3.2 Vegetation Types 

The two characteristic features of the Southern Caesalpinoid Woodland Ecoregion are the 

presence of woodland dominated by trees from the legume subfamily Caesalpinioideae, such as 

Brachystegia, Julbernardia, Isoberlinia, Baikiaea, Cryptosepalum, Colophospermum and 

Burkea, and the presence of a well-developed grass layer composed of C4 grasses. Caesalpinoid 

woodlands are composed of pinnate broad-leaved tree species, most being deciduous for at least 

a short period each year, the seasonality being related to a period of water stress and/or low 

temperatures. The woodland canopy is from 6 to 20 m in height, and ranges from 20% cover to 

almost closed-canopy forest. 

Caesalpinoid woodlands are mostly found on nutrient-poor soils (except Colophospermum and 

Acacia–Combretum woodland). Vegetation composition and structure are determined by climate 

(rainfall amount, length of dry season, mean temperature, frost), position in the landscape and 

soil type. Most changes in vegetation type within the ecoregion are gradual. Fire is an important 

feature. 

Another characteristic feature is the presence of large termite mounds, especially where sub-soil 

drainage is impeded. These are composed of cation-rich (particularly calcium) soils owing to 

their high clay contents, and generally have lower soil moisture levels. Termitaria support very 

different species from the surrounding woodlands. Their presence, as nutrient-enriched 'islands', 

is of major significance for both species diversity and woodland ecology. 

2 Areas taken from version of original hand-drawn map of Timberlake, digitized by WWF SARPO GIS Unit in 2001.


The main genera of Caesalpinoid trees have explosively-dehiscent pods and seeds that are not 

distributed far. Genera dominant in wet and dry miombo vegetation are mostly ectomycorrhizal 

(they have symbiotic fungi associated with the root cortex), a feature often associated with 

impoverished phosphorous-deficient soils (Högberg 1986, Högberg & Piearce 1986) and forest 

trees, while the genera dominant in Baikiaea, Burkea–Terminalia, mopane and Acacia– 

Combretum woodlands are all endomycorrhizal (fungal hyphae penetrate the root cells), which is 

much more common in the tropics. 

Caesalpinoid woodlands are tolerant of significant damage from drought, fire, frost and 

megaherbivore browsing, as most of the major trees can readily coppice. This distinguishes them 

from moist forests and from Acacia savannas which reproduce and recover more readily from 

seed. 

The ecoregion is divided into nine major vegetation or habitat types, each with a distinctive 

ecology and species composition. 

Itigi-like thicket: Dry deciduous forests are found in the north east (the Itigi thickets of Tanzania 

and Zambia), dominated by Baphia and Combretum species and Bussea massaiensis. Further 

south, in the Zambezi and Shire valleys, there are similar thickets characterised by earlydeciduous 

Combretum shrubs and scattered emergent deciduous or evergreen trees. In places 

Xylia torreana forms a canopy. Many of these thicket patches are too small to map at the present 

scale. They are of significant conservation interest owing to their limited extent. 

Cryptosepalum dry forest: Dry evergreen forest dominated by Cryptosepalum exfoliatum is 

found on Kalahari sands associated with the upper Zambezi in western Zambia. Other typical 

species include Parinari excelsa and Marquesia species, often with lianas. Although the forest is 

evergreen, the type is clearly distinct from the moist forests of the Congo Basin. Annual rainfall 

is around 900 mm. 

Wet miombo woodland: A species-rich woodland with a canopy usually greater than 15 m high. 

Dominant species include Brachystegia floribunda, B. glaberrima, B. taxifolia, B. wangermeeana 

and Marquesia macroura. Annual rainfall is reliable and usually more than 1000 mm, but less in 

areas on Kalahari sands. The herbaceous layer comprises tall grasses such as Hyparrhenia. In the 

wettest areas the dominant trees are only briefly deciduous, the canopy is almost closed, and 

shade-tolerant species (e.g. from the family Rubiaceae) are found in the understorey. A number 

of floodplains and swamp grasslands are found along major rivers such as the Zambezi, Kafue, 

Chambeshi and Kilombero, as well as extensive dambos on the gently undulating plateau. 

Within wet miombo there are inclusions of "chipya", an open non-miombo formation with very 

tall grass and a high complement of evergreen species. This is thought to have been derived from 

forest patches through fire, and is found on richer soils. 

Dry miombo woodland: This type is floristically poorer than wet miombo with Brachystegia 

spiciformis, B. boehmii and Julbernardia globiflora dominant; B. floribunda is generally absent. 

The canopy is generally less than 15 m in height and trees are deciduous for a month or more 

during the dry season. Species of Acacia are found on clay soils in drainage lines. Annual rainfall 

is less than 1000 mm and less reliable than further north. The herbaceous layer consists of 

medium to tall C4 grasses. In drier areas, Julbernardia and Combretum become dominant. There 

is an extensive area on Kalahari sands in central Angola dominated by thicket-forming 

Brachystegia bakeriana, which appears transitional to Baikiaea woodland.


As dry miombo woodland is found on escarpments as well as on the plateau and coastal plain, the 

geomorphology and soils are more varied than with wet miombo. There is also a significant 

inclusion of mopane, Acacia and Combretum woodlands in places. There are no significant areas 

of floodplain grassland or wetlands, but seasonally waterlogged drainage-line grasslands 

(dambos) are common on the central plateau. 

Burkea–Terminalia woodland: This rather impoverished woodland type is found at the southern 

margins of the ecoregion. Although similar in structure and broad ecology to dry miombo 

woodland, it does not contain any of its defining species. Instead there is a high frequency of 

Burkea africana, Terminalia sericea, Combretum, Pterocarpus, Pseudolachnostylis 

maprouneifolia and other broad-leaved trees typical of dystrophic woodland, along with species 

of Acacia, Albizia and Peltophorum africanum. There are many rocky outcrops which support 

mesic species. 

It is principally found on the southern part of the central plateau at over 1000 m altitude. Annual 

rainfall is around 600 mm, with high variability. The type has been much modified by human 

activity. 

Baikiaea woodland: Baikiaea woodland varies in structure from almost dry forest or thicket to a 

moderately-dense woodland. It is characterised by a dominance of the deep-rooted tree Baikiaea 

plurijuga, and is confined to deeper Kalahari sands. Canopy height varies from 8 to 20 m, 

depending on rainfall. Other typical species include Burkea africana, Combretum collinum and 

Guibourtia coleosperma. The type is deciduous, often for some months. Annual rainfall varies 

from 500 to 800 mm, but the deep sands absorb and retain moisture well so deep-rooted trees 

retain their leaves for an extended period. 

Mopane woodland: Mopane woodland is characterised by the dominance of Colophospermum 

mopane with a canopy from 6 to 18 m high, depending on rainfall and soil depth. Trees are 

deciduous for some months of the year. The grass layer is generally poorly developed. These 

woodlands are species-poor; associated species include Acacia and those from the Capparidaceae 

family. 

It is associated with nutrient-rich clay soils of the wide, flat valleys such as the Limpopo, Save, 

Zambezi, Luangwa and Cunene. Altitude ranges from 300 to 900 m. Mopane woodland is a 

eutrophic (nutrient-rich) type with a different ecology to true miombo. Annual rainfall is around 

400 to 700 mm with high variability, but soil infiltration rates are low. 

Acacia–Combretum woodland: This type comprises open woodland to wooded grassland 

dominated by species of Acacia and Combretum, often with trees from the legume subfamily 

Papilionoideae. There are two variants. One is found up on the central plateau of eastern Zambia 

in dry miombo on areas of nutrient-rich soil, sometimes locally called "munga". It consists of 

open woodland to wooded grassland with a well-developed grass layer, and is frequently burnt. 

Along with Combretum and Terminalia, a number of mesic Acacia and Albizia species, and 

species from the families Papilionoideae and Bignoniaceae occur. The other variant is found 

where the central plateau falls away to the Mozambique coastal plain and Zambezi valley. The 

climate is generally warmer, and fire is less frequent. Acacia nigrescens and Combretum species 

are very common, and are associated with Lonchocarpus capassa, Xeroderris stuhlmannii, 

Sterculia africana, Adansonia digitata and Cordyla africana. Mopane is often present, but is not 

dominant or abundant. The grass layer is variously well or poorly-developed, depending on soil 

depth and rainfall.


Wetland grassland: Edaphic grasslands, floodplains, dambos (seasonally waterlogged drainage 

grasslands) and wetlands are of sizeable extent in Zambia (Barotse floodplains, Kafue Flats, 

Busanga and Lukango and Bangweulu swamps), Tanzania (Lake Rukwa, Mavowsi/Igombe, 

Kilombero valley) and Malawi (Lake Chilwa). Wetland vegetation is often dominated by stands 

of papyrus (Cyperus papyrus) or reed (Phragmites mauritianus/P. australis) with floating-leaved 

aquatics. Floodplains are extensive areas flanking rivers that are occasionally flooded. They are 

usually more species-rich than wetlands, but are dominated by grasses and sedges. In seasonallyinundated 

areas, similar edaphic grasslands can be found, with a rich geophyte flora. Dambo 

vegetation consists of open grasslands with scattered trees, often rich in forbs and suffrutex 

woody plants. 

3.3 Species 

3.3.1 Plants 

The ecoregion contains around 8,500 plant species, of which about 54% are endemic (White 

1983). There are no endemic families. The Zambezian Regional Centre of Endemism (equivalent 

to the Miombo Ecoregion) probably has the richest and most diversified flora and the widest 

range of vegetation types in Africa (White 1983). It is the centre of diversity of both 

Brachystegia and Monotes, and also for geoxylic suffrutex species ("underground trees"), an 

unusual life form. Of 98 geoxylic suffrutex species listed for Africa, 86 are recorded only from 

this area (White 1976). 

The genera Bolusanthus, Cleistochlamys, Colophospermum, Diplorhynchus, Pseudolachnostylis 

and Viridivia are endemic, while Androstachys and Xanthocercis otherwise only occur in 

Madagascar. In addition to the characteristic Caesalpinoid trees, species of Acacia, Combretum, 

Erythrophleum, Monotes, Parinari and Terminalia are typical of these woodlands. The Great 

Dyke in Zimbabwe (20–30 species), Katanga (Haut-Shaba) in the DRC (56 species), the Itigi 

thickets in central Tanzania/NE Zambia (5–10 species?), and the high plateau around Huambo in 

central Angola (between 200–500 species) are particularly rich in endemic species. 

Around 100 threatened species are thought to occur in the ecoregion, of which nine are 

Endangered or Vulnerable. There are 39 threatened tree species, of which 19 are Endangered or 

Vulnerable (Walter & Gillett 1998, Oldfield et al. 1998). Plant Red Data lists for a number of 

countries in the region are under preparation through the SABONET project. 

Major timber species are Baikiaea plurijuga, Guibourtia coleosperma, Pterocarpus angolensis, 

Afzelia quanzensis, Millettia stuhlmannii and Dalbergia melanoxylon. A number of trees are 

widely used for construction timber or firewood, including Brachystegia, Terminalia and Acacia 

species, Pericopsis angolensis and Colophospermum mopane. The tree Warburgia salutaris is 

severely threatened from over-harvesting for medicinal use. Various wetland plants are of 

economic significance including Phragmites and Cyperus papyrus, while important water weeds 

are Azolla, Eichhornia, Pistia and Salvinia. Many grasses are of great importance for grazing to 

livestock and wildlife, including species of Brachiaria, Digitaria, Eragrostis, Heteropogon, 

Hyparrhenia and Panicum. 

3.3.2 Mammals 

Perhaps the most conspicuous and charismatic feature of the ecoregion is the wide variety and 

large numbers of large mammalian herbivores (elephant, white and black rhino, hippo, giraffe,


zebra, buffalo and numerous antelope) and large predators (lion, cheetah, leopard, hyaena, wild 

dog). Primates are represented by chimpanzee (on the ecoregion margins), baboon, bushbabies 

and several species of diurnal monkey. The variety of monkeys is greater in the north where the 

ecoregion grades into forest ecosystems. The distribution and status of the smaller mammals in 

the area – rodents, bats and insectivores – is still poorly known. 

Species richness of antelopes reflects the diversity of habitats, which include wetlands with 

specialised species such as lechwe Kobus leche (sensu lato, including the Kafue lechwe K. 

kafuensis and black lechwe K. smithemannii) and puku Kobus vardoni. There are believed to be a 

number of extant or extinct taxa of lechwe (perhaps 8 to 10), indicating fragmentation of wetland 

grassland over the last million years (Cotterill 2000). Other groups of antelope also show signs of 

speciation across the extent of the ecoregion, for example: defassa waterbuck Kobus 

ellipsiprymnus defassa in the north and west and K. e. ellipsiprymnus in the south and west; 

brindled wildebeest Connochaetus taurinus taurinus south of the Zambezi, Nyassa wildebeest C. 

t. johnstonii in northern Mozambique and southern Tanzania and the endemic Cookson's 

wildebeest C. t. cooksoni in the Luangwa valley (E. Zambia); Masai giraffe Giraffa 

cameleopardus tippelskichi in southern Tanzania, Thornicroft's giraffe G. c. thornicrofti in the 

Luangwa valley and the southern giraffe G. c. giraffa in southern Zimbabwe; and the southern 

reedbuck Redunca arundinum and Bohar reedbuck R. redunca whose distribution ranges overlap 

in the Selous Game Reserve in southern Tanzania. 

Lichtenstein's hartebeest Alcelaphus lichtensteinii and sable antelope Hippotragus niger are 

largely confined to Brachystegia/Julbernardia woodland and can be said to be near-endemic to 

the ecoregion. The threatened giant sable H. n. variani is restricted to a small part of central 

Angola. Sharpe's grysbok Raphicerus sharpei and the miombo genet Genetta angolensis are also 

near-endemics. Among small mammals there are a few rodents and bats known only from the 

ecoregion or small areas within it. Appendix 1 gives an indication of the species confined (or 

nearly confined) to the Miombo Ecoregion. 

Only one taxon, Robert's lechwe Kobus leche robertsii is known to have become extinct within 

the ecoregion within the last 500 years. However, four mammals are Critically Endangered – 

black rhinoceros Diceros bicornis, giant sable antelope, a white-toothed shrew Crocidura 

ansellorum and a climbing mouse Dendromus vernayi. The black rhino formerly occurred 

throughout the area, but has been greatly reduced in number and range. The ecoregion contains 

about 620 animals, 23% of the continental population, and around 2900–3000 white rhino 

Ceratotherium simum, or 29% of the continental population. Endangered species include the 

African elephant Loxodonta africana and wild dog Lycaon pictus. Southern Tanzania. Malawi, 

Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe contain at least 128,000 elephant, representing 42–45% of 

Africa's population. The same area contains most of Africa's remaining wild dogs. 

Nine areas of importance for mammals have been identified. These are: Liuwa plains (W 

Zambia; animal movement); Mwinilunga/Solwezi (NW Zambia; small mammal endemism); 

Hwange-Chobe-Caprivi (NW Zimbabwe/N Botswana; large mammal assemblage); 

Bangweulu/Kasanka (N Zambia; large mammal assemblage, endemism); Luangwa Valley (E 

Zambia; large mammal assemblage, elephant, endemism); mid-Zambezi valley (N Zimbabwe; 

large mammal assemblage, elephant, hippo); Niassa/Selous (N Mozambique/S Tanzania; large 

mammal assemblage); Gorongosa–Cheringoma–Zambezi delta (C Mozambique; large mammal 

diversity); and Gaza–Kruger–Gonarezhou (SE Zimbabwe/N South Africa; large mammal 

assemblage, small mammal endemism).


The species richness and locally high biomass of large mammals forms the backbone of the 

region's tourism industry. Wildlife-viewing and safari hunting for trophies are two major forms 

of wildlife use. Elephants are the most financially valuable species. Increasingly within the 

region, local communities are able to receive proceeds from tourism, so wildlife has become a 

major form of land use in places. Elephants, lions, baboons and other animals can also have a 

significant negative impact when they destroy crops or kill people and livestock During recent 

decades, both the elephant and black rhino were of economic importance, albeit illegally, through 

killing for their ivory and horn. Many antelope are hunted widely (legally or illegally) for their 

meat and skins, both by local peasants and land owners. 

3.3.3 Birds 

There is no full list of bird species from the ecoregion; most studies have been national. 

However, 938 species of passerines (including subspecies) are indicated for the region. Bird 

atlases for Zimbabwe, Botswana and part of southern Mozambique are available, while atlases of 

Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania and central Mozambique are in preparation. A number of areas, 

including many national parks, have more than 400 recorded species, but this is an effect of high 

observer coverage. 

About 51 bird species are restricted to the Miombo Ecoregion or Zambesian biome (P. Frost, 

pers. comm.), including 23 species endemic to Brachystegia woodland (Barnes 1998, Fishpool 

2001, Benson & Irwin 1966, P. Frost pers. comm. 2001); 23 others are near-endemic. These are 

listed in Appendix 1. Other species are confined to grasslands of the palaeo-Upper Zambezi 

system. Bird species diversity is higher towards the Angolan highlands in the west and Tanzania 

in the north east. In part this is due to the greater diversity in montane 'islands' within the 

ecoregion. Wetlands are particularly important for bird life, especially for palaearctic and intra- 

African migrants. 

There are around 80 Important Bird Areas within the ecoregion, containing significant numbers 

of globally or nationally threatened species (Fishpool 2001). Significant areas include Bangweulu 

swamps (Shoebill Stork, Long-tailed Flufftail and high numbers of waterbirds), Angolan 

escarpment (five threatened species, although mostly forest not woodland species), Matobo Hills 

(high diversity and breeding density of raptors, especially Black Eagle), and the Kafue Flats 

(high waterfowl numbers, 79 waterbird species). 

Threatened species include the Wattled Crane Bugeranus carunculatus; the area contains about 

90% of the world population of 13,000–15,000 birds. The White-winged Flufftail Sarothrura 

ayresi is Endangered. Species listed as Vulnerable are the Lappet-faced Vulture, Cape Griffon, 

Slaty Egret and the non-breeding migrants Lesser Kestrel, Madagascar Pond Heron, Corncrake 

and Spotted Eagle. 

The Ostrich Struthio camelus is farmed for its skin and meat, and the Red-billed Quelea Quelea 

quelea is a major pest to grain farmers in some places. 

3.3.4 Reptiles / Amphibians 

There are 284 species of reptile and 130 amphibians recorded from the ecoregion, with 52 and 25 

endemic species respectively. The largest reptile is the Nile Crocodile, which is numerous in lowaltitude 

perennial rivers. It is also the basis of a commercial industry.


Ten areas of high reptile/amphibian diversity have been identified. The highest diversity is found 

in Upemba National Park in the DRC (100 reptiles and 50 amphibians), Shashe in SW 

Zimbabwe/N South Africa (100 reptiles and 18 amphibians), including species more typical of 

the Kalahari, and the Hwange National Park area (81 reptile and 25 amphibian species). 

Seven areas of endemism have been identified of which the richest are Upemba /Kandelungu 

National Parks (7 reptile and 6 amphibians), the Rovuma area of SE Tanzania-NE Mozambique 

(11 reptile and 4 amphibians), and Barotseland (5 reptiles and 2 frogs). 

The major threatened reptiles are the Slender-snouted Crocodile Crocodylus cataphractus in 

Lake Mweru and the Flap-shell Turtle Cycloderma frenatum. However, a proper assessment of 

threat for reptiles and amphibians has still not been completed and there are likely to be more 

3.3.5 Fish 

The Zambezian ichthyological province, which includes the Zambezi basin and rivers that were 

once part of it (e.g. the Cunene), contains 196 fish species. This total excludes Lake Malawi with 

600–800 species. Around 25 species have been introduced into the area over the last 100 years, 

but most have failed to establish. 

Excluding the Great Lakes with their exceptional species richness, there are two areas of 

particular fish species richness within the ecoregion ― Lake Mweru and the Luapula River with 

94 species, and the Upper Zambezi with about 92 species (B. Marshall, pers. comm.). 

Fifteen species are endemic to the palaeo-Zambezi basin, including four endemics in the 

Chambeshi River and Lake Bangweulu, with an additional 15 species being near-endemic 

(Marshall 2000, B. Marshall pers. comm.). There are four major areas of endemism – Lake 

Malawi (600–800 species, of which 99% are endemic), Lake Tanganyika (290 species, of which 

90% are endemic), the Lake Malawi drainage basin (38 species, of which 25% are endemic) and 

the Cunene River (63 species, of which 13% are endemic). 

A number of species from the Congo system are only known from very few specimens. This may 

be an artefact of lack of collecting. Six species are under threat: Opsaridium peringueyi (semiarid 

Save and Limpopo systems); Nothobranchius furzeri (a few pans in southeastern 

Zimbabwe); Chiloglanis emarginatus (South Africa, 2 specimens in Zimbabwe);Oreochromis 

mossambicus (widespread in the lower Zambezi, but are under threat from the exotic O. 

niloticus); Oreochromis andersonii and O. macrochir (similar threat); and Nothobranchius sp. 

(small pans in the Caprivi Strip). 

Fish are of major economic significance as a source of protein, particularly around the larger 

water bodies. Sport-fishing for tigerfish Hydrocynus vittatus has important economic benefits 

around Lake Kariba and in some parts of the Zambezi. 

3.3.6 Invertebrates 

Invertebrates in the region are poorly known. The best-known groups are: Lepidoptera 

(butterflies, emperor moths, hawk moths), Diptera (tsetse flies, mosquitoes), Coleoptera (dung 

beetles, flower chaffers), Orthoptera (grasshoppers/locust, mantids), Isoptera (termites), Mollusca 

(freshwater species) and agricultural pests and invertebrates of medical and veterinary 

importance (ticks, helminths).


There are 102 recorded species of freshwater mollusc (gastropods and bivalves) within the 

Zambezi basin, which is not diverse by African standards, including 23 endemics. Lake Malawi 

contains 52% of these (19 endemic), but Lake Tanganyika is considered richer (Dudley 2000). 

The Congo basin (including the Luapula) is considered to be more diverse. Upemba National 

Park, perhaps the best-collected area, contains 70 species of terrestrial mollusc, of which 22 have 

not yet been recorded elsewhere (van Bruggen & van Goethem 2001). Land snails have 650 

species in southern Africa as a whole, with about 90% endemic. However, over half of all 

recorded species are from forests, which are not included in the ecoregion. 

Termites are an important group in the Caesalpinoid woodlands, not just in assisting 

decomposition of organic matter, but also in the effect their mounds have on spatial distribution 

of nutrients, plants and animals. They are of major economic significance for their ecological 

value. Southern Africa is known to be rich in termite species, however there appears to be little 

data on either their diversity or distribution across the ecoregion. Malawi has 106 species. 

Table 2. Numbers of species recorded from the Miombo Ecoregion. 

Group no. species 

in ecoregion 1 

no. endemic/ near 

endemic species 

Plants 3 8500 4590 

Mammals 2 318 35 

Birds 4 938 51 

Reptiles 5 284 83 

Amphibians 5 130 36 

Fish 6 ±200 30 

Butterflies 7 ±1300 90 

Total 11,670 4915 

Sources: Regional specialists (D. Broadley, F. Cotterill, P. Frost, A. Gardiner, B. Marshall, P. Mundy); 

WWF Conservation Science Division ecoregion database, Oct. 2001 (data compiled from original 

WWF Ecoregions delineation, not the revised version presented here). 

Notes: 1. Numbers reflect species, not sub-taxa, a number of which should be raised to full species. 

2. Mammal species data from WWF-US terrestrial vertebrate database, Oct 2001; 

endemism from F. Cotterill (Nov 2001). 

3. Plant data from White (1983). 

4. Bird data from P. Mundy (Nov 2001) and P. Frost (Dec 2001). 

5. Herps data from D. Broadley (Nov 2001). 

6. Fish data from B. Marshall (Nov 2001); excludes species from the Great Lakes. 

7. Butterfly data from A. Gardiner (Jan 2002). 

Odonata are a comparatively well-known group. The Zambezi basin wetlands (including the 

headwaters) have 217 species (Fitzpatrick 2000), of which 148 are found in the headwaters (12 

apparently endemic). The Katombora/Victoria falls area downstream has 88 species (1 endemic). 

Lepidoptera (particularly butterflies) are better known. There are 588 species recorded from 

along the Zambezi River, with the highest diversity in the headwaters (467 species), compared to 

only 181 in the Chobe–Victoria Falls area. It is estimated that the Miombo Ecoregion contains 

1300 butterfly species, of which around 90 are endemic (Gardiner 2000). As is the case in many 

invertebrate groups, it is the wetter miombo woodland and forest mosaics of northwest Zambia, 

northeast Angola and the DRC that have the greatest diversity and endemism. Some moth species


are of economic significance for their caterpillars, for example the mopane worm Imbrasia belina 

and many species in Katanga (Shaba). 

Six areas of importance for invertebrates have been provisionally identified from within the 

ecoregion: Mwinilunga–Mkushi (NW Zambia; species diversity (butterflies 66, 1 endemic), 

endemism); Kazungula (NW Zimbabwe, Odonata diversity); Eastern Highveld (E Zimbabwe; 

butterfly diversity (300), endemism (3 butterflies)); the Luapula River (NE Zambia; freshwater 

molluscs); Sumbananga–Kigoma (E Lake Tanganyika; butterfly diversity (500), endemism); and 

Madidibira–Mafindi (S Tanzania; butterfly diversity (400), endemism (5 butterflies)). 

3.4 Areas of Evolutionary Significance 

Various parts of the Miombo Ecoregion have been important in the past both for local vicariant 

evolution and for radiation of specific groups. The Great Dyke in Zimbabwe and the Kolwezi- 

Lubumbashi area of the DRC/N Zambia (Wild 1965, Brooks & Malaisse 1985) with serpentine 

soils have given rise to the evolution of many endemic plants adapted to mineral-toxic soils (20– 

30 and 53 species respectively), while the isolation of Lake Malawi and Lake Tanganyika has 

given rise to great diversification of freshwater fish and molluscs (Marshall 2000, Dudley 2000). 

There are 600–800 fish species in Lake Malawi (99% endemic) and 240 species in Lake 

Tanganyika (90% endemic). These fish species flocks have evolved in the past 1–2 million years 

and there is a very high degree of local variation indicating that speciation is still continuing. 

The grasslands, floodplains and wetlands of the palaeo-Upper Zambezi (Barotseland, Kafue, 

Bangweulu, etc.) are believed to have been closely connected during past wetter periods, and to 

have covered a vast area in the north. For many biological groups, this landscape of grassland 

and woodland patches on Kalahari sands appears to have been an important centre of 

diversification and speciation over the last 5 million years, including for lechwe and similar 

antelope, suffrutex plants and grassland birds (Cotterill 2000, Timberlake et al. 2000, Mundy 

2000). Much of the speciation was caused by habitat fragmentation owing to climatic change, 

and the capture of the Upper Zambezi by what is now the middle and lower Zambezi. 

Barotseland is regarded as a particularly rich area for reptiles and amphibians as it is the meeting 

place of the Kalahari, forest and savanna faunas. 

The Muchinga escarpment in eastern Zambia has been a biogeographical boundary resulting in 

speciation in primates (Papio and Cercopithecus), waterbuck, tsessebe and puku. The watershed 

between the Chambeshi, Upper Luangwa and Rukwa has had a similar effect, separating 

southern and East African taxa. 

3.5 Areas Important for Animal Movement and Migration 

Seasonal movement of vertebrates such as birds and large mammals is a characteristic feature of 

parts of the Miombo Ecoregion. Many movements are related to feeding, and are driven by the 

availability of food in nutrient-rich or warmer parts of the landscape (wetlands, mopane 

woodland, riverine woodland) compared to deficiency in nutrient-poor areas up on the plateau or 

cool areas with little insect activity. However, most of these movements do not follow a fixed 

pattern and are rather opportunistic and over only moderate distances. Examples are elephants 

moving across northern Botswana and western Zimbabwe, and from the Zambezi floodplains up 

onto the escarpment. The only true migration of large mammals is thought to be of wildebeest 

from the Liuwa Plains in western Zambia into eastern Angola.


Within a landscape, there is often a vegetation catena related to topography. The catena can be 

divided into run-off areas, consisting of raised interfluves, and run-on areas consisting of dambos 

(wet grasslands). Dambos often act as a magnet for wildlife during the dry season. For example, 

after the end of the rains antelope in the Zambezi valley move from vegetation types on dry soils 

such as mopane woodland when plant production ceases, to vegetation types on soils that remain 

moist well into the dry season. Riverine woodland and valleys on the plateau are also important 

movement corridors for a wide range of bird species. 

Intercontinental migrations of palaearctic (100 species) and intra-Africa migrant birds (80 

species) are common. The seasonal migrations of Palaearctic migrants enable them to breed in 

temperate Europe and Asia when food is seasonally abundant, and then move to southern Africa 

for the months when food availability is restricted in their breeding areas. These migrants range 

in size from white storks Ciconia ciconia to willow warblers Phylloscopus trochilus. Many are 

waders and the wetland areas of the ecoregion are important to them. Some of the major wetlands 

in Africa lie in southern Africa, such as the large natural lakes of Tanganyika, Malawi, Chilwa, 

Bangweulu and Mweru, two major man-made lakes, Kariba and Cabora Bassa, and major rivers 

such as the Zambezi, Luangwa, Shire and Kafue. African waterfowl censuses have identified 

many wetlands of international importance: two in Botswana, two in Malawi, seven in 

Mozambique, 26 in Tanzania, five in Zambia and four in Zimbabwe. Palaearctic migrants are 

protected by the African–Eurasian migratory water bird agreement of the Convention of 

Migratory Species of Wild Animals.


4. ECOLOGICAL DETERMINANTS AND PROCESSES 

4.1 Ecological Determinants 

The major ecological determinants in the Miombo Ecoregion are climate, soil moisture, soil 

nutrients, herbivory, fire and human use. Ecosystem diversity in the Miombo Ecoregion has 

evolved from the interaction between geology and the subhumid climate with seasonal rainfall. 

This interaction has given rise to a generally flat topography and sluggish drainage. The 

hydrology is therefore characterised by a mosaic of dambos and seasonally flooded grasslands, 

especially in the headwaters of the major rivers. The ecoregion exhibits landscape heterogeneity 

both at large and small scale. Consequently, it has higher between-habitat (beta) diversity than 

within-habitat (alpha) diversity. This implies that conservation of biodiversity is better achieved 

by conserving landscapes than isolated habitats. 

4.2 Biophysical Processes 

Whereas the broader ecoregion boundaries are controlled by climatic factors, the internal spatial 

variability is controlled more by edaphic factors, including soil moisture, soil nutrients and soil 

texture. However, the shallow plateau soils with a lateritic zone imply rapid soil moisture 

saturation during the rainy season which can potentially generate much surface and subsurface 

run-off. In many parts of the ecoregion, the vegetation cover that allows rainwater to infiltrate 

and recharge deep soil water also regulates this soil-water relationship. Lateral tree roots occupy 

a large part of the soil volume in Brachystegia woodland, which in turn protects the soil and 

conducts subsurface lateral flow. Run-on areas also reduce erosion as they act as sediment sinks. 

Widespread clearing of woodland cover on run-off areas can therefore disrupt the normal 

functioning of these hydrological processes through increased run-off, erosion and accelerated 

sedimentation of run-on areas with considerable impacts on wetland biodiversity. The 

understanding of these crucial linkages and feedback processes between physical and biological 

processes is important for conservation. 

The linkage between seasonality in rainfall and primary production is well known in the Miombo 

Ecoregion. But landscape heterogeneity creates temporal and spatial differences in primary 

production, especially between run-off and run-on areas. For example, run-on areas, such as 

dambos, floodplains and swamps, sustain production even during the dry season, thereby freeing 

such areas from the constraint of rainfall seasonality. Hydrological processes that sustain this 

heterogeneity in soil moisture are themselves influenced by vegetation cover. 

Seasonality in rainfall confines production by shallow-rooted plants to the rainy season, 

especially on run-off landscapes. However, deep-rooting plants, especially trees, have access to 

soil moisture stored at depth during most of the dry season. In this case, one of the key 

determinants of primary production is temperature. For example, Brachystegia woodland is 

deciduous for only a short period in the dry season, and may even be semi-evergreen in the 

wetter parts of the ecoregion. Annual growth often starts during spring (September) with the new 

colourful leaf flush, and stem expansion continues until May in the following year. Cessation of 

growth appears to be triggered by low temperatures (

4.3 Plant Biomass and Herbivory 


One of the emergent features of the Miombo Ecoregion that arises from the interaction of 

geomorphology and hydrology is the widespread occurrence of leached, nutrient-poor soils. 

Within this broad soil type, erosion and other physical processes have created soil nutrient 

gradients at different scales thereby creating a mosaic of dystrophic and eutrophic soils. A large 

part of the ecoregion covered with Brachystegia woodland, their associated broad-leaved 

Burkea‒Terminalia and Baikiaea woodlands and Cryptosepalum forest, represents a low-nutrient 

ecosystem, deficient in protein but relatively rich in carbon. This has several implications for the 

functioning and state of ecological processes. 

Because plant biomass has low levels of protein, mammal herbivory favours bulk feeders with a 

relatively long lifespan but a low reproductive rate (K-strategy species), such as elephant and 

buffalo (Byers 2001a). This in turn limits offtake by humans as secondary consumers. However, 

temporal and spatial variability in surface water and soil nutrients makes animal seasonal 

movements inevitable between the different habitats of the ecoregion. Valley or low-lying run-on 

areas covered with Acacia and mopane have eutrophic soils and plant production is more 

nutritious. Such habitats support more mammalian herbivores and higher biomass, especially 

during the dry season. However, some of the larger herbivores move out of such habitats into the 

adjacent nutrient-poor Brachystegia and Burkea–Terminalia woodlands, especially during the 

rainy season, to make use of the more nutritious green growth and abundant surface water. 

Again, these inter-habitat linkages emphasise the necessity of conserving biodiversity at a 

landscape rather than at a habitat scale. 

4.4 Carbon Storage and Sequestration 

Low herbivory and a high carbon content in plant biomass in the Brachystegia woodlands create 

opportunities for carbon storage. Much of the carbon in these woodlands is in the topsoil and 

woody biomass. Contrary to popular belief, soil organic matter in Brachystegia woodlands is not 

easily broken down, partly because of its structure and partly because of low soil moisture in the 

topsoil during the long dry season, which limits decomposer activity. Even after removal of 

vegetation cover, such soils do not show significant changes in organic matter content. For this 

reason, they can act as stable sinks for carbon. 

Another characteristic feature of the ecoregion is the large number of wetlands that are rich in 

organic matter. These include the Bangweulu swamps, Mweru-Wantipa and the Kafue Flats. 

They serve as important carbon storage areas of regional and global significance and should be 

protected from land use activities that lead to the carbon release. 

Woody biomass density declines along the rainfall gradient from north to south. Two types of 

Brachystegia woodlands are recognised: wet (>1000 mm mean annual rainfall) and dry (


the extent of releasing most of the carbon contained in roots. And although these species grow 

slowly from seed because of the prolonged seedling phase lasting up to two decades or more, 

regrowth from coppice is faster because of the already established root system. It is conceivable 

therefore that regrowth woodland could be managed for carbon sequestration. 

4.5 Nutrient Cycling 

Low herbivory, high carbon content relative to nitrogen in plant biomass and a long dry season 

when topsoil moisture is deficient, have resulted into a slow nutrient cycling system within the 

ecoregion. Episodic outbreaks of insect herbivores, such as caterpillars and grasshoppers, may 

occasionally speed up nutrient cycling, but as a rule the region is characterised by very slow 

cycles. In fact, Brachystegia woodland trees show a high nutrient re-absorption rate (50–60%), 

especially of N and P, from leaves prior to leaf fall as a strategy for conserving these critical 

nutrients and reducing nutrient loss to other ecosystem components (Chidumayo 1997). 

In some habitats, termites play an important role in nutrient cycling. They fall into three trophic 

groups: humus feeders, lignin feeders and mixed feeders. Humus feeders ingest decaying organic 

matter and mineral soil and produce a more stable organic matter in their faeces for the physicochemical 

and bacterial agents of degradation. The lignin feeders, which include the large mound 

builders, attack intact vegetation and dead material under the cover of access routes. Some of 

these use the material to grow fungus in their mounds which produce termite mushrooms in the 

rainy season. Although lignin feeders are active throughout the year, peak activity occurs in the 

late rainy season. Other decomposers also show seasonal rhythms in their activity with most 

microbial processes reaching a peak during the rainy season. Leaf litter decomposition is rapid 

during the early rainy season due to the activity of bacteria, mites and Collembola. 

Many woodland trees develop symbiotic relationships with fungi that live on or in their roots. 

These root fungi (mycorrhizae) have been reported to improve the nutrition, especially 

phosphorous absorption, and water uptake of the predominant tree species. Seedlings of 

Brachystegia and Julbernardia trees that normally take up to two decades or more before 

reaching the sapling stage, have been shown to grow faster in the presence of mycorrhizae. 

Mycorrhizae are of two types. Brachystegia woodlands are dominated by ectomycorrhizal tree 

species, while the drier or more eutrophic woodland types are dominated by endomycorrhizal 

species (e.g. Colophospermum, Baikiaea, Burkea) (Högberg 1986, Högberg & Piearce 1986, 

Munyanziza 1994). These symbiotic relationships are important in sustaining woodland 

productivity. 

4.6 Fire 

Low herbivory, high carbon content in the plant biomass, seasonality in litter decomposition and 

a long dry season (5–7 months) interact to create conditions in which fire plays an important role 

in nutrient cycling. One of the key features of the ecoregion is the frequent occurrence of dry 

season fires that are caused mainly by man. Annual fires tend to burn grass and woody litter and 

therefore do not usually add much to the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere as 

emissions are recaptured the following year by annual regrowth. 

Fire has been a component in the Miombo Ecoregion for at least 55,000 years (Davis 1971) when 

it was first used as a tool for hunting and shaping the landscape during the Early Stone Age. It is 

therefore one of the determinants of the ecoregion, which contains communities, both plant and


animal, that exhibit variable tolerance to fire. The evolutionary effect of frequent fires has 

probably been the development of plant life forms, life histories and/or phenological cycles that 

avoid and/or minimize fire damage. Thus floristic diversity has to varying degrees been 

influenced by anthropogenic fire. Maintaining fire frequency in some communities within the 

ecoregion will be necessary for conservation of its biodiversity. 

In some instances, fire, drought, impeded drainage and soil nutrient poverty have interacted to 

create unique plant communities, such as the chipya in Zambia and 'underground trees' (White 

1976). However, frequent fires are destructive in some vegetation communities, such as the 

evergreen Cryptosepalum and riverine/swamp forests, and keeping fire out of them is critical to 

their continued existence. 

4.7 Human Interactions 

Significant human populations have inhabited the Miombo Ecoregion since the Early Stone Age, 

some 50,000–60,000 years ago, long before the introduction of food production technologies for 

both cropping and livestock. During the Early Iron Age, the ecoregion was subject to human 

occupation by people who hunted game, gathered wild vegetable foods and perhaps fished. Thus 

the interaction of man and biodiversity in the ecoregion dates back to pre-historic periods. 

Because of the low soil nutrient levels, crop production has historically been based on various 

forms of shifting cultivation, involving fallowing that allows woodland to regenerate. This form 

of land use, including what is locally termed 'chitemene', has shaped the present day landscape 

cover over large parts of the ecoregion. Much Brachystegia woodland is largely secondary 

growth recovering from previous clearing by man. In this sense, the ecoregion can be considered 

a 'socio-ecological' system in which man has played a significant role in shaping the structure and 

composition of plant communities. This is one of the unique features of the Miombo Ecoregion 

and its future conservation will have to take into account this age-old human-ecosystem 

interaction.


5. SOCIO-ECONOMIC FEATURES AND PROCESSES 

5.1 Socio-Economic Context 

The outstanding feature of the Miombo Ecoregion is the existence of inter-linkages between 

biophysical features and processes on one hand, and socio-economic factors and realities on the 

other, in what has been termed the socio-ecological model. The socio-ecological nature of the 

ecoregion defines both the vision for the conservation of its biodiversity and the methodological 

approaches to be pursued. 

Whilst conservation areas for the ecoregion are biologically defined, i.e. conservation targets are 

chosen on the basis of the biophysical characteristics, such as species diversity, endemism, etc., 

socio-economic variables tend to alter the biological parameters either positively or negatively. 

The very fact that the ecoregion straddles across national boundaries of 11 countries lends itself 

to peculiarities associated with policy and legislation pertaining to conservation. The positive and 

negative influences of socio-economic factors on the natural environment stems primarily from 

the dependence of humans on natural resources in pursuit of livelihood strategies. Such 

dependence stems from the historical and cultural linkages that have evolved over time. These 

linkages are characterised by feedback loops between people and the environment. 

The role of socio-economic factors and processes within the ecoregion tends to be both direct and 

indirect, working at both the local scale and higher level scales. Human beings, the key socioeconomic 

agents, tend to respond to both internal and external factors and forces in their 

interaction with the environment. These factors and forces include their history, culture, 

economic and political circumstances, institutional arrangements and natural phenomena. Their 

response to these stimuli in pursuit of positive livelihood paths determines the biophysical 

integrity of the natural resource base which supports the livelihood options. In essence, people, as 

economic and social agents, aim to maximise their welfare from the consumption of goods and 

services, which are primarily provided by the environment. It is in light of this relationship that 

we recognise socio-economic variables as being key to the conservation of resources in the 

ecoregion. The socio-economic variables can be both threatening or enhancing the conservation 

of the ecoregion and its biodiversity. 

5.2 Key Socio-Economic Features and Processes 

The socio-economic realities are driven by key features and processes. It is from these 

overarching features and processes that socio-economic threats and opportunities emanate. They 

form the linkages between the human and biophysical components of the ecoregion. 

5.2.1 Socio-Political Factors 

The Miombo Ecoregion covers over 3.8 million km 2 in 11 central and southern African countries 

of Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Malawi, Mozambique, 

Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The human population in this area is 

estimated at 60 million, with an overall density of about 16 people per km 2 (Campbell 1996). 

Human population density over much of the ecoregion is therefore still low and patchy in 

comparison with other savanna regions of Africa under similar climatic conditions, although the 

situation is changing. The density of livestock is also relatively low. Reasons for this


demographic situation are complex, but by and large reflect the interrelationships among 

geology, soils, plant production and quality, wildlife and disease. 

The biophysical features of the ecoregion put constraints and limits on human use of natural 

resources and socio-economic development. Socio-economic processes in turn influence the 

biophysical features and processes of the ecoregion, and have done so since pre-historic times. 

5.2.3 Cultural Processes 

The Miombo Ecoregion has been inhabited for perhaps 3 million years (e.g. Broken Hill Man), 

although the effects of man perhaps date from only 60,000 years ago. These early humans hunted 

game and gathered wild vegetable foods. During the Middle Stone Age, human settlements 

expanded from the major river valleys and lake basins to areas on the plateau. As a result of 

these, most of the ecoregion has been subjected to human occupation by the end of the Middle 

Stone Age. There was a striving culture during the Late Stone Age about 15,000 years ago, 

followed by the introduction of food production technologies for both crops and livestock, as 

well as techniques of metallurgy, pottery and hut construction. These innovations were associated 

with the arrival from the Congo Basin of the Bantu-speaking Negroid people during the second 

to fourth century AD. These Bantu-speaking people co-inhabited the ecoregion with scattered 

groups of nomadic San (Bushmen) hunter-gatherers who wandered across the Central Africa 

plateau. 

The evolutionary process developed an interdependence between humans and the environment, 

which is now embedded in the cultures of the peoples of the region. The two are thus inseparable, 

with humans depending on the environment for food, shelter, fibre, medicine and spiritual needs. 

Such a relationship to a great extent shapes the current socio-economic realities in the region. 

Accelerated mixing of cultures occurred during the period 1500 to 1700 when a number of 

migrations from the Luba and Lunda empires of Katanga in the DRC moved into the central parts 

of the ecoregion (Davis 1971). From AD 1800 to 1900, major migrations from Katanga ceased 

and were replaced by a series of migrations from South Africa. This whole period was 

characterised, not only by widespread raids that greatly caused cultural disturbances in the 

ecoregion, but also by trade in slaves, metal products and ivory that was dominated by the Arab 

and Swahili peoples through Tanzania and Malawi and the allies of the Portuguese, the Chikunda 

in Mozambique and Mambari in Angola. 

The widespread raiding activities of the 1800s and 1900s were only stopped by the arrival of 

colonialists from Europe, especially the British who established colonial administrations during 

the last decade of the 19th century. These interventions were marked by wide-ranging changes of 

institutional arrangements for the control of land and natural resources. With independence 

during the 1960s the new nationalist governments simply inherited institutions established by the 

colonial governments. Most of the conservation approaches in the ecoregion today are therefore 

deeply rooted in the colonial legacy. 

5.2.4 Land Use and Socio-Economic Development 

The main traditional form of land use in the ecoregion is cultivation of small fields of cassava, 

sorghum, millet, maize and pulses, either under some form of shifting cultivation involving ash 

fertilisation and hand tools. In drier areas, where tsetse fly and trypanosomiasis is not prevalent, 

livestock-rearing is the major form of land use. In spite of the relatively small human population, 

such extensive land use systems have modified, and continue to modify, the ecoregion through


removal of woodland cover. After the Second World War, colonial governments encouraged the 

growing of cash crops, such as flue-cured tobacco and groundnuts. This was partly achieved by 

extensive programmes of tsetse fly eradication, thereby expanding land for agricultural 

production, which resulted in the widespread clearing of woodland in western Tanzania and 

Malawi for groundnut and tobacco cultivation (Rodgers 1996). Governments are still 

encouraging the growing of these and other new cash crops, causing continued woodland 

clearance in many areas. 

Land use is clearly the main linkage between the social system and the biophysical. Traditional 

extensive land use patterns have involved dependence on natural resource harvesting, shifting 

'slash and burn' cropping and livestock-keeping that is limited by water, grazing potential and 

trypanosomiasis. With an increasing human population and low level of socio-economic 

development, dependence on natural resources harvesting has increased, fallow cycles in shifting 

cultivation have become shorter, and the pressure to open more land for cultivation and livestock 

grazing has increased. From a livelihood perspective, the ecoregion is clearly important for the 

abundance of woodland products: wood for building, fuel, fibre and food (fungi, honey, edible 

insects). However, the availability of surface water has influenced human population densities, 

settlement patterns and movements, as it has done for livestock and wildlife. 

While hydropower from large dams, such as Kariba and Cabora Bassa on the Zambezi River, are 

important sources of energy for mining and industry, most people in the region are dependent on 

wood for heating and cooking fuel. There is a growing long-distance trade in firewood and 

charcoal from rural to urban areas. Urbanisation and industrial activities such as mining are 

exerting additional pressure on the biological resources. In particular, the use of fuelwood and 

charcoal in urban areas has accelerated deforestation, while the growing trade in game products 

has resulted in overexploitation of the larger mammals that have a low reproductive rate, such as 

elephant and rhino. Over-fishing has become a common problem in many of the fisheries. 

Pollution from domestic urban and industrial wastes are also affecting water quality, and in some 

cases creating conditions for invasion by alien species. A number of aquatic ecosystems within 

the ecoregion have already been invaded by the notorious water hyacinth Eichhornia crassipes, 

an aquatic weed that adversely affects water quality, indigenous biodiversity and water transport. 

Although agriculture is the dominant form of land use in the ecoregion, conservation and natural 

resources management under different regimes have evolved, and are being recognised as 

legitimate land uses to different degrees in different countries. This recognition is still growing 

especially for community-based forms of resource management and conservation. The colonial 

era and the period just after independence in most countries saw the designation and gazetting of 

several areas for conservation, mainly in the form of protected areas. These have, and continue to 

contribute to, the conservation of biodiversity in their own way. In recent years, growing 

recognition of the role that local communities play in the management of natural resources has 

led to community-based natural resources management (CBNRM) initiatives in the region. 

Private conservation initiatives, especially for wildlife, have seen the establishment of 

conservancies either involving private landholders only with or without adjacent communities. 

Transfrontier conservation and natural resources management is an evolving land use feature 

within the ecoregion. Thus conservation land use is currently being driven at two main fronts. 

One is the protected areas approach (mainly state-owned), while the other involves several 

incentive-led natural resource management and resource sharing arrangements. 

It is estimated that state-owned protected areas within the Miombo Ecoregion comprises around 

13% of the total land area (IUCN 1991, WWF SARPO GIS database). A full listing is not yet 

available, and is compounded by confusion on equivalent status between countries and extent of


management for biodiversity. This figure includes National Parks, Game/Wildlife Management 

Areas (GMAs) and Recreational Areas, but does not include Forest Areas, protected areas in 

Afromontane parts of the ecoregion, CBNRM areas or large water bodies. 

Game Management Areas form a significant part of the protected area network. They are areas 

where, although settlement is permitted, a major form of land use is hunting for meat or trophies. 

Both Zambia and Mozambique have large extents. In Safari Areas in Zimbabwe settlement is not 

allowed, and they are regarded similar to National Parks. Community-based natural resource 

management (CBNRM) areas are mostly districts where the local authorities are actively 

permitting utilisation of natural resources such as wildlife and timber but on a controlled 

sustainable basis. Significant areas are found in Zambia, Zimbabwe and the Caprivi Strip of 

Namibia. Forest Areas are state-controlled and are used for either catchment protection 

(especially Malawi and Zambia) or for commercial timber extraction. Some are also used for 

trophy hunting. Very often they are important areas for biodiversity conservation, both of species 

and ecological processes. A map of all categories of protected or utilisation areas is given in 

Figure 5, and extent is given in Table 3. 

Although current protected areas may address some of the threats to identified conservation 

targets, they do not address some other threats, especially those to the underlying ecological 

processes that maintain the integrity and resilience of the woodland system. The large national 

parks of the region tend to be at lower elevations and in river valleys, for example, not in 

catchment headwaters. Dambos, wetlands, river valleys and riparian areas are key habitats within 

the ecoregion for both species and processes, but their conservation depends upon maintaining a 

level of woodland cover above some unknown threshold value in order to preserve natural 

hydrological functioning. 

Table 3. Protected areas within the Miombo Ecoregion. 

Protected area type no. areas 1 total extent (km 2 ) 2 

National Parks 62+ 238,610 

Game Management Areas 21 3 234,463 

Forest Land 70 98,139 

SUBTOTAL 571,212 

CBNRM areas 32+ 38,406 

Private conservancies 

Transfrontier areas 7? 

TOTAL 609,618 

Source: WWF-SARPO database. 

Notes: 1. Includes all areas with at least part of their extent within the Miombo Ecoregion. 

2. Figure excludes montane protected areas and those with a significant proportion outside 

the Miombo Ecoregion (e.g. Kruger National Park). 

3. Figure is low as adjacent GMAs have been regarded as one.


Figure 5. Miombo Ecoregion – protected areas (from CI, unpublished 2008)


The protected area network tends to be concentrated in low-lying arid areas of marginal value for 

agriculture or settlement. Disease (especially sleeping sickness) was a major constraint in the past 

to human settlement. Many such areas are found close to national borders, which has given rise 

to the concept of Trans-Frontier Conservation Areas (TFCAs). A number of these are found 

within the ecoregion (Cumming 1999), including the Gaza–Kruger–Gonarezhou in SE 

Zimbabwe/NE South Africa/S Mozambique), the Four Corners centred on the eastern Caprivi 

Strip, and the Niassa–Selous area of S Tanzania/N Mozambique. 

A full listing and analysis of protected area coverage has not yet been carried out, but many of 

the 26 identified biologically-significant areas incorporate existing National Parks and GMAs, 

and some also incorporate possible TFCAs. The major significant areas lying predominantly 

outside protected areas are Western Angola, Zambezi headwaters, Upper Zambezi, Great Dyke, 

Upper Shire/Eastern Rift, Copperbelt, Lake Mweru/Luapula, Bangweulu swamps, Moyowosi and 

Itigi thicket. It is recommended that a gap analysis of coverage of existing protected areas for 

both the ecological processes and biogeographic/taxonomic elements of biodiversity is carried 

out. 

5.3 Economic and Policy Environment 

The Miombo Ecoregion is made up of countries which are at different stages of development, but 

are generally in the developing countries category. These are characterised by unfavourable 

economic and development indicators, such as low incomes, poverty, unstable economies, 

dependence on primary agricultural production, negative terms of trade, low investment, etc. 

Economic reforms, such as the World Bank and IMF's economic structural adjustment 

programmes, are underway in some of the countries, and have several impacts on people and the 

environment. This economic context has affected the relative welfare of people in the region at 

individual, national and regional levels, and has also affected the role that governments play in 

the provision of social services. It has also affected conservation and protection of the region's 

natural wealth through the policies that governments put in place for the sake of the environment 

and the people's welfare. Different policies and legislation on the environment, including access 

to resources and land tenure regimes, are in place in different countries. Most policies have 

tended to negate the role that local people can play in the conservation and management of 

natural resources. The extent to which investment policies address environmental concerns is 

also inadequately addressed, but is changing within the region. More information is required on 

the state of policy and legislation affecting biodiversity conservation in the region, and the extent 

to which these are harmonised to either enhance or threaten conservation efforts. 

5.3.1 Socio-economic Threats and Opportunities 

The identification of socio-economic factors (threats and opportunities) creates the opportunity to 

develop conservation programmes at both local and policy levels, both at specific sites and on an 

ecoregion scale. Within an ecoregion that is significantly driven by socio-economic factors, key 

agents such as governments, local people, existing institutions and other stakeholders can be 

influenced to both reverse negative impacts and to foster positive trends. In a socio-ecological 

system, such as the Miombo Ecoregion, it is necessary to maintain the balance between human 

benefit from the available resources base and the capacity of the biophysical components to 

recover from human and natural induced change and stress. This provides the incentive for both 

components to support each other. Such a balance requires the identification of system features 

that are resilient and able to tolerate stress and change without collapsing, as well as features that 

are vulnerable to collapse. Equally important is the need to identify factors threatening and


enhancing the conservation of these system features. In essence, biodiversity conservation goals 

cannot be realistically established and achieved without consideration of human livelihoods and 

well-being. 

During the visioning process, specific threats and opportunities were identified in the ecoregion, 

and attempts were made to represent these on maps of the ecoregion. The steps followed in the 

identification and mapping of threats and opportunities are: 

� Developing linkages between the human component and the environment, thereby 

identifying variables on the interface between the two (key drivers) 

� Identification of cross-cutting issues and their categorisation 

� Identification of opportunities and threats from these issues, including underlying causes 

� Rank the opportunities and determine which could be mapped 

� Developing proxies to use for mapping threats and opportunities that are not mappable 

� Identification of base maps to use for the mapping of priority opportunities and threats 

� Map out areas in which identified threats and opportunities occur or have potential in the 

ecoregion. 

However, because of poor data availability and representation from all countries of the 

ecoregion, the mapping of threats and opportunities remained with gaps that would need to be 

filled. 

5.3.2 Cross-cutting Factors 

Some threats and opportunities and their underlying causes are cross-cutting. These include: 

� Macro-economic environment and economic reforms 

� Poverty 

� Wars and civil unrest 

� Breakdown of traditional and social structures among communities 

� Natural resources management structures among institutions 

� Social cohesion 

� Recognition of local capacity to manage resources. 

These factors form the socio-economic drivers. They may not individually be traced to specific 

locations, i.e. may not be subject to mapping, but may influence the human-environment 

interactions at particular sites. 

5.3.3 Threats 

Landscape-scale threats to biodiversity include woodland clearance and the consequential 

changes in hydrological and ecological processes. For the foreseeable future (up to 50 years) 

peoples of the region will continue to be highly dependent on natural resources given the low 

levels of economic development. If they do not benefit from alternative uses of the resources that 

support conservation, they will be more likely to increase their harvest and exploitation of the 

resources in order to survive, thereby worsening the integrity of the same resources. Examples of 

such behaviour include clearance of vegetation for cultivation, leading to loss of woodland cover. 

This is the most important threat to the ecoregion, and the consequential loss of hydrological and 

ecological functions would tend to have a cascading effect on biodiversity conservation. 

Woodland loss should be seen as the key threat to all of the conservation targets in the ecoregion.

The proximate causes of woodland cover loss are: 


� Rising poverty, unemployment, hunger and debt 

� Increase in demand for, and use of, natural resources 

� Mis-governance, corruption and rent-seeking by government institutions 

� Perverse national economic incentives, including agricultural pricing policies, that 

encourage land clearance 

� Refugee movements and settlements 

� Inadequate property rights. 

These proximate causes in turn are caused by root (ultimate) causes, such as: 

� Population growth 

� Inequitable land and resource access and tenure 

� Economic stagnation 

� Weak government institutions 

� Civil unrest and war. 

Though many socio-economic factors threaten the ecoregion, five key threats were identified and 

mapped during the visioning process: 

� Agricultural expansion 

� Population density and growth 

� Infrastructural development 

� Deforestation – distinguished from deforestation due to agricultural expansion because of 

the peculiar socio-economic factors driving it 

� Competition for water. 

These are addressed individually below. 

Agricultural Expansion 

70% of the ecoregion is under small-scale agriculture. Rural farmers will thus play a key role in 

determining the fate of the landscape. The region depends heavily on agriculture to the extent 

that continued demand for food and raw materials will be met by increasing areas under 

cultivation. Agricultural expansion transforms forest land into agricultural land, leading to total 

loss of species and vegetation. Current and potential agricultural expansion in the region is in 

tobacco and cotton growing areas, in areas converted from large-scale commercial farming to 

small-scale farming. Areas with good soils and high rainfall (> 800 mm/year) are also threatened 

by agricultural expansion, as are areas where population densities are high. Several factors, 

including macroeconomic reforms, agricultural commodity pricing policies, agrarian reforms, 

support for the agricultural sector (currently low), do influence agricultural expansion. However, 

these factors are not subject to mapping. 

Population Density 

Areas with high population densities of greater than 10 persons/km 2 are threatened by human 

pressure. Demand for natural resources and environmental services is highest in highly populated 

areas. The population density map indicates areas that are most highly threatened.


Infrastructural Development 

Development of infrastructure is accompanied by destruction of flora and fauna and their 

ecosystems, thus disturbing their processes. This threat is high in a region whose infrastructure is 

still developing. Mappable infrastructural developments threatening the biodiversity of the 

Miombo Ecoregion are: 

� Lakes 

� Cities and other urban and business centres 

� Major roads and railways 

� Electricity grid lines 

� Mineral deposits. 

Deforestation 

Apart from agricultural expansion, deforestation arising from other socio-economic drivers is a 

major threat to the ecoregion and its biodiversity. Examples of such drivers include: 

� Charcoal and firewood making 

� Illegal logging 

� Fish smoking and tobacco curing (in some areas) 

� Refugee areas 

� Unsustainable wildlife levels, e.g. elephants 

� Deforestation in dambos. 

Competition for Water 

The demand for water is going to increase in the foreseeable future as population and economic 

development progress. As such, competition for water for both human and ecological functions is 

forecast to increase. Competition will be high between upstream and downstream users and uses 

of water, especially competition for uncontaminated water. The competition for water for 

different uses is an important threat as water is critical for ecosystem functions. However because 

of knowledge gaps, more information is required in identifying threatened areas. 

5.3.4 Opportunities 

In spite of the many threats to biodiversity conservation in the ecoregion, opportunities exist for 

improving the current situation and for innovative approaches to be implemented. Socioeconomic 

opportunities provide a niche and competitive edge against which conservation actions 

can be implemented. Socio-economic factors that provide opportunities in priority conservation 

areas enhance the implementation of initiatives. In fact, they lend themselves as platforms on 

which conservation efforts may be built. Opportunities identified by the visioning process 

include: 

� Food security coping strategies among communities living with resources 

� Increased capacity to build local level capacity to manage natural resources 

� International, regional and sub-regional processes and agreements 

� Sustainable use and expanded markets for non-timber forest products 

� Non-agricultural forms of land use. 

Food Security Coping Strategies 

Food-coping strategies have the potential to reduce demand for agricultural land and excessive 

demand for forest products. These include drought-tolerant crops, employment and income


opportunities, use of traditional foods to supplement agricultural production, and poverty 

alleviation programs. Most countries in the region have developed or are developing poverty 

reduction strategies for implementation with assistance from the World Bank. Poverty is one of 

the proximate causes of woodland cover loss in the ecoregion, and poverty reduction can open 

wider opportunities for biodiversity conservation. 

Increased Scope for Building Local-level Capacity to Manage Natural Resources 

The nations in the ecoregion are implementing CBNRM programmes and appropriate land tenure 

arrangements for these. Low population density also provides opportunities for expanding 

existing CBNRMs. The ecoregion has existing and potential TBCAs that can be used for the 

conservation of wildlife across international borders. 

International, Regional and Sub-regional Processes and Agreements 

Existing agreements and processes concerning conservation of biodiversity in the ecoregion are 

an important policy opportunity for enhancing the conservation of natural resources. These 

include the SADC protocols, Trans-border natural resources management programs, World 

Heritage sites and the existing protected areas network, SADC shared watercourses protocol and 

numerous other international conventions. 

Sustainable Use and Expanded Markets for Non-timber Forest Products (NTFPs) 

There are a number of NTFPs in the ecoregion with potential for increased and sustainable use 

and expanded markets. These include mushrooms, indigenous fruits and products, caterpillars, 

honey, game, crafts and carvings. The sustainable use of these products can reduce landscape 

cover change and increase chances for the successful implementation of biodiversity 

conservation. 

Non-agricultural Land Use 

Non-agricultural land use offers an opportunity for generating incomes from non-agricultural 

products, such as wildlife, tourism, bee keeping and forest plantation products. Promotion of 

such non-agricultural land uses will reduce loss of woodland cover and thereby provide and 

increase opportunities for biodiversity conservation.


6. CONSERVATION VISION AND AREAS OF BIOLOGICAL 

IMPORTANCE 

6.1 Vision Statement 

In 50 years the peoples and nations of the region would like to have: 

"A biologically diverse and ecologically functional Miombo Ecoregion that meets and sustains 

human needs and development through the sustainable use of natural resources, landscapes, 

species and environmental processes, thereby providing both the resources and the incentives 

for conserving biodiversity." 

The workshop understood that "biologically diverse" signifies the maintenance of existing levels 

of species diversity and the number and status of endemics. 

6.1.1 Rationale 

The biophysical features and processes that maintain ecological resilience and integrity in the 

Miombo Ecoregion include: 

� Complex surface/subsurface hydrological processes that lead to slow release of water from 

watersheds and catchments and delayed or regulated water flow in major rivers 

� Regulatory function of woodlands in hydrological processes and nutrient cycling 

� Mosaic of habitats at several scales, including the broad landscape scale 

� Mobility of organisms between habitats/landscape units including humans, livestock and 

wildlife 

� High carbon landscape in which carbon sequestration maintains integrity and resilience and 

influences microbial processes, nutrient cycling and vegetative regeneration 

� Dominance of megaherbivores with episodic outbreaks of insect herbivores 

� Interrelationship of hydrology, wildlife movement, and human settlements 

� Fire. 

The ecoregion contains a number of unique or important habitats or communities, it is a centre of 

Caesalpinoid diversity and supports unique 'underground' trees, a high fungal and termite 

diversity, and a number of keystone vertebrates such as elephant, buffalo and hippo. The 

ecoregion is also important for carbon storage and sequestration, as well as for the albedoreducing 

effects of its extensive woodland canopy cover. 

Perhaps the key socio-economic feature of the Miombo Ecoregion is the prevalence of livelihood 

strategies based on indigenous knowledge and land use systems. These are adapted to low 

population densities over a wide biogeographic area. Low nutrient and protein systems, 

widespread use of timber and non-timber forest products and seasonal movements of livestock 

and wildlife also characterise the area. Thus conservation in the ecoregion should seek to 

maintain and sustain: 

� Biophysical features and processes that maintain ecological resilience and integrity 

� Ecological processes that produce essential goods and services that sustain human 

livelihoods


� Existing species diversity and levels of endemism 

� Unique habitats, communities and landscapes 

� Human livelihoods and social systems, norms, and the knowledge that allows the 

biophysical system to be sustained 

� Other features of global importance, such as carbon storage and sequestration processes. 

6.2 Areas of Importance for Biodiversity Conservation 

Regional specialists at the September 2001 Vision Workshop identified a number of areas of 

importance for different taxa. The process of area determination was based principally from a 

series of maps produced earlier for WWF-SARPO by the Biodiversity Foundation for Africa 

(later published as Timberlake et al. 2011). They covered, for a range of taxonomic groups 

(plants, large mammals, small mammals, birds, herps, fish, dragonflies, butterflies), areas of high 

species diversity, endemism, threatened species, important populations of various groups, areas 

of evolutionary significance, and areas important for movement or migration. Areas determined 

by the workshop for each taxonomic group or feature were roughly drawn on regional maps. 

Following this, working groups amalgamated the overlying polygons for each taxonomic group 

to form 22 areas of biological significance, many of them transboundary, and these were 

provisionally described. 

Over the period February to April 2002 a series of national workshops were held, incorporating 

national biological, socio-economic and conservation specialists. They were held in Lusaka 

(covering Zambia and the Congo), Dar es Salaam (covering Tanzania), Harare (covering 

Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia) and Maputo (covering Malawi and Mozambique). During 

the national workshops the relevant selected areas were carefully assessed both biologically and 

from a conservation/socio-economic perspective, and boundaries redrawn if necessary. In some 

cases areas were split into two. Additional biological information was recorded along with any 

conservation threats and opportunities. The output from these workshops is shown in Figure 6 

and described below. Major taxonomic attributes are shown in Table 4. 

It should be stressed that their boundaries are approximate and have not been carefully 

demarcated. There has also been no attempt to prioritise them with respect to each other. More 

careful analysis of the relative importance of the different taxonomic groups and processes is still 

required, and a more careful assessment of threats, opportunities and appropriate conservation 

actions is needed. 

1. WESTERN ANGOLA 

An extensive and poorly documented area covering much of Huila, Huambo, Benguela and Bié 

provinces in western Angola. It includes the high plateau above the escarpment comprising wet 

and dry miombo woodland, high altitude grassland, and patches of moist forest and escarpment 

woodland. Part of the proposed area is situated on the margins of the Miombo Ecoregion 

(including the biologically-rich Angolan escarpment) and it includes areas perhaps better 

incorporated in adjacent coastal or forest ecoregions. More information is required on this area, 

both in terms of its extent and its biological attributes. 

Many of Angola's 1260 endemic plant species are said to be found here and along the 

escarpment. The endemic giant sable antelope is restricted to the area around the Luando Game 

Reserve. A number of miombo endemic birds (e.g. Pale-billed Hornbill, Boehm's Flycatcher) are 

found in the Huambo highlands, while at least five globally endangered bird species are restricted


to the escarpment at the edge of the ecoregion. The upper Cunene river system in the south is rich 

in fish (63 species), of which 13% are endemic. 

Three protected areas are incorporated – Bicuari, Mupa and Luando – but their current status is 

not known. 

Table 4. Areas considered to be of importance for conservation in the Miombo 

Ecoregion, along with taxonomic interest. 

no. Area plants 

mamm. birds 

herps 

fish 

inverts animal 

move. 

other 

ERs 

1 Western Angola × × × × × 

2 Zambezi headwaters × × × × × × × 

3 Upper Zambezi × × × × × × 

4 Kafue Flats × × × 

5 Four Corners × × × × × × 

6 Mid-Zambezi valley × × × × × 

7 Great Dyke × 

8 Matobo hills × × × × 

9 Shashe/Limpopo valley × × × × 

10 Gaza/Kruger/Gonarezhou × × × × × × 

11 Manicaland/Nyanga × × × × 

12 Manicaland/Chimanimani × × × × × × 

13 Gorongosa/Marromeu × × × × × × × × 

14 Luangwa valley/Kasungu × × × × × 

15 Mzimba/Nkotakota × × × × × 

16 Upper Shire/Eastern rift × × × × × × × 

17 Lower Shire/Western rift × × × × 

18 Copperbelt × × 

19 Upemba/Kundelungu × × × × × × × 

20 Lake Mweru/Luapula × × × × × × 

21 Bangweulu swamps × × × × × 

22 Moyowosi × × × × × × × × 

23 Rukwa valley × × × × × 

24 Itigi thicket × × × × 

25 Selous/Kilombero × × × × × × 

26 Lower Rovuma × × × ×


Figure 6. Miombo Ecoregion – areas of particular conservation interest (from WWF 

SARPO 2003). 

2. ZAMBEZI HEADWATERS 

An area along the Zambezi–Congo watershed in NW Zambia and southern DRC. It includes a 

broad swathe each side of the Congo–Angola and Congo–Zambia borders incorporating 

relatively flat country, and in Zambia it also includes the Ikelege pedicle and much of


Mwinilunga district extending down to West Lunga. The area is a transition zone between the 

Miombo Ecoregion and the Congolian rainforest ecoregion. It is very diverse with species from 

both regions. The main vegetation type is wet miombo, but there are significant inclusions of 

dambo grassland, swamp, swamp forest and dry evergreen forest, including that dominated by 

Cryptosepalum. Chipya (Acacia–Combretum woodland) is also present. 

Plant diversity is very high in a small area (around 1000 woody species) owing to a mixture of 

Zambesian and Congolian elements, and there at least 53 species of restricted distribution 

(possibly endemic). The area has high small mammal diversity and four endemics (Crocidura 

ansellorum, Malacomys australis, Rhinolophus sp. nov., Graphiurus monardi). Bird diversity is 

high with many species of Congolian affinity (e.g. African Wood-pigeon, Honeyguide 

Greenbul). A rich herpetofauna (57 reptiles, 35 amphibians) includes Congolian elements. Fish 

diversity is high, as elsewhere in the upper tributaries of the Zambezi. Both butterfly diversity 

and endemism are high (e.g. Euptera freyja, Spindasis pinheyi, Kedestes pinheyi), and the area is 

very rich in dragonflies. 

There are no protected areas except for the West Lunga National Park in the south and several 

small Forest Areas in Zambia. The Ikelege pedicle is a National Heritage site. Protected status in 

the DRC and Angola is not known. 

The area is important for hydrological processes and for water catchment protection. It is also as 

a carbon sink. The major threat is severe deforestation, much of it associated with refugees 

fleeing the instability in Angola and the DRC resulting in much new settlement and overexploitation 

of natural resources, including game animals. Uncontrolled bush fires are also a 

problem. There is significant apicultural potential, but debarking of Brachystegia trees to make 

hives is a threat in some areas. Various community-based afforestation schemes using indigenous 

species are in place. 

3. UPPER ZAMBEZI WOODLANDS & FLOODPLAINS 

An extensive area of wetland, grassland, Baikiaea woodland, wet and dry miombo woodland and 

Cryptosepalum forest on Kalahari sands in western Zambia and adjacent eastern Angola, 

extending from Senanga north through Mongu and Zambezi into Angola, and incorporating the 

Liuwa and similar plains. It covers the Zambezi (Bulozi) floodplain, pans and surrounding level 

plateau of the middle reaches of the Upper Zambezi. 

There are 80–100 plant endemics or species with their core distribution in the area, particularly 

woody suffrutices. A significant proportion of the total extent of Cryptosepalum forest is 

incorporated. The only true mammal migration in the ecoregion – of wildebeest – occurs between 

the Liuwa plains and eastern Angola, an area that also supports good populations of roan 

antelope, tsessebe and wild dog. The grasslands contain a number of isolated populations of 

Cisticola warblers, possibly undergoing speciation, and the wetlands support a high waterbird 

diversity and abundance. Significant numbers of Wattled Crane are found. A rich herpetofauna 

(70 reptile and 34 amphibian species) reflects a mixture of Congolian, Kalahari, miombo and 

East African elements. There are five endemic reptiles (Typhacontias gracilis, Typhlosaurus 

jappi, Zygaspis nigra, Dalophia ellenbergeri, Rhamphiophis acutus jappi) and an endemic frog 

(Hemisus barotseensis). The Upper Zambezi, of which this area is a core component, has been an 

important centre for fish evolution, and the ichthyofauna is still largely intact, with a high 

diversity of 90 species.


The Liuwa Plains National Park is included and a significant portion in the west of Zambia is a 

Game Management Area. A number of small protected forest areas are included. The 

conservation status in Angola is not known. 

Major threats are deforestation, extensive regular fires and overgrazing in places. The Bulozi 

plain area is an important rangeland with high cattle numbers. Other localised threats include 

illegal logging for Baikiaea and Pterocarpus angolensis, overfishing and commercial rice 

production in some of the tributary dambos. 

4. KAFUE FLATS 

An area of south central Zambia centred on the Kafue Flats, including the southern section of the 

Kafue National Park and adjacent Game Management Area (GMA). The main vegetation types 

are wetland and floodplain grassland, but there are significant adjacent areas of miombo, Acacia– 

Combretum and mopane woodland. It runs from the immediate western catchment of Lake Itezi- 

Tezhi, along the floodplain of the Kafue River to Kafue township. 

The area contains important wetland habitat, although the floodplain and extent of flooding have 

been greatly modified by the construction of the Itezi-Tezhi dam. An threatened endemic 

antelope, the Kafue lechwe (a subspecies, although possibly a full species), is confined to the 

flats, and is declining in number. Important local seasonal movements of lechwe, zebra and 

waterbuck also occur on the floodplain. The floodplain, wetland and pan areas are of 

international significance for the seasonally high numbers of waterbirds, both in terms of 

numbers of species (>60) and numbers of individuals, that are found there, including significant 

numbers of Wattled Crane. There is one endemic killifish (Nothobranchius kafuensis) found in 

seasonal pans. 

The area incorporates two small national parks on the floodplain, Blue Lagoon and Lochinvar, 

the southern part of Kafue National Park, and an adjacent GMA. 

Pressures on the Kafue floodplain are great, mostly through hydrological changes resulting from 

dam construction, but also from heavy fishing levels and inappropriate fishing practices, illegal 

hunting of antelope, deforestation of parts of the immediate catchment, commercial sugar 

plantations just outside to the south, agricultural pollution and infestation by aquatic weeds. 

Severe competition for water from the Kafue River and the presence of a major urban centre – 

Lusaka – close by, exacerbate these threats. Human population pressures are high. However, 

there is substantial tourism potential. In the west there is a GMA, and a CBNRN project is in 

place. 

5. FOUR CORNERS 

An extensive transfrontier area, mostly on Kalahari sand, spanning the East Caprivi, northern 

Botswana, southwest Zambia up to the boundary of the Kafue National Park and northwest 

Zimbabwe south to northern Tsholotsho communal land and east to the Gwayi River. The 

vegetation is mostly Baikiaea and mopane woodlands, with smaller areas of dry miombo, 

Burkea–Terminalia and Acacia woodland, grassland and wetland, and riverine woodland along 

the Zambezi. It is the mosaic of woodland, grassland and wetland that provides much of the 

biological significance. Additional features of interest are the fossil Pleistocene dune fields that 

cover part of the area, and the fact that the Kazungula/East Caprivi area was the focal point for 

the palaeo-drainage of the Upper Zambezi before river capture. 

The large mammal fauna is relatively intact and very diverse, with good populations of large 

herbivores (elephant, hippo, black rhino, white rhino, buffalo) and predators (lion, leopard,


cheetah, wild dog). There are about 160,000 elephant in the area, about a quarter of Africa's total 

elephant population. Species present of restricted distribution include sitatunga, puku and Red 

lechwe antelope. Endangered species include black rhino and wild dog. There are significant 

movements of megafauna across international borders, particularly between the Hwange/Matetsi 

complex and Chobe where 10 corridors have been identified (for elephant, hippo, buffalo, zebra, 

wildebeest). There is a suggestion that elephant movement between the Four Corners and Kafue 

National Park should be restored. The high bird species diversity (over 500, including 63 raptor 

species), includes significant populations of Ostrich and Kori Bustard. The total world population 

of Black-cheeked Lovebird is found in the area close to Kafue National Park. Palaearctic 

migrants are common, particularly on seasonal pans. Two areas of high herp diversity are 

incorporated with over 81 species of reptile and 30 amphibians, including species typical of the 

Kalahari. The area forms part of the upper Zambezi system with a high fish species diversity. 

There is one endemic fish (Nothobranchius sp.) in pans in the East Caprivi. The area along the 

Zambezi below Kazungula is rich in both Odonata and Lepidoptera with at least two endemics. 

The four corners incorporates a number of protected areas – Chobe, Hwange, Zambezi, Matetsi, 

Kazuma Pan, Sioma-Ngwezi and Mamili. A trans-frontier conservation agreement is being put in 

place, and the area has high tourism potential, particularly for conservation business ventures. 

Economically, tourism is particularly important, with major centres in Victoria Falls/Livingstone, 

Hwange National Park and Chobe. Major threats are plans for water extraction from the Zambezi 

(although this is most likely to occur further downstream), regional security issues (in Angola 

and the Caprivi Strip), and conflicting land uses. This includes problem animal control in some 

areas, and conflicts in communal lands in Zimbabwe and the East Caprivi. There are, however, 

numerous CBNRN projects in Zimbabwe, East Caprivi and northern Botswana. Poaching is 

problematic in places. Timber extraction was a major industry in the past, and unsustainable 

logging for Pterocarpus angolensis and Baikiaea plurijuga, particularly in Zambia, is a major 

concern. 

6. MID-ZAMBEZI VALLEY 

A low-lying area along the Zambezi river from the upper end of Lake Kariba to the Cabora Bassa 

dam wall, encompassing the Zimbabwe/Zambia border and part of northwest Mozambique. The 

area includes the Zambezi escarpment and part of the plateau to the north of lakes Kariba and 

Cabora Bassa. Most of the vegetation is mopane woodland, with dry miombo on the escarpment 

and riverine woodland on alluvium along larger rivers. The area includes important patches of 

the regionally-threatened Combretum–Xylia torreana dry forest/thicket, and some significant 

pans. 

There are probably 1500–2000 plant species, including 8–10 endemics, reflecting the wide range 

of habitats. The mammal fauna is relatively intact with a very diverse large mammal fauna, 

including predators (lion, cheetah, leopard), major populations of elephant (17,000+), hippo 

(2000+) and buffalo, and a small concentration of black rhino. Significant local movements of 

elephant occur. Over 400 bird species have been recorded, including important breeding 

populations of Carmine Bee-eater, Rock Pratincole, Lilian's Lovebird and African Skimmer. 

There are two Important Bird Areas (IBA) – the Mavuradonha mountains IBA containing a 

significant number of biome-restricted species, and the Mid-Zambezi Valley IBA with over 1% 

of the global population of Rock Pratincole, African Skimmer and Carmine Bee-eater. The 

Angolan Pitta is locally common in thickets. Lake Cabora Bassa appears to be an important overwintering 

site for some migratory species. There is some altitudinal movement of birds up and 

down the escarpment. The Zambezi River, lakes Cabora Bassa and Kariba are important breeding 

areas for the Nile crocodile.


A number of protected areas (Chete, Matusadona, Charara, Hurungwe, Mana Pools, Sapi, 

Chewore, Dande, Lower Zambezi) are incorporated within the area, and also a number of 

CBNRM areas (Binga, Omay, Guruve in Zimbabwe, and Tchumo Tchato in Mozambique). 

However, there is no formally protected area in the Mozambique portion. 

The two large recreational man-made lakes are important areas for tourism, both regional and 

local. There is great tourism potential, especially associated with these lakes and the Zambezi. In 

addition, both lakes are very important fisheries for both the local population and commercially 

(the latter principally for the introduced pelagic kapenta). An incipient trans-frontier conservation 

agreement is being negotiated, but in the meantime cooperation between adjacent districts is 

beginning in the form of wildlife management and utilisation. 

The major threats are the rapid expansion of agriculture, particularly cotton production, outside 

protected areas, mostly resulting from development projects and tsetse control. Massive changes 

in hydrology and flooding regimes resulted from the construction of various dams on the 

Zambezi and its tributaries, and plans exist for an additional dam on the downstream edge of the 

area (Mepanda Uncua). Construction of veterinary fences is disrupting wildlife movement and 

precluding some land use options. Fragmentation of habitats, particularly for large mammals, is 

seen as a problem, while fish populations are threatened by both changes in hydrology and 

chemical pollution. Various CBNRM projects are creating pockets of resulting increasing 

welfare, and wildlife (safari hunting) is increasingly being seen as a viable land use option. 

7. GREAT DYKE 

The Great Dyke is a prominent, almost straight geological formation outcropping across the 

middle of Zimbabwe in a NE–SW direction. There are two distinct sections, north and south. The 

northern section lies north-east of Harare, while the longer southern ection loies west of Gweru 

and Kadoma. Much of the Dyke consists of ultrabasic serpentine rocks, hence the derived soils 

have an inverted Mg:Ca ratio that causes them to be toxic to many plants. Species have to be 

specially adapted. The vegetation on the mineral-toxic soils is grassland, with Acacia woodland 

on other clay soils and Brachystegia–Julbernardia woodland on the adjacent granite. 

Hydromorphic grasslands on vertisols are found nearby. 

There are 20–30 endemic species of plant, most of which are found on the northern section, while 

only four species are confined only to the southern section. Mammal, bird and herp populations 

are not particularly special. Threatened species include the palm Raphia farinifera, confined to a 

few streamsides in the north, and succulents such as Euphorbia nemoralis and Aloe ortholopha, 

sought after by collectors. 

There are no significant protected areas, except for two small Botanic Reserves for palms in the 

north and the Mavuradonha Wilderness Area on the edge of the Zambezi Valley. Most of the 

area is privately owned. 

Settlement and agriculture on the Great Dyke itself are minimal owing to unsuitable soils, but 

there is much small-scale and large-scale commercial mining for chrome and platinum, 

respectively. Small-scale mining and mine dumps do not pose a significant threat, but vegetation 

clearance associated with large mine complexes and fire do. On the fertile, non-toxic, adjacent 

areas, woodlands are cleared for grazing and wood. Potentials for ecotourism are good, especially 

in the more scenic northern section.


8. MATOBO HILLS 

An eroded granite batholith in western Zimbabwe, south of Bulawayo, giving rise to a series of 

rocky hills and bare rock interspersed with Burkea–Terminalia woodland and grasslands. There 

are small patches of mopane woodland and gully forest. In the eastern part there are important 

seeps and wetlands with peat. 

There are five endemic plant taxa (Cyphostemma milleri, Lobelia lobata, Maytenus heterophylla 

subsp. puberula, Triaspis dumeticola, Turrea fischeri subsp. eyelsii). The wetter eastern section 

contains significant outlying populations of a number of forest and mesic species, more typical of 

E Zimbabwe, as well as wetland species, both very unusual this far west in the region. The area 

has a high density of medium-sized predators including leopard and various raptors, with one of 

the highest densities worldwide of breeding Black Eagle. It is the predator-prey relationship 

based on a high density of rock hyrax that is particularly unusual. Protected (introduced) 

populations of Black and White Rhino are also found. There is a high species richness of 

Odonata and Lepidoptera. 

The Matopos National Park forms the central part of the area, but a significant portion is 

commercial farmland, with communal land on the southern margin. There are a number of very 

important cultural sites in the area, leading to its proposal as a World Heritage site. Tourism is 

well developed, but there are land use conflicts at the margins of the area resulting from 

increasing human and livestock populations, which has led to various CBNRM initiatives. The 

Matobo hills are an IBA. 

9. SHASHE / LIMPOPO VALLEY 

A relatively small transfrontier area centred on the confluence of the seasonal Shashe and 

Limpopo rivers in SW Zimbabwe/NW South Africa/E Botswana. The vegetation of the hot, dry 

area of low rainfall is mostly mopane woodland, but the key habitats are woodland/shrubland on 

Karoo sandstone hills and riparian woodland. 

There is a small population of elephant moving between the three countries, and moderate 

populations of other wildlife. Total plant species diversity in the Zimbabwe section is over 100 

species with at least two endemics/near endemics (Jatropha loristipula, Pavetta gwandensis). 

The are contains some of the most extensive and best developed riparian woodland forest in this 

section of the Limpopo valley. An Important Bird Area, the Vhembe Nature Reserve, is situated 

in the South African portion, which supports significant populations of waterbirds on the 

floodplain, and a significant number of nationally and globally threatened bird species. The 

Shashe/Limpopo area is a centre of diversity for reptiles, containing relict populations of 

Kalahari species such as Horned Adder and Barking Gecko. 100 reptile species and 18 

amphibians have been recorded; four reptiles are endemic (T. subtaeniatus, Homopholis mulleri, 

Platysaurus relictus and P. monotropis). 

Although not yet formalised, the area is proposed as a trans-frontier conservation area (TFCA). 

On the Botswana side is commercial farmland, mostly managed for wildlife, while on the 

Zimbabwe side the Tuli Circle is a protected Safari Area, two large commercial properties most 

of which are managed for wildlife-based tourism, and communal land. The latter are part of the 

CAMPFIRE programme. Much of the South African portion is under conservation management 

as formally or privately protected area. 

The cultural sites in the area (e.g. Mapungwane), wildlife, and the scenic nature of the sandstone 

country, give a significant potential for tourism. Human population density is low, with liitle in


the way of land use conflict, and community-based conservation programmes are operation in 

places. Agricultural potential (except under irrigation) is very low. 

10. GAZA / KRUGER / GONAREZHOU 

An extensive transfrontier area covering much of the western part of Mozambique between the 

Save and Limpopo rivers, the newly-gazetted Limpopo National Park in Mozambique, the 

northern section of the Kruger National Park in South Africa and adjacent game farms, and 

Gonarezhou National Park, adjacent communal lands and the Save, Chiredzi and Malilangwe 

conservancies in Zimbabwe. It is mostly a hot, dry and low-lying area associated with the 

Limpopo and Save valleys. Vegetation is principally mopane woodland, Acacia and Acacia– 

Combretum woodlands, with Burkea–Terminalia woodland on sandy soils. There are patches of 

rare and sometimes unique vegetation types on particular soils, such as Brachystegia 

tamarinoides woodland, Guibourtia conjugata thicket, Androstachys dry forest/thicket, riparian 

woodland along the larger rivers, and saline grassland and pans in the Rio Changane area. Even 

though it is a large area, there is a very wide range of habitats represented here. 

Plant species richness is high for such an arid area and is around 1000 species. There are about 

20 endemics/near-endemics, and it appears to form part of a centre of radiation, the middle 

Limpopo lowveld, for a group of Acacia species (the 'glandular' complex). Mammal diversity is 

high and includes good populations of elephant, white rhino, black rhino (the latter two only in 

the Kruger), tsessebe, nyala, cheetah, giraffe and wild dog. Lichenstein's Hartebeest is a 

threatened species found here. Three endemic small mammals are found. There is significant 

movement of large mammals across the area, especially elephant between Gonarezhou and 

Chicualacuala. There is a possibility of reestablishing movement between areas 9 and 10. Bird 

diversity is high (433 species in Kruger National Park alone) and there are three IBAs – Kruger 

National Park in South Africa, Limpopo/Mwenezi pans and Save/Runde junction in Zimbabwe. 

The former contains some globally threatened species and more than 1% of global populations of 

others, while the latter two contain significant numbers of range-restricted species, including the 

Lemon-breasted Canary. The abundant, seasonally-flooded pans of the Changane area of 

Mozambique are of major significance for migratory waterfowl. Two centres of high 

reptile/amphibian diversity are included with 50 reptile and 30 amphibian species, including 6 

endemic reptiles (Typhlosaurus richardi, T. fitzsimonsi, Nucras caesicaudata, Chirindia langi, 

Monopeltis decosteri, Xenocalamus sabiensis) and populations of a number of relict Kalahari 

species (e.g. Nucrus intertexta) and fossorial reptiles typical of coastal alluvium (e.g. 

Typhlosaurus aurantiacus, Zygaspis vandami, Typhlops fornasinii). An endemic fish, 

Nothobranchius furzeri, is known from only a few pans in Gonarezhou. 

A significant portion of the area is conserved as national park (Gonarezhou, Banhine, Zinave, 

Limpopo, Kruger) or as private conservancies or game farms (Malilangwe, Save, Chiredzi, farms 

adjacent to Kruger), while community-based wildlife management is practised in some 

communal lands (e.g. Sengwe, Mahenye, north of Kruger NP). However, there are numerous 

wildlife-human conflicts over crops and cattle, the latter owing to endemic foot-and-mouth 

disease and bovine tuberculosis (TB) and the necessity to keep cattle and wildlife apart. 

Livestock production is very significant in the area. There is a danger of increasing habitat 

fragmentation caused by settlement, agricultural expansion and habitat destruction (especially 

dry forest/thicket) by elephant. In Mozambique there is a significant threat from cutting of 

Androstachys and mopane wood for charcoal production. The future of private conservancies in 

Zimbabwe is very uncertain in the face of current land reforms. Tourism potential is high, and 

much of the area has been designated a TFCA so that land management and regulations will 

become harmonised and tourism planned more holistically.


11. MANICALAND ― NYANGA 

A transfrontier upland area comprising the highlands of Nyanga, Rukotso, Stapleford in 

Zimbabwe and adjacent mountains in Mozambique, along with the associated valleys and 

lowlands. It is more properly included in the Afromontane Ecoregion, but is mapped and 

described here until an ecoregion conservation programme for this is initiated. The vegetation is 

very varied, including fynbos-like low montane shrublands, upland grassland, high and medium 

altitude rainforest, high and medium altitude miombo woodlands (Brachystegia spiciformis and 

Brachystegia utilis), and heavily-disturbed woodlands and forest patches with affinities to the 

East African coastal plains. Large areas are planted to exotic conifers or wattles. The range of 

vegetation types is very great, reflecting the great range in altitude and soil types, and spans what 

is effectively three ecoregions. 

Plant diversity is very high, reflecting the wide range of habitats and altitudes. There are 16 

endemic/near endemic species in the Nyanga area, most of which are confined to montane 

grassland. Large mammal diversity is low, but there are small mammals on the boundary 

between the Miombo and Afromontane Ecoregions (Lissonycteris goliath, Chlorotalpa arendsi, 

Myosorex 'caffer', Crocidura inyangai, Sylvisorex sheppardi, Aethomys silindensis) that are 

endemic to these montane areas. Bird diversity is particularly high (246 species recorded from 

Nyanga National Park alone), with three IBAs (Nyanga mountains, Nyanga lowlands/Honde 

Valley, Stapleford) in Zimbabwe containing a number of range-restricted and globally threatened 

species. Species of particular note are the Blue Swallow, Briar Warbler, Chirinda Apalis and 

Swynnerton's Robin, all of which are montane grassland or forest species, not normally found in 

Caesalpinoid woodland. There are seasonal altitudinal movements of many bird species between 

miombo woodland and forest. The forest and grassland butterfly fauna is rich, particularly that 

associated with the ecotone between miombo and montane, with two endemics (Deloneura 

sheppardi, Lepidochrysops chittyi). The Nyanga uplands also contain many important prehistory 

sites. 

There are a number of protected areas, including Nyanga National Park and State Forests in 

Zimbabwe. The latter, although primarily for commercial pine and wattle production, do have 

some intact habitat. 

A significant form of land use in the upland areas is commercial timber production, and a number 

of valuable grassland areas were cleared for this in the 1950s. It is an important water catchment 

area. Tourism is also a major land use in the Nyanga/Juliasdale area of Zimbabwe, along with 

commercial fruit and flower cultivation. At lower altitudes, in the Honde valley and Mutasa 

areas, population pressures are very high in the communal lands, with grazing and subsistence 

crop production being the main forms of land use. The major threats in Zimbabwe are expansion 

of commercial timber production, invasion by exotic trees (pines, wattles) into upland grasslands, 

and habitat destruction from subsistence farming in the lower lying valleys. It is not clear what 

the status is in Mozambique. 

12. MANICALAND ― CHIMANIMANI 

Another mostly upland transfrontier area comprising highlands of the Chimanimani and 

Himalaya mountains along the Zimbabwe–Mozambique border, the Chipinge Uplands, and 

adjacent lowlands, particularly in Mozambique. Much of it falls outside the present Miombo 

Ecoregion boundary. As with the previous area (11), it is more properly included under an 

Afromontane Ecoregion programme, but is described here to ensure its unique biological features 

are not overlooked or "fall between two stools".


Vegetation is very varied as would be expected from such a gradient of altitude and climate. It 

ranges from fynbos-like low montane shrublands, upland grassland (including unique grasslands 

on quartzite-derived soils), high and medium altitude rainforest, high and medium altitude 

miombo woodland (Brachystegia spiciformis, Parinari curatellifolia, Pterocarpus angolensis), 

and lowland rainforest with affinities to the East African coastal plains. The latter are very 

extensive in Mozambique, but restricted to small patches in Zimbabwe (Rusitu Valley). Chirinda 

Forest is the best and most extensive example of medium altitude rainforest in the region. The 

area spans what is effectively three ecoregions. 

Total plant diversity is likely to be over 1500 species; a checklist of the non-forested parts of the 

Chimanimani massif shows 860 species. Nutrient-poor upland grasslands on quartzite support 

over 50 plant endemics. The lowland rainforests on the eastern and southern slopes are likely to 

support over 600 plant species; a provisional list of trees and shrubs shows 103 species. While 

the medium altitude Chirinda Forest and margins supports over 500 species. Mammal diversity is 

low with only 14 species of large and medium-sized mammals recorded from the Chimanimani 

massif, but 44 species are recorded from Chirinda Forest (most of them small). The only nearendemics 

are rodents restricted to forests and margins of the Eastern Highlands. There is a small 

population of forest-dwelling elephants which move through the eastern part of the area. Four 

IBAs are found in the Zimbabwe section – Banti Forest, Chimanimani Mountains, Haroni- 

Ruisitu junction and Chirinda Forest – but the range-restricted and globally threatened species 

present are mostly associated with forests and uplands, not Caesalpinoid woodlands. The 

herpetofauna is rich with 42 species around Chirinda. A rich butterfly fauna, including some 

endemics, is again mostly associated with forests or forest margins. 

There are a number of smaller protected areas, including Chimanimani National Park, Chirinda 

Forest, Banti Forest and two small Botanic Reserves in Zimbabwe. The status of the forest 

reserves and national park is good. The Mozambican part of the Chimanimani plateau is being 

viewed for protection, to become part of a proposed transfrontier Chimanimani conservation 

area. There are also two protected forest areas in Mozambique – Maronga and Zomba. 

A significant form of upland use is commercial timber production, and a number of valuable 

grassland areas were cleared for this in the 1950s. Much of the Chipinge Uplands and lower parts 

of Chimanimani in Zimbabwe is commercial farmland, especially for tea, coffee, dairy or timber. 

It is an important water catchment area. Tourism potential is high, particularly associated with 

walking in the Chimanimani Mountains. Population pressures are high in the fertile communal 

land of the Rusitu Valley, where remnant forest patches are being rapidly cleared. The major 

threat to the uplands in Zimbabwe is expansion of commercial timber production, while at 

medium altitude much of the vegetation has already been cleared for commercial farming, with 

just remaining patches on hillsides. Habitat destruction from subsistence farming or cashcropping 

in the lower lying valleys is a important concern in both countries. 

13. GORONGOSA / MARROMEU 

An very diverse area in central Mozambique extending from Mt Gorongosa on the plateau, 

across the rift valley and forests of the Cheringoma plateau, to the wetlands of Marromeu, the 

Zambezi Delta, mangroves, dunes and coastal forests. Vegetation types (excluding those of the 

Afromontane portion on Mt Gorongosa) include dry miombo and Acacia–Combretum 

woodlands, Acacia woodlands in the valley, coastal forest with Brachystegia spiciformis on the 

Cheringoma plateau, grasslands and swamps, as well as mangroves and littoral vegetation. The 

area is a prime regional candidate for conservation action as it covers an enormous range of 

habitat ("mountain to mangrove") and straddles what is effectively three or four ecoregions 

within a comparatively small area.


The main protected areas, covering a major portion, are Gorongosa National Park, Marromeu 

Buffalo Reserve and three Game Management Areas (coutadas). The remainder is under 

subsistence farming, although commercial sugar plantations covered a significant area in the past, 

and are being rehabilitated. 

Plant diversity is high owing to the altitudinal range and range of habitats, and should exceed 

1500 species. There are only a few endemics or near-endemics, but a number of species of 

restricted distribution. Historically, large mammal diversity was high, but numbers greatly 

declined during and after the civil war. However, they now show signs of recovery. The main 

concentrations are on the rift valley floor (elephant, plains game) and on the Marromeu 

grasslands (buffalo, elephant). Bird diversity is also high owing to habitat diversity, with a 

number of localised forest species on Mt Gorongosa and Cheringoma, and important wetland 

bird populations in the rift valley basin and the Zambezi Delta grasslands/wetlands. 

The major threats are commercial logging in the forests of Cheringoma, an influx of subsistence 

cultivators, poaching. The wetlands of the Zambezi Delta have been impacted upon by 

construction of dams upstream, changing the hydrological regime and flooding. Commercial 

agriculture, particularly sugar, may have a marked impact in the same area. Logging is 

unsustainable and only partially under control. The Gorongosa area has a number of land use 

conflicts resulting from the aftermath of the civil war. Extensive fires sweep across the 

grasslands regularly, causing much destruction. Mt Gorongosa and the Cheringoma forests are 

important water catchments. Tourism potential is high, and is principally wildlife-based (mostly 

hunting), but infrastructure is inadequate at present. The Zambezi Valley is being seen as a 

development hub for central Mozambique, and infrastructure (including roads and railways) is 

being rapidly developed or rehabilitated. 

14. LUANGWA VALLEY / KASUNGU 

A large, mostly low-lying area incorporating the valley of the Luangwa River in eastern Zambia, 

the adjacent Muchinga escarpment to the west, and part of the plateau to the east extending into 

the Kasungu area of central Malawi. The Luangwa is one of the least disturbed large valley 

systems remaining in the Miombo Ecoregion, and has not been affected by upstream dams. 

Although here regarded as separate from the mid-Zambezi Valley (Area 6), it is contiguous to it 

and has a lot of similarities biologically. The main vegetation types are mopane woodland, with 

patches of Acacia-Combretum woodland, dry forest and riverine woodland in the Luangwa 

Valley, and wet miombo woodland on the Muchinga escarpment and in the Kasungu area. There 

are also extensive grassy dambos in Kasungu. 

The Luangwa Valley is very similar in plant species composition to the mid-Zambezi Valley and 

contains more than 1300 species, but few if any endemics. Mopane woodland is well represented, 

and the Muchinga escarpment supports a number of plant species of restricted distribution, 

including the cycad Encephalartos schmitzii. Dry forest and riparian woodland in good condition, 

both well represented here, are threatened within the ecoregion. Both the Luangwa Valley and 

Kasungu have a high diversity and good populations of large mammals with elephant, hippo, 

buffalo, lion, cheetah, leopard, wild dog, puku and sable antelope. The Muchinga escarpment 

acts as a biogeographical barrier between related east and southern African taxa, and thus has 

evolutionary significance. In the Luangwa there are two endemic mammal taxa (Thornicroft's 

giraffe, Cookson's wildebeest), and Lichenstein's Hartebeest is found in Kasungu National Park. 

There are numerous movements of large mammals between the two parts, including elephant, 

giraffe and puku. The area contains some endemic miombo birds (Miombo Pied Barbet, 

Anchitta's Sunbird), and Grey Crowned Cranes are found in Luangwa. There is an endemic tree


frog Hyperolius kachololae. Butterfly diversity is high in Kasungu, mostly associated with the 

miombo woodland. 

Much of the area is protected either as national park (North Luangwa, South Luangwa, Kasungu) 

or as game management area. Communities adjacent to the Luangwa have formed CBNRM areas 

based on wildlife. Both the Luangwa Valley and Kasungu are important tourism destinations, but 

still have much potential for development in this respect. Crop raiding and damage by mammals 

is a threat to surrounding agricultural communities, and poaching and unsustainable utilization of 

natural resources are significant threats, particularly in Malawi. Also in Malawi, the immigration 

of tobacco estate workers and smallholder tobacco production has led to deforestation and loss of 

habitat. Dambos up on the plateau in Malawi are important hydrologically, while the Luangwa 

river catchment is a major water source for Cabora Bassa dam in Mozambique. 

15. MZIMBA / NKHOTAKOTA ESCARPMENT 

A long, narrow area straddling high plateau and escarpment almost down to the western shores of 

Lake Malawi in central Malawi. The vegetation is mostly miombo woodland on hills and scarps 

comprising Brachystegia boehmii and similar species, and montane grasslands and forest patches 

up on the Viphya plateau. The latter should fall under an Afromontane Ecoregion, but are 

included here owing to their limited extent. 

The vegetation ranges from dry miombo to montane grassland, with a moderately high plant 

species diversity. There is a particularly high diversity of terrestrial and epiphytic orchids. A few 

elephant and buffalo are present, and the area allows connectivity of large mammal movements. 

In addition, a number of forest birds move seasonally up and down the escarpment. Wattled 

Crane, a globally threatened bird species, is present. There is an endemic fish – mpasa – that 

breeds in the small rivers running off the escarpment. 

The area is principally defined by its constituent protected areas, which are the Nkotakota 

Wildlife Reserve in the south, and the Nchisi, Chikangura and southern part of Viphya Forest 

Reserves in the north. 

Threats to the area include construction of small dams on rivers running off the escarpment, 

plantation forestry on the Viphya Plateau in the north with invasion of alien tree species onto the 

plateau grasslands, shifting cultivation, poaching, and unsustainable use of natural resources 

including overfishing. Given the good access and scenery, there is significant potential for 

ecotourism. 

16. UPPER SHIRE VALLEY / EASTERN ESCARPMENT 

A diverse area running along the eastern escarpment flanking the southern part of Lake 

Malawi/Niassa in Mozambique from Lichinga southward, the upper parts of the Shire Valley in 

Malawi, and the adjacent highlands down to Zomba. About half the area is in Mozambique. 

Vegetation ranges from riparian and mopane woodland in the Shire Valley, through moist and 

dry miombo woodland on the escarpment to moist forest on the mountains. Some swamp 

vegetation is also found. Most vegetation types occur in a mosaic. 

There is a very high plant species richness (over 1500 species) owing to habitat diversity, but 

with only a few endemics. A number of threatened plants are found. The mopane woodland in 

Liwonde National Park is some of the tallest in the region. Large mammal diversity is moderate, 

but populations are principally found in Liwonde, including black rhino, elephant, buffalo, 

waterbuck, sable antelope and lion. Lichenstein's hartebeest have recently been introduced. The 

bat fauna is rich. There is a high diversity of birds (around 450 species, 2–3 regionally


threatened) including the restricted Lilian's Lovebird and Pel's Fishing Owl. There is local 

seasonal altitudinal movement of birds. The Shire River acts as a refuge for fish from the overfished 

Lake Malombe. 

Protected areas include Liwonde National Park, and the Forest Reserves of Zomba, Liwonde, 

Mangochi and Namizumu. 

Population pressures are high, particularly in the Malawi portion, resulting in habitat destruction 

and encroachment of cultivation, and over-exploitation of natural resources. Poaching of wildlife 

and timber is a problem in places. Part of the area is under commercial tobacco estates. There is a 

CBNRM programme operating in the Liwonde area. The escarpment and montane woodlands are 

important for watershed protection by reducing flooding. 

17. LOWER SHIRE VALLEY / WESTERN ESCARPMENT 

A relatively small area of escarpment and valley lowland in southern Malawi east of the Shire 

River. It comprises dry miombo and mopane woodlands, Acacia-Combretum woodland, 

escarpment and riparian woodland, patches of dry deciduous forest/thicket and, rarely, lowland 

evergreen forest. 

Dry deciduous and evergreen forest are rare in this part of the region, and support a number of 

unusual and threatened plant species. Some are believed to be endemic. The area contains the 

northernmost population of Nyala antelope, and has a rich bat fauna. Although elephant is not 

found now, it was present in the past. There are a number of restricted distribution forest birds 

found here, including nationally and regionally threatened species. Several endemic river fish 

species are found. 

Protected areas include Lengwe National Park and various forest (Thambani, Matandwe) and 

wildlife (Mwabvi, Majete) reserves. About half the area is under some form of protection. 

Threats include population pressure and encroachment from the Shire valley, including 

expansion of sugar plantations, smallholder irrigation schemes, unsustainable harvesting of 

natural resources and poaching. People often move into the area and settle to escape occasional 

flooding. The woodlands of the area are important as protection against flooding downslope. Pit 

sawing in the forest areas is a problem. There is considerable wildlife-based tourism potential. 

18. COPPERBELT 

A transfrontier area straddling the DRC–Zambia border in north-central Zambia and southern 

DRC between Lubumbashi and Ndola, adjacent to the Upemba–Kundelungu area (Area 19). It 

comprises the headwaters of the major Kafue river system and, in the DRC, part of the 

headwaters of the Luapula. Of major significance are the copper-bearing rocks of the Zambian 

copperbelt and Katanga. The vegetation is mostly wet miombo woodland with dambo grasslands, 

swamp forest, dry evergreen forest and patches of chipya (Acacia–Combretum woodland). 

Plant diversity is also high owing to the intrusion of Congolian elements along drainage lines, in 

a similar fashion to the Zambezi headwaters (Area 2). Of particular note is the high number of 

plant endemics (c.56 species) confined to the mineral toxic soils on copper outcrops. There are 

many species of ground orchid, some of which are now threatened. A number of butterfly 

endemics are found and there is high invertebrate species diversity, again associated with swamp 

forest, grassland and Congolian rainforest patches.


The only protected areas are numerous small forest areas, but many are now being encroached 

upon. There is a bird sanctuary at Chembe. 

Owing to mining, the human population is very high. There is significant competition for water 

and pollution of the Kafue headwaters from both mining activities and urbanisation is of concern. 

Deforestation due to charcoal production and fuelwood collection is a major threat. Beekeeping 

and fishing are also major activities. Being at the headwaters of the Kafue, the area is important 

for hydrological processes and as a carbon sink. 

19. UPEMBA / KUNDELUNGU 

A large area in Katanga Province in southern DRC incorporating Upemba and Kundelungu 

National Parks and the area in between. It includes lakes Kabwe and Retinue, the Lufira valley 

and the mountains of Kundelungu and Kibara. It is also contiguous with Lake Mweru (Area 20). 

Incorporating plains and plateaux, the vegetation includes wet miombo woodland, dry evergreen 

forest with Congolian elements, Acacia woodland, grassland, wetlands and riverine forest. 

There is a high diversity of plants (around 4000, including 2500 on the plateau) with many 

endemics, including some on mineral toxic soils. There are remnants of sub-montane forest on 

the plateau. Mammal diversity is around 111 species, including cheetah, elephant, wild dog, 

lechwe, and sable antelope. Bird diversity is around 424 species, with one endemic. The area is a 

migratory route for palaearctic migrants and is important for waterbirds. A very rich 

herpetofauna (100 reptiles, 50 amphibians) includes seven endemic reptiles and six endemic 

frogs. Fish diversity is estimated at 140 species. 

Protected areas are Upemba and Kundelungu National Parks. Their present status is not clear. 

Major threats are slash-&-burn types of agriculture, extensive burning, population movements nd 

increase, including movement from cities to rural areas, over-fishing, poaching of wildlife, and 

other forms of over-exploitation of natural resources including edible orchids. There is also some 

commercial cattle ranching. The infrastructure and communication is very poor. The are is of 

major hydrological importance as it forms the catchment of the Lufira, Lualaba and part of the 

Luapula rivers. It is also considered to be an important carbon sink. 

20. LAKE MWERU / LUAPULA 

A semi-circular area extending from Lake Mweru on the eastern DRC–Zambia border, across 

Lake Mweru Wantipa in northern Zambia to Sumbu and the Mporokoso and Kalungwishi high 

plateaux. Three separate areas are combined together here into one diverse area, encompassing 

lacustrine, riparian, savanna and upland ecosystems. It is adjacent to Upemba–Kandelungu in the 

DRC (Area 19). Vegetation principally comprises wet miombo woodland and swamp grassland, 

with significant areas of upland dambo grassland, swamp forest, dry evergreen forest, lakeshore 

thicket (Lake Mweru) and patches of Itigi-like dry forest/thicket (Lake Mweru Wantipa), the 

latter being a particularly rare type in the region. 

The high plant species diversity comes from wide habitat diversity and Congolian elements. Plant 

richness is high, estimated at over 2000 species. There are a number of endemic plants, especially 

associated with the threatened vegetation types of Itigi-like thickets, dry evergreen forest and 

upland dambos, and probably more remain to be discovered up on the Mporokoso plateau. 

Unusual mammals include Yellow-backed and Blue Duiker. An extinct taxon of lechwe (Kobus 

leche robertsi) used to be found in the area. The two lakes support large numbers of waterbirds 

including flamingos and miombo endemics (e.g. Swamp Flycatcher, White-winged Starling). 

Many of the herp endemics of Upemba are also found here, and the Congolian/West African


Slender-snouted Crocodile Crocodylus cataphractus. The Mweru/Luapula river area has a high 

fish diversity (94 species) and supports species of both Zambezian and Congolian origin. The 

Luapula area also has a high diversity of freshwater molluscs. 

Two protected areas (Mweru Wantipa and Sumbu National Parks) are incorporated, while 

Lusenga Plain National Park is just outside. There are two game management areas in the Sumbu 

area, and a number of small Forest Reserves. 

Major threats are the increasing population pressure in the area, particularly around Lake Mweru, 

the Luapula valley and up on the two plateaux. There has been a recent influx of refugees from 

the DRC into parts of the area. Traditional cultivation methods of slash-&-burn and widescale 

burning pose a threat to woodland and particularly dry evergreen forest patches. Lake Mweru is 

silting up owing to soil erosion upstream. However, there is significant tourism potential, both 

for wildlife and scenery. The area is considered to be important as a carbon sink, and the plateau 

areas are important hydrologically as source areas for the Kalungushi and other rivers that feed 

the lakes and similar wetland areas. 

21. BANGWEULU SWAMPS 

An extensive area surrounding Lake Bangweulu, the Bangweulu swamps and grasslands in 

north-eastern Zambia, and upstream along the Chambeshi river to the Tanzania border. It 

incorporates a number of wetlands and also old sand dunes to the south west. The vegetation is 

mostly wetland, grasslands and wet miombo woodland, with patches of dry evergreen forest. 

There is moderately high plant diversity and the area forms part of the Katangan centre of 

diversity. There is at least one endemic shrub, Garcinia pachyclada. An extinct lechwe antelope 

Kobus leche robertsi was only known from Lavushi Manda, while the endemic black lechwe K. 

leche smithemani and an undescribed tsessebe (Damaliscus) species are only known from 

Bangweulu. A large fruit bat (Eidolon helvum) population is found in Kasanka. There are 

important populations and high numbers of waterbirds including the Long-tailed Flufftail and the 

largest populations in Zambia of Shoebill Stork and Wattled Crane. Although poorly known for 

reptiles and amphibians, the area supports interesting Congo forest reptile species in the swamp 

forests. It incorporates part of the Luapula catchment which has a high diversity of freshwater 

molluscs. 

Three small national parks are included (Isangano, Kasanka, Lavushi Manda) along with a 

sizeable extent of game management area (Bangweulu, Mansa, Kafinda, Kalasamukoso, 

Luwingu, Chambeshi). There are a number of small Forest Reserves. The Chikuni area is a 

Ramsar site. 

CBNRM projects are functioning here, and the area has some tourism potential. Major threats are 

from deforestation for charcoal production and the slash-&-burn system of agriculture. 

Overfishing occurs in the lake. The development corridor along the Tazara railway and main 

road is a potential threat as agriculture expands. The area is important for hydrological processes 

as it provides the headwaters of the major Luapula river system. It also acts as a carbon sink. 

22. MOYOWOSI 

An extensive area to the north east of Lake Tanganyika in north-western Tanzania incorporating 

most of the Malagarasi and Moyowosi catchments, and including the Mahale mountains to the 

south. The latter include much montane vegetation as well as high altitude miombo, and would 

be better placed under a Afromontane Ecoregion. The shoreline of Lake Tanganyika is also 

included, although the lake itself falls under the Great Lakes Ecoregion. Vegetation comprises


wet and dry miombo woodland, grassland, very extensive wetlands and swamps, and patches of 

montane forest on the mountains. 

Tanzania's most diverse miombo is found here, mixed with elements of the Congolian forest 

flora. There are over 2000 plant species with perhaps 30 endemics, although many are montane 

and belong more properly in the Afromontane Ecoregion. Large mammal diversity and 

populations are not high, but elephant are known to move through the area to the Rungwa River 

Game Reserve to the east. The endangered chimpanzee is found on the forest/woodland boundary 

on the eastern shores of Lake Tanganyika. The globally threatened birds Shoebill Stork and 

Wattled Crane are present. Palaearctic migrant birds move along the escarpment during 

migration. Four endemic reptiles occur around the lake. The Malargarasi river shows a high level 

of fish endemism, while Lake Tanganyika itself supports 290 fish species, of which about 90% 

are endemic (mostly cichlids). There is a very high butterfly species diversity owing to the range 

of habitat types on the mountains, with at least six endemics. 

Large protected areas are the Ugalla River and Moyowosi Game Reserves, while the Mahale 

mountains on the lakeshore are within the Mahale Mountains National Park. There are some 

small forest reserves. 

The area has a high human population locally, compounded by movement of refugees. 

Deforestation is a significant threat. Other threats include charcoal burning, unsustainable timber 

harvesting, mining activities and tree debarking for traditional be hives. Being an integral part of 

the catchment of Lake Tanganyika, it is important hydrologically. High plant growth potential 

means that the area is also important as a carbon sink. 

23. RUKWA VALLEY 

A long narrow area in south-west Tanzania along the Rukwa valley, which is considered part of 

the East African Rift. It includes Lake Rukwa and extends up to the Katavi plains. In some 

respects it may be better treated under an East African Savanna Ecoregion as there is limited 

Caesalpinoid woodland vegetation. The vegetation of the core area is plains and wet grasslands, 

which are surrounded by wet miombo woodland. The adjacent escarpments appear to have been 

a significant evolutionary barrier to mammals. 

The plains vegetation, very similar to that of the East Africa savannas to the north, is a highly 

productive habitat for large mammals. The mammal biomass is said to some of the highest in 

East Africa, while Lake Rukwa has the highest hippo density in Tanzania. The lake also supports 

many Nile crocodiles. One of only two populations of puku in Tanzania are found on the wet 

grassland north of the lake, but the extent of this habitat has been reduced. With over 400 species 

of bird, the area is a wintering site and on the migratory passage for various palaearctic migrants, 

including the White Stork and African Pitta. It is also the northernmost extent of distribution of 

many southern African bird species. Long known as an important breeding ground for the red 

locust (it is said that locust biomass turnover exceeds that of mammals), the extent of locust 

breeding grounds is now greatly reduced by the rise of Lake Rukwa. It was an important tsetse 

area in the past. 

Much of the area comprises Uwanda Game Reserve, although this is of unclear status. Owing to 

the presence of tsetse fly, a large part of the area has been effectively protected from human 

encroachment since the 1930s. To the north is the Katavi Plain Game Reserve. 

Major threats include uncontrolled pastoralism, unsustainable utilization of natural resources, and 

an unclear protected status. Refugees have also moved into the area in recent years. There are


some community-based conservation programmes in place. Tourism potentials are high, although 

the area is remote. 

24. ITIGI THICKET 

A small area of the central Tanzanian plateau between Tabora and Dodoma around the towns of 

Itigi and Muhanga. It lies at the headwater of the Msuguluda and Mulambi rivers on what 

appears to be an outcrop of Karoo sediments. The area forms part of what should be a larger 

conservation priority area extending southwards incorporating the Rungwa River Game Reseve 

and Ruaha National Park with their large populations of large mammals, especially elephant. 

However, as these areas comprise Acacia–Commiphora woodland and fall outside the Miombo 

Ecoregion, only the small area of unique thicket is included here. The vegetation is an almost 

unique and very localised thicket/dry forest type owing to an impervious hardpan in the soil. 

A number of endemic plants or species of restricted distribution are found (e.g. Bussea 

massaiensis, Baphia burtii, Pseudoprosopis fischeri in the thickets, and Nymphaea stuhlmannii in 

pans). The only other area with similar vegetation is by Lake Mweru Wantipa in Zambia (Area 

20). Elephants are attracted to permanent water pools in the dry season, and a number of elephant 

move seasonally northwest from Ruaha/Rungwe through the Itigi area towards the Ugalla River 

Game Reserve (Area 22). The thickets are on an important route for migratory birds. There is a 

high diversity of bee species. There is little published data available on the area. 

No part of the Itigi thicket is protected, although the large protected areas of Ruaha National Park 

and Rungwa River Game Reserve lie to south. 

The thicket vegetation is under severe threat from clearance and fragmentation. Local people 

depend on it for building material and fuelwood, and the area is surrounded by cultivation. 

Movement corridors for elephant and other large mammals are being increasingly blocked. There 

is no formal conservation plan available. 

25. SELOUS / KILOMBERO 

A large area in southeastern Tanzania centred on the Selous Game Reserve, including the 

Kibasera swamps, the Kilombero valley, and the basins of the Great Ruaha, Rufiji, Kilombero, 

Luwego and Matandu rivers. It is the largest protected area in Africa and a major wilderness area. 

Vegetation is mostly dry miombo woodland, with patches of dry forest, Acacia and riverine 

woodland, grassland and dambos. 

There is high plant species diversity (2065 species listed) with around 13 endemics. The adjacent 

Uzungwa mountains, although outside the ecoregion, support a large number of endemics. Large 

mammal species diversity is high, with movement to the Niassa Game Reserve (Area 26) of 

elephant, buffalo and wildebeest. Black rhino and wild dog are still found. An isolated population 

of puku are found in the Kilombero wetlands. The endemic Iringa red colobus and Sanje 

mangabey monkeys are confined to upland forests on the Uzungwa mountains on the border of 

the ecoregion, which are better treated under the Afromontane or East African Forest Ecoregion. 

Over 427 bird species have been recorded, including 52 raptors. Birds endemic to the Kilombero 

area are the Kilombero Social Weaver, and three undescribed species of Cisticola. There a few 

Important Bird Areas and Endemic Bird Areas. There is also a rich herpetofauna with 100 reptile 

and 50 amphibian species, including 11 endemic reptiles and 4 amphibians in the broad Selous- 

Rovuma region. One endemic fish is found in the Kilombero basin. The forests and woodlands of 

the Uzungwa mountains support a high butterfly diversity and a number of endemics, but this 

belongs to the Afromontane fauna and is best regarded as part of that ecoregion.


Although the Selous Game Reserve, covering most of the area, is well protected (it is also a 

World Heritage Site), the Kilombero area is unprotected. In the north there is the small Mikumi 

National Park. 

In the Kilombero area there is high population pressure and major threats from subsistence 

agriculture and deforestation. Livestock are grazed extensively here, and the wetlands are 

threatened. The planned building of a bridge over the Rufiji river would greatly improve 

communications with the southern part of the area, and would also increase land use pressures. 

Other threats include widescale burning and unsustainable extraction of valuable indigenous 

timbers. Tourism is an important form of land use, and there is much potential for expansion. The 

area is a significant carbon sink. 

26. LOWER ROVUMA 

An extensive transfrontier area flanking the Rovuma river comprising part of northern Niassa and 

Cabo Delgado provinces in northern Mozambique and Lindi district in southern Tanzania, 

including the town of Tunduru and much of the lower basin of the Rio Lugenda. The area forms 

a corridor between the Selous (Area 25) and Niassa Game Reserves, while the Rovuma river is 

the least disturbed river on the east coast of Africa. Around Nachingwea in Tanzania is heavily 

populated, so this part of the transfrontier area is not included. The mapped eastern boundary is 

that of the Miombo Ecoregion, but the conservation area should really be extended eastwards to 

the coast to include the Mueda plateau and associated coastal lowlands in Mozambique and the 

Rondo plateau and associated lowlands in Tanzania. Both these are exceptionally rich areas 

biologically, particularly for plants, but are possibly best considered under a Coastal Forest 

Ecoregion programme. Vegetation is dry miombo woodland bordering on East African coastal 

forests, both dry and evergreen. Riparian woodlands are also found. 

Plant diversity is unknown but believed to be very high owing to East African coastal elements, 

particularly in dry forests. The adjacent area in southern Tanzania just outside the ecoregion, the 

Rondo plateau, has exceptionally high plant endemism in coastal forests. Mammal diversity is 

high although population numbers are low. Elephant are common, along with sable antelope, 

wild dog, zebra, wildebeest and leopard. The Rondo galago is restricted to the Rondo plateau, 

and there are thought to be a number of endemic small mammals towards the coast. Although 

there is minimal elephant movement across the Rovuma from the Niassa Game Reserve to 

Tanzania, the opening up of a corridor between Niassa and Selous is regarded as a major 

conservation priority. The area is important for intra-African migrant birds such as African Pitta 

and Spotted Ground Thrush. Herp diversity is not well known but is believed to be rich. 

The Niassa Game Reserve is protected and surrounding areas in Mozambique are game 

management areas. There is a potential trans-frontier conservation agreement. 

Within the Miombo Ecoregion portion, the major threats are expansion of subsistence agriculture 

and habitat fragmentation, widescale bushfires, unsustainable exploitation of valuable indigenous 

timbers, and charcoal production. Population pressures are higher in the Tanzania portion. 

CBNRM programmes are in place around the Niassa Reserve. Sport hunting is an important form 

of land use.

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Appendix 1. LIST OF ENDEMIC OR NEAR-ENDEMIC VERTEBRATE 

TAXA IN THE MIOMBO ECOREGION. 

Name Common names 

Mammals 1,2 

Aethomys thomasi bush-rat 

Aethomys silindensis Selinda rat 

Alcelaphus lichtensteinii Lichtenstein's hartebeest 

Amblysomus julianae golden mole 

Cercopithecus francescae monkey 

Cercopithecus moloneyi Moloney's monkey 

Chlorotalpa arendsi Arend's golden mole 

Connochaetus taurinus cooksoni Cookson's wildebeest 

Connochaetus taurinus johnstonii Nyassa wildebeest 

Crocidura ansellorum Ansell's musk shrew 

Crocidura inyangai white-toothed shrew 

Crocidura zimmeri white-toothed shrew 

Damaliscus sp. Bangweulu tsessebe 

Dendromus vernayi Vernay's climbing mouse 

Genetta angolensis miombo genet 

Gerbillurus "paeba" hairy-footed gerbil 

Giraffa cameleopardus thornicrofti Thornicroft's giraffe 

Graphiurus monardi Monard's dormouse 

Graphiurus sp. dormouse 

Hippotragus niger sable antelope 

Hippotragus niger variani giant sable antelope 

Kobus kafuensis Kafue lechwe 

Kobus leche red lechwe 

Kobus smithemani black lechwe 

Kobus vardoni puku 

Kobus sp. Kilomberu puku 

Lemniscomys roseveari zebra mouse 

Lissonycteris goliath Harrison's fruit bat 

Malacomys australis Ansell's long-footed rat 

Myosorex caffer mouse shrew 

Paraxerus cepapi Smith's bush squirrel 

Raphicerus sharpei Sharpe's grysbok 

Rhinolophus sakejensis Sakeji horseshoe bat 

Sylvisorex sheppardii climbing shrew 

Tatera brantsi gerbil

Birds 

Agapornis lilianae Lilian's Lovebird 

Agapornis nigrigenis Black-cheeked Lovebird 

Anthreptes longuemarei Violet-backed Sunbird 

Anthreptes anchietae Red-and-blue (Anchieta's) Sunbird 

Anthus nyassae Wood Pipit 

Apalis alticola/cinerea Brown-headed Apalis 

Batis margaritae Margaret's Batis 

Calamonastes undosus/simplex (S) Stierling's Barred Warbler 

Calamonastes undosus (N) Miombo Wren Warbler 

Centropus cupreicaudus Coppery-tailed Coucal 

Cercotrichas barbata Miombo Beared Scrub Robin 

Cisticola dambo Dambo Cisticola 

Cisticola pipiens Chirping Cisticola 

Cisticola melanurus Black-tailed Cisticola 

Coracias spatulata Raquet-tailed Roller 

Dendropicos stierlingi Stierling's Woodpecker 

Egretta vinaceigula Slaty Egret 

Elminia albicaudata White-tailed Blue Flycatcher 

Emberiza cabanisi Cabanis's Bunting 

Eremomela atricollis Black-necked Eremomela 

Erythrocercus livingstonei Livingstone's Flycatcher 

Estrilda thomensis Cinderella Waxbill 

Estrilda nigriloris Black-lored Waxbill 

Francolinus finschi Finsch's Francolin 

Hirundo nigrorufa Black-and-Rufous Swallow 

Hyliota australis Southern Hyliota 

Hypargos niveoguttatus Red-throated Twinspot 

Lagonosticta nitidula Brown Firefinch 

Lamprotornis acuticaudus Sharp-tailed Starling 

Lamprotornis mevesii Southern Long-tailed Starling 

Lanius souzae Souza's Shrike 

Lybius chaplini Chaplin's Barbet 

Macronyx fuellebornii Fuelleborn's Longclaw 

Macronyx grimwoodi Grimwood's Longclaw 

Malaconotus monteiri Monteiro's Bushshrike 

Merops boehmii Boehm's Bee-eater 

Mirafra angolensis Angola Lark 


Monticola angolensis Miombo Rock Thrush 

Muscicapa boehmi Boehm's Flycatcher 

Myrmecocichla arnotti White-headed Black (Arnot's) Chat 

Myrmecocichla thollonii Congo Moor Chat 

Nectarinia bocagei Bocage's Sunbird 

Nectarinia oustaleti Oustalet's White-bellied Sunbird 

Nectarinia manoensis Miombo double-collared Sunbird 

Nectarinia shelleyi Shelley's Sunbird 

Neocichla gutteralis White-winged Starling 

Neolestes torquatus Black-collared Bulbul Shrike 

Ortygospiza locustella Locust Finch 

Parus rufiventris Rufous-bellied Tit 

Parus pallidiventris Cinnamon-breasted Tit 

Parus giseiventris Miombo Grey Tit 

Phylloscopus laurae Laura's Woodland Warbler 

Pinacorys nigricans Dusky Lark 

Pinarornis plumosus Boulder Chat 

Plocepasser rufoscapulatus Chestnut-mantled Sparrow-weaver 

Ploceus bertrandi Bertram's Weaver 

Ploceus ruweti Ruwet's Masked Weavet 

Ploceus olivaceiceps Olive-headed Weaver 

Ploceus katangae Katanga Masked Weaver 

Ploceus angolensis Bar-winged Weaver 

Ploceus reichardi Lake Lufira Weaver 

Ploceus burnieri Kilombero Weaver 

Ploceus xanthopterus Brown-throated Golden Weaver 

Ploceus temporalis Bocage's Weaver 

Pyrenestes minor Lesser Seedcracker 

Serinus mennelli Black-eared (Mennel's) Seedeater 

Serinus reichardi Reichard's Seedeater 

Stactolaema anchietae Anchieta's Barbet 

Stactolaema whytii Whyte's Barbet 

Sylvietta ruficapilla Red-capped Crombec 

Tockus pallidirostris Pale-billed Hornbill 

Tockus bradfieldi Bradfield's Hornbill 

Tricholaema frontata Miombo Pied Barbet 

Turaco (persa) livingstonei Livingstone's Loerie 

Turdoides hartlaubii Hartaub's Babbler 


Turdoides melanops Black-faced Babbler 

Vidua obtusa Broadtailed Paradise Whydah 

Vidua codringtoni Peter's Twinspot Indigobird 


Reptiles 4 

Afroedura loveridgei Loveridge's Flat-gecko 

Afroedura transvaalica Limpopo Flat-gecko 

Afrogecko ansorgii Ansorge's Leaf-toed Gecko 

Agama kirkii Kirk's Rock Agama 

Amblyodipsas katangensis Katanga Purple-glossed Snake 

Amblyodipsas ventrimaculata Kalahari Purple-glossed Snake 

Aparallactus moeruensis Mweru Centipede-eater 

Atheris katangensis Katanga Bush Viper 

Atheris rungweensis Rungwe Bush Viper 

Bitis heraldica Bocage's Montane Viper 

Causus bilineatus Lined Night-adder 

Chamaeleo anchietae Anchieta's Chameleon 

Chilorhinophis gerardi Gerard's Black & Yellow Burrowing Snake 

Chirindia langi Lang's Round-snouted Worm Lizard 

Cordylus angolensis Angola Girdled Lizard 

Cordylus depressus Soutpansberg Girdled Lizard 

Cordylus mossambicus Gorongosa Girdled Lizard 

Cordylus regius Regal Girdled Lizard 

Cordylus vandami Van Dam's Girdled Lizard 

Dalophia angolensis Angolan Pestle-tailed Worm-lizard 

Dalophia ellenbergeri Barotse Pestle-tailed Worm-lizard 

Dalophia longicauda Long-tail Pestle-tailed Worm-lizard 

Dalophia luluae Sandoa Pestle-tailed Worm-lizard 

Gerrhosaurus bulsi Buls' Plated Lizard 

Hemidactylus tasmani Tasman's Rock Gecko 

Homopholis mulleri Muller's Velvet Gecko 

Ichnotropis bivittata Angolan Rough-scaled Lizard 

Ichnotropis grandiceps Caprivi Rough-scaled Lizard 

Ichnotropis tanganicana Lake Tanganyika Rough-scaled Lizard 

Latastia johnstoni Johnston's Scrub Lizard 

Leptosiaphos dewittei De Witte's Five-toed Skink 

Limnophis bicolor Angolan Striped Water Snake 

Loveridgea phylofiniens Udjiji Round-snouted Worm Lizard 

Lycodonomorphus bicolor Lake Tanganyika Water Snake 

Lycodonomorphus mlanjensis Mulanje Water Snake 

Lygodactylus angolensis Angolan Dwarf Gecko


Lygodactylus chobiensis Chobe Dwarf Gecko 

Lygodactylus stevensoni Stevenson's Dwarf Gecko 

Lygodactylus heeneni Heenen's Dwarf Gecko 

Mabuya angolensis Angolan Skink 

Mabuya bayonii Bayon's Skink 

Mabuya ivensii Ivens' Skink 

Mabuya lacertiformis Bronze Rock Skink 

Monopeltis adercae Lualaba Spade-snouted Worm-lizard 

Monopeltis perplexus Perplexing Spade-snouted Worm-lizard 

Monopeltis remaclei Witte's Spade-snouted Worm-lizard 

Monopeltis rhodesiana Zimbabwean Spade-snouted Worm-lizard 

Monopeltis scalper Scalpel Spade-snouted Worm-lizard 

Monopeltis zambezensis Zambezi Spade-snouted Worm-lizard 

Natriciteres bipostocularis Southwestern Marsh Snake 

Pachydactylus oshaughnessyi Oshaughnessy's Thick-toed Gecko 

Pachydactylus tetensis Tete Thick-toed Gecko 

Pachydactylus tigrinus Tiger Thick-toed Gecko 

Panaspis megalurus Blue-tailed Snake-eyed Skink 

Panaspis seydeli Katanga Snake-eyed Skink 

Pelusios nanus Dwarf Hinged Terrapin 

Pelusios upembae Upemba Hinged Terrapin 

Philothamnus ornatus Ornate Green Snake 

Platysaurus imperator Imperial Flat-lizard 

Platysaurus intermedius Matschie's Flat-lizard 

Platysaurus maculatus Spotted Flat-lizard 

Platysaurus mitchelli Mulanje Flat-lizard 

Platysaurus monotropis Orange Flat-lizard 

Platysaurus nyasae Shire Flat-lizard 

Platysaurus parvus Blouberg Flat-lizard 

Platysaurus pungweensis Pungwe Flat Lizard 

Platysaurus relictus Soutpansberg Flat-lizard 

Platysaurus rhodesianus Zimbabwean Flat-lizard 

Platysaurus subniger Mashona Flat-lizard 

Platysaurus torquatus Striped Flat-lizard 

Psammophis ansorgii Ansorge's Whip Snake 

Psammophis sp. nov. Zambian Whip Snake 

Rhinotyphlops anomalus Anomalous Beaked Blind-snake 

Rhinotyphlops gracilis Gracile Beaked Blind-snake 

Rhinotyphlops kibarae Upemba Beaked Blind-snake 

Scelotes limpopoensis Limpopo Dwarf Burrowing Skink 

Tetradactylus ellenbergeri Ellenberger's Whip-lizard 

Typhlacontias gracilis Barotse Burrowing Skink


Typhlosaurus jappi Barotse Blind Legless Skink 

Typhlops schmidti Schmidt's Blind-snake 

Xenocalamus sabiensis Save Quill-snouted Snake 

Zygaspis kafuensis Kafue Round-snouted Worm-lizard 

Zygaspis nigra Black Round-snouted Worm-lizard 

Amphibians 4 

Afrixalus wittei De Witte's Leaf-folding Frog 

Breviceps poweri Zambian Rain Frog 

Bufo fuliginatus Katanga Toad 

Bufo melanopleura Upemba Toad 

Bufo reesi Rees' Toad 

Bufo urunguensis Urungu Toad 

Hemisus sp. nov. Barotse Shovelsnout Frog 

Hemisus wittei Upemba Shovelsnout Frog 

Hildebrandtia ornatissima Angola Ornate Frog 

Hylarana darlingi Golden-backed Frog 

Hylarana lemairii Lemaire's Forest Frog 

Hyperolius bocagei Bocage's Reed Frog 

Hyperolius kachololae Kacholola Reed Frog 

Hyperolius kibarae Upemba Reed Frog 

Hyperolius obscurus Kasai Reed Frog 

Hyperolius quinquevittatus Five-lined Reed Frog 

Hyperolius reesi Kilombero Reed Frog 

Hyperolius vilhenai Luita River Reed Frog 

Hyperolius viridis Green Reed Frog 

Kassina kuvangensis Kuvangu Running-frog 

Kassinula wittei Witte's Running-frog 

Leptopelis fiziensis Fizi Forest Treefrog 

Leptopelis lebeaui Nyonga Forest Treefrog 

Leptopelis parvus Upemba Forest Treefrog 

Phrynobatrachus anotis Lusinga Puddle Frog 

Phrynobatrachus parvulus Least Puddle Frog 

Phrynobatrachus rungwensis Rungwe Puddle Frog 

Phrynobatrachus stewartae Stewart's Puddle Frog 

Ptychadena ansorgii Ansorge's Ridged-frog 

Ptychadena bunoderma Tuberculate Ridged-frog 

Ptychadena keilingi Keiling's Ridged-frog 

Ptychadena mapacha Mapacha Ridged-frog 

Ptychadena obscura Obscure Ridged-frog 

Ptychadena upembae Upemba Ridged-frog 

Spelaeophryne methneri Methner's Cave Frog

Stephopaedes anotis Chirinda Earless Toad 

Freshwater fish 5 

Aethiomastecembelus signatus 

Bagrus meridionalis 

Barbus arcislongae 

Barbus argenteus 

Barbus bellcrossi 

Barbus breviceps 

Barbus choloensis 

Barbus dorsolineatus 

Barbus eurystomus 

Barbus johnstonii 

Barbus litamba 

Barbus manicensis 

Barbus owenae 

Bathyclarias spp. 

Chetia welwitschi 

Chiloglanis emarginatus 

Engraulicypris sardella 

Hydrocynus tanzaniae 

Hypsopanchax jubbi 

Kneria maydelli 

Labeo ansorgii 

Labeo mesops 

Labeo ruddi 

Labeo simpsoni 

Labeo worthingtonii 

Marcusenius nyasensis 

Nothobranchius furzeri 

Nothobranchius kafuensis 

Nothobranchius sp. 

Nyassachromis spp. 

Opsaridium microcephalum 

Opsaridium microlepis 

Opsaridium tweddlorum 

Oreochromis shiranus 

Orthochromis machadoi 

Paramormyrops jacksoni 

Sargochromis coulteri 

Sargochromis gracilis 


Schwetzochromis machadoi 

Synodontis njassae 

Thoracochromis albolabris 

Thoracochromis buysi 

Tylochromis bangwelensis 

Varicorhinus pungweensis 


NB. In many cases an evolutionary species concept is used; hence subspecies and varieties may 

have been raised to specific status. 

Sources: 

1. WWF Conservation Science Division database, Oct 2001 (original WWF ecoregions) 

2. Fenton Cotterill, pers. comm. (Oct 2001) 

3. Peter Frost, pers. comm. (Dec 2001) 

4. Don Broadley, pers. comm. (Nov 2001) 

5. Brian Marshall (2000) and pers. comm. (Nov 2001); excludes species from Great Lakes.

Appendix 2. MIOMBO ECOREGION HABITATS 


The ecoregion planning process identifies areas of importance based on species diversity and 

endemism, as well as ecological or evolutionary processes. Representation of habitats across the 

area is not explicitly covered. 

Recognising this, the plant/vegetation group at the October workshop attempted to identify many 

of the best examples of habitats across the ecoregion, also trying to ensure representation of all 

major types. This is presented here and in Figure 7 below, but must be considered very 

preliminary. 

A total of 29 areas were identified that are considered to be important habitats, and also give 

good representation of the major types across the region. These are based on the important plant 

areas, and were enlarged to cover all vegetation types and Afromontane forests and grasslands. 

Code Area 

Ha1 Selous Game Reserve 

Ha2 Lower Rovuma & inselbergs 

Ha3 Mahale / Karobwa hills 

Ha4 Kolwezi / Lumbumbashi 

Ha5 Itigi thicket 

Ha6 Great Dyke (N & S) 

Ha7 Limpopo valley / G-K-G 

Ha8 Zambezi headwaters 

Ha9 Barotseland 

Ha10 Huambo / Huila / Benguela / Bié plateau & highlands 

Ha11 Luangwa valley 

Ha12 Middle Zambezi valley 

Ha13 Shire valley & highlands 

Ha14 Mt Mulanje 

Ha15 Gorongosa / Marromeu 

Ha16 Nyanga mountains 

Ha17 Chimanimani mountains 

Ha18 Felixburg 

Ha19 Nata river 

Ha20 Baikiaea woodlands 

Ha21 Kafue Flats

Ha22 Nyika plateau 

Ha23 Misuku hills / Livingstone mountains 

Ha24 Bangweulu swamps 

Ha25 Lake Mweru Wantipa 

Ha26 Upemba National Park 

Ha27 Matobo hills 

Ha28 Cuando-Cubango plains 

Ha29 Lower Cunene 



Figure 7. Miombo Ecoregion – areas of significance for habitat conservation

Miombo Ecoregion Vision Report - Biodiversity Foundation for Africa

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