Kitulo National Park is a protected area of

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

and

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

on the

Kitulo Plateau The Kitulo Plateau, formerly known as the Elton Plateau, ( sw, Bustani ya Mungu; meaning 'The Garden of God'), is a plateau in Tanzania's Kipengere Range known for its floral diversity. The plateau is in Kitulo National Park. This montane grass ...

in the southern highlands of Tanzania. The park is at an elevation of between the peaks of the Kipengere and Poroto mountains and covers an area of ,Kitulo National Park, Official Website, Tanzania National Parks, accessed 20 November 2014
lying in

Mbeya Region Mbeya Region (''Mkoa wa Mbeya'' in Swahili) is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative regions. The region covers an area of . The region is comparable in size to the combined land area of the nation state of Guinea Bissau. Mbeya Region is bordere ...

and

Njombe Region Njombe Region (''Mkoa wa Njombe'' in Swahili) is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative regions. The region covers a land area of . The region is comparable in size to the combined land area of the nation state of El Salvador. Njombe Region is bor ...

. The park is administered by Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA) and is the first national park in tropical

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

to be established primarily to protect its

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...

. Locals refer to the Kitulo Plateau as "Bustani ya Mungu" ("The Garden of God"), while

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

s have referred to it as the "Serengeti of Flowers".

Creation of the park

Protection of the Kitulo Plateau's unique flora was first proposed by the

Wildlife Conservation Society The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is a non-governmental organization headquartered at the Bronx Zoo in New York City, that aims to conserve the world's largest wild places in 14 priority regions. Founded in 1895 as the New York Zoological ...

(WCS), in response to the growing international trade in

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

tubers and increased hunting and logging activities in the surrounding forests. In 2002, President

Benjamin Mkapa Benjamin William Mkapa (12 November 193824 July 2020) was the third president of Tanzania, in office from 1995 to 2005. He was Chairman of the Revolutionary State Political Party ( Chama Cha Mapinduzi, CCM). Early life Mkapa was born in Lupaso, ...

announced the establishment of the park. The park was formally gazetted in 2005, becoming Tanzania's fourteenth national park. TANAPA has stated that the park could be expanded in the future to include the neighbouring

Mount Rungwe Mount Rungwe is a volcanic mountain in Mbeya Region, in Tanzania's Southern Highlands. At an altitude of , it is southern Tanzania's second-highest peak. Rungwe's volcano is currently inactive. Geography Rungwe stands at the junction of the e ...

forest.

Kitulo Plateau

The Kitulo Plateau lies between two parallel ridges. Its montane grasslands are home to 350 species of plants, including numerous ground orchids,

geophyte A storage organ is a part of a plant specifically modified for storage of energy (generally in the form of carbohydrates) or water. Storage organs often grow underground, where they are better protected from attack by herbivores. Plants that have ...

s, and other

Afroalpine The Afromontane regions are subregions of the Afrotropical realm, one of the Earth's eight biogeographic realms, covering the plant and animal species found in the mountains of Africa and the southern Arabian Peninsula. The Afromontane regions of ...

plants. During the November to April wet season the montane grasslands are carpeted with displays of flowers. Many species are limited to the Kipengere Range and nearby highlands, and three – ''Brachystelma kituloensis, Impatiens rosulata'' and ''Pterygodium ukingense'' – are limited the Kitulo Plateau.

Livingstone Forest

The Livingstone forest is a montane evergreen forest that descends the souttwestward-facing slope of the park. It is the largest block of forest in the park, and the largest in the Kipengere Range. Thickets of bamboo (''

Yushania alpina ''Oldeania alpina'', the African alpine bamboo, is a perennial bamboo of the family Poaceae and the genus '' Yushania''. It can be found growing in dense but not large stands on the mountains and volcanoes surrounding the East African Rift bet ...

'') can be found between the upper montane forests and the high altitude grasslands. The Livingstone Forest lies in the former Livingstone Forest Reserve (240.34 km²), which was incorporated into the national park when it was created in 2005. The Bujingijila Gap, a narrow corridor of farms and tree plantations, separates the Livingstone Forest from the Mount Rungwe forests. The Livingstone Forest is home to three limited-range species of mammals – the endangered

Kipunji The kipunji (''Rungwecebus kipunji''), also known as the highland mangabey, is a species of Old World monkey that lives in the highland forests of Tanzania. The kipunji has a unique call, described as a 'honk-bark', which distinguishes it from it ...

(''Rungwecebus kipunji''),

Rungwe dwarf galago The Rungwe dwarf galago is a newly identified species of eastern dwarf galago. Specimens were first collected in the 1930s, but were identified as different species. A formal description of the species is presently being made. Description The Ru ...

(''

Galagoides The western dwarf galagos are a group of three species of strepsirrhine primates, native to western and central Africa. They are classified in the genus ''Galagoides'' of the family Galagidae. The eastern dwarf galagos (''P. cocos, P. granti, P. ...

'' sp. nov.), and

Abbott's duiker The Abbott's duiker (''Cephalophus spadix''), also known as ''minde'' in Swahili, is a large, forest-dwelling duiker (small antelope) found only in a few scattered enclaves in Tanzania. It may be a subspecies of the yellow-backed duiker. It is v ...

(''Cephalophus spadix''). All three species also live in the forests of nearby

. In 2005, field scientists from the WCS discovered a new species of primate on and around Mount Rungwe and in the Livingstone Forest area of the park. Initially known as the Highland Mangabey, later changed to its Tanzanian name of

, it is one of the 25 most endangered primates in the world.

Ndumbi Forest

The Ndumbi forest, at the eastern end of Kitulo National Park, includes montane evergreen forest and forests of East African Cedar (''

Juniperus procera ''Juniperus procera'' (known by the common English names African juniper, African pencil-cedar, East African juniper, East African-cedar, and Kenya-cedar) is a coniferous tree native to mountainous areas in Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. It is ...

''). The former Ndumbi Valley Forest Reserve (27.71 km²) was established in 1956, and was incorporated into the national park when it was created in 2005."Ndumbi Forest Reserve" ''Protected Planet.'' Accessed 5 September 2019

/ref> The Ndumbi forest is also home to a 100-meter waterfall.

References

External links

Kitulo National Park, Tanzania National Parks website
{{authority control Geography of Njombe Region Geography of Mbeya Region National parks of Tanzania Protected areas established in 2005 Southern Highlands, Tanzania Southern Rift montane forest–grassland mosaic Tourist attractions in the Njombe Region Tourist attractions in the Mbeya Region 2005 establishments in Tanzania