The East African montane forests is a

montane 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 ...

tropical moist forest Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF), also known as tropical moist forest, is a subtropical and tropical forest habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Description TSMF is generally found in large, discon ...

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of ...

of eastern

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 ...

. The ecoregion comprises several separate areas above 2000 meters in the mountains of

South Sudan South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of th ...

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

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

, and

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

Geography

The East African montane forests extend across a total of , in 25 separate enclaves, which range in size from 23,700 to 113 square kilometers. The montane forests extend down to approximately 1000 meters elevation, and as high as 3500 meters. The northernmost enclave is on

Mount Kinyeti Mount Kinyeti is the highest peak in South Sudan. It is located in the Imatong Mountains in Ikwoto County of Eastern Equatoria, near the Ugandan border. Kinyeti has an elevation of above sea level. The group of high mountains that contain Kinyeti ...

in the

Imatong Mountains The Imatong Mountains (also Immatong, or rarely Matonge) are mainly located in Eastern Equatoria in southeastern South Sudan, and extend into the Northern Region of Uganda. Mount Kinyeti is the highest mountain of the range at , and the highest ...

of South Sudan, extending south through

Mount Moroto Mount Moroto, also Moroto Mountain (), is a mountain in the Northeastern part of Uganda. The native name for this mountain was "Moru To" (meaning "the western mountain" derived from the words "Moru" meaning mountain and "To" meaning west). It w ...

in eastern Uganda and

Mount Elgon Mount Elgon is an extinct shield volcano on the border of Uganda and Kenya, north of Kisumu and west of Kitale. The mountain's highest point, named "Wagagai", is located entirely within Uganda.

on the Kenya-Uganda border. In Kenya and Tanzania, the ecoregion follows the mountains east and west of the

Eastern Rift The Gregory Rift is the eastern branch of the East African Rift fracture system. The rift is being caused by the separation of the Somali plate from the Nubian plate, driven by a thermal plume. Although the term is sometimes used in the narrow se ...

and associated volcanoes, including the

Aberdare Range The Aberdare Range (formerly the Sattima Range, Kikuyu: ''Nyandarua'') is a 160 km (100 mile) long mountain range of upland, north of Kenya's capital Nairobi with an average elevation of . It straddles across the counties of Nyandarua, Nye ...

Mount Kenya Mount Kenya (Kikuyu language, Kikuyu: ''Kĩrĩnyaga'', Kamba language, Kamba, ''Ki Nyaa'') is the highest mountain in Kenya and the Highest mountain peaks of Africa, second-highest in Africa, after Mount Kilimanjaro, Kilimanjaro. The highest pea ...

, Mount Kulal,

Mount Nyiru Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, ...

, Bukkol, and the

Nguruman Escarpment Nguruman Escarpment is an escarpment in southern Kenya. The escarpment is around 50 kilometres long and elongated in N-W direction. Its northern edge approximately 120 km southwest of Nairobi, while the southern edge is near the Tanzanian ...

in Kenya, and

Mount Kilimanjaro Mount Kilimanjaro () is a dormant volcano in Tanzania. It has three volcanic cones: Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira. It is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain above sea level in the world: above sea level and a ...

Mount Meru Mount Meru (Sanskrit/Pali: मेरु), also known as Sumeru, Sineru or Mahāmeru, is the sacred five-peaked mountain of Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist cosmology and is considered to be the centre of all the physical, metaphysical and spiritu ...

, Ngorongoro, and the Marang forests ( Mbulu Highlands and

Mount Hanang Mount Hanang is a mountain in northern Tanzania. The peak has an elevation of 3,420 m above sea level. Hanang is located in Manyara Region's Hanang District. It is (after Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Meru and Mount Loolmalasin) the fourth-highest m ...

) in northern Tanzania.

Climate

The climate of the ecoregion is more temperate and seasonal than the surrounding lowlands. Temperatures can fall below 10° C in the coldest months (July and August) and rise above 30° C in the warm season. Temperatures are generally lower at higher elevations, and frosts can occur at the highest elevations. Average annual rainfall varies between 1,200 and 2,000 mm, with two wet seasons – October to December and March to June – and two dry seasons – January and February and July to October. The climate is more humid than the surrounding lowlands, and with less distinct wet and dry seasons. Rainfall varies from mountain to mountain, with elevation, and with the direction of prevailing winds.

Flora

The ecoregion consists of montane forests, grasslands, and savannas, transitioning to the

East African montane moorlands The East African montane moorlands is a montane grasslands and shrublands 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 " ...

on the highest peaks. The ecoregion is home to the

Afromontane 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 ...

flora, which occurs in the mountains of eastern Africa, and is distinct from the lowland flora.

Fauna

There are eight endemic or restricted-range bird species in the ecoregion. The Aberdare cisticola (''Cisticola aberdare''), Abbott's starling (''Cinnyricinclus femoralis''), and Kenrick's starling (''Poeoptera kenricki'') occur on only two or three mountains or mountain ranges in the region. The

Hunter's cisticola Hunter's cisticola (''Cisticola hunteri'') is a species of bird in the family Cisticolidae. It is found in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. Its natural habitats are tropical moist montane and high-altitude shrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, br ...

(''Cisticola hunteri''), Jackson's francolin (''Francolinus jacksoni''), and

Sharpe's longclaw Sharpe's longclaw (''Macronyx sharpei'') is a passerine bird in the longclaw family Motacillidae, which also includes the pipits and wagtails. It is endemic to Kenya. It is 16–17 cm long, with upperparts heavily marked with buff and ...

(''Macronyx sharpei'') range over most of the mountains in the ecoregion. Endemic mammals include the

shrew Shrews (family Soricidae) are small mole-like mammals classified in the order Eulipotyphla. True shrews are not to be confused with treeshrews, otter shrews, elephant shrews, West Indies shrews, or marsupial shrews, which belong to differ ...

s '' Crocidura gracilipes, Crocidura raineyi, Crocidura ultima,

Surdisorex norae The Aberdare mole shrew (''Surdisorex norae'') is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae endemic to the Aberdare Mountains in Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption ...

'', and ''

Surdisorex polulus The Mount Kenya mole shrew (''Surdisorex polulus'') is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae endemic to Mount Kenya in Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption ...

'', and the rodents ''

Grammomys gigas The giant thicket rat (''Grammomys gigas'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae which is restricted to a small area of Kenya. Description The giant thicket rat is a slender arboreal rat with large, ovoid ears with a rather long and fine ...

Tachyoryctes annectens The Mianzini mole-rat or Mianzini African mole-rat (''Tachyoryctes annectens'') is a species of rodent in the family Spalacidae endemic to Kenya. Its natural habitats are dry savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e ...

'', and '' Tachyoryctes audax''. Limited-range mammals native to the montane forests include

Jackson's mongoose Jackson's mongoose (''Bdeogale jacksoni'') is a mongoose species native to montane forests in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. It appears to be rare and has been classified as Near Threatened since 2008. Its long and dense fur is grizzled black and w ...

(''Bdeogale jacksoni''),

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 ...

(''Cephalophus spadix''), Zanj sun squirrel (''Heliosciurus undulatus''), and

eastern tree hyrax The eastern tree hyrax (''Dendrohyrax validus'') is a species of mammal within the family Procaviidae. The eastern tree hyrax is the most localized of the tree hyrax species, distributed patchily in a narrow band of lowland and montane forests i ...

(''Dendrohyrax validus''). There are nine endemic species of reptiles in the ecoregion, including six species of chameleons, most limited to a single mountain or range, and the montane viper (''Vipera hindii'').

Protected areas

35% of the ecoregion is in protected areas. Protected areas include

Aberdare National Park The Aberdare National Park is a protected area in the Aberdare Mountain Range in central Kenya located east of the East African Rift Valley. It covers the higher areas and the Aberdare Salient to the east. Overview The park is located about 10 ...

Mount Kenya National Park Mount Kenya National Park was established in 1949 to protect Mount Kenya, the wildlife and surrounding environment, which forms a habitat for wild animals, as well as acting as an area for the catchment of water, to supply Kenya's water. History ...

Mount Elgon National Park Mount Elgon National Park is a national park northeast of Lake Victoria. The park covers an area of and is bisected by the border of Kenya and Uganda. The Ugandan part of the park covers while the Kenyan part covers . The Kenyan part of the ...

Kilimanjaro National Park Kilimanjaro National Park is a Tanzanian national park, located south of the equator and in Kilimanjaro Region, Tanzania. The park is located near the region of Moshi. The park includes the whole of Mount Kilimanjaro above the tree line and th ...

Arusha National Park Arusha National Park covers Mount Meru, a prominent volcano with an elevation of 4566 m, in the Arusha Region of north eastern Tanzania. The park is small but varied with spectacular landscapes in three distinct areas. In the west, the Meru Crate ...

Kidepo Valley National Park Kidepo Valley National Park is a national park in the Karamoja region in northeast Uganda. Kidepo is rugged savannah, dominated by the Mount Morungole and transected by the Kidepo and Narus rivers. Location Kidepo Valley National Park is loc ...

, Kidepo Game Reserve, Pian Upe Wildlife Reserve,

Ngorongoro Conservation Area The Ngorongoro Conservation Area (, ) is a protected area and a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Ngorongoro District, west of Arusha City in Arusha Region, within the Crater Highlands geological area of northern Tanzania. The area is na ...

, and

Lake Bogoria National Reserve Lake Bogoria National Reserve is in the Great Rift Valley, Kenya, covering Lake Bogoria and the land immediately surrounding the lake. It is administered by the Kenya Wildlife Service. Location The lake lies in a trough below the Ngendelel Escarp ...

Gallery

File:Timberline forest with lichens.jpg, Timberline forest with lichens on Mount Kenya File:The American Museum journal (c1900-(1918)) (17973119000).jpg, Montane forest below the bamboo zone on Mount Kenya File:Mount Kenya Vegetation map en.svg, Montane forests of

from space File:Kilimanjaro from space 2016.jpg, Montane forests of

from space

External links

*
East African montane forests (DOPA)
*

References

{{Regions of Africa Afromontane ecoregions Afromontane forests Afrotropical ecoregions African Great Lakes Ecoregions of Kenya Ecoregions of South Sudan Ecoregions of Tanzania Ecoregions of Uganda Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests