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Maputaland–Pondoland Bushland And Thickets
The Maputaland-Pondoland bushland and thickets is one of the ecoregions of South Africa. It consists of the montane shrubland biome. Geography The ecoregion occupies the foothills of the Drakensberg mountains, covering an area of in South Africa's Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces. It is bounded on the east by the KwaZulu-Cape coastal forest mosaic, which lies in the humid coastal strip along the Indian Ocean; to the west it is bounded by the higher-elevation Drakensberg montane grasslands, woodlands and forests. To the south, it transitions to the drier Albany thickets, which are characterized by more succulent and spiny plants. Climate The ecoregion experiences a dry subtropical climate characterised by varying rainfall levels, ranging from 800 mm to 450 mm per year. The majority of rainfall, approximately three-quarters, occurs during the warm summer months between October and March. Frosts are infrequent due to the moderating influence of the nearby Indian Ocean. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oribi Gorge
Oribi Gorge is a canyon in southern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, 35 kilometres north-west of Port Shepstone, which itself is 120 km south of Durban. Oribi Gorge, cut by the Mzimkulwana River, is the eastern gorge of two gorges that cut through the Oribi Flats (flat sugarcane farmlands) of KwaZulu-Natal. The western gorge was formed by the Mzimkulu River. The gorge is approximately deep, and almost wide at its widest. Erosion by these rivers have carved out nearly of spectacular kloofs and crags, covered with subtropical vegetation. In the gorge, the dense forest on the sandstone slopes is home to various small mammals, while the large leguaans excavate their burrows along the riverbanks. At the base of the cliffs of both gorges the basement rocks are part of the Namaqua-Natal Metamorphic Province, which is over 1000 million years old. The cliffs themselves are formed by Msikaba formation sandstones deposited by fluvial environment about 365 million years ago. Do ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Succulent
In botany, succulent plants, also known as succulents, are plants with parts that are thickened, fleshy, and engorged, usually to retain water in arid climates or soil conditions. The word ''succulent'' comes from the Latin word ''sucus'', meaning "juice" or "sap". Succulents may store water in various structures, such as leaves and stems. The water content of some succulent organs can get up to 90–95%, such as '' Glottiphyllum semicyllindricum'' and '' Mesembryanthemum barkleyii''. Some definitions also include roots, thus geophytes that survive unfavorable periods by dying back to underground storage organs (caudex) may be regarded as succulents. The habitats of these water-preserving plants are often in areas with high temperatures and low rainfall, such as deserts, but succulents may be found even in alpine ecosystems growing in rocky or sandy soil. Succulents are characterized by their ability to thrive on limited water sources, such as mist and dew, which makes them ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ecoregions Of South Africa
The following is a list of ecoregions in South Africa, as identified by the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF). Terrestrial ecoregions Listed by major habitat type Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests * * * * Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands * * * Montane grasslands and shrublands * * * * Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub * * * Deserts and xeric shrublands * * * Tundra * Mangroves * Freshwater ecoregions by bioregion Zambezi * * Southern Temperate * Amatole-Winterberg Highlands * Cape Fold * Drakensberg-Maloti Highlands * Karoo * Southern Kalahari * Southern Temperate Highveld * Western Orange Marine ecoregions * * * * * References * Burgess, Neil, Jennifer D’Amico Hales, Emma Underwood (2004). ''Terrestrial Ecoregions of Africa and Madagascar: A Conservation Assessment''. Island Press, Washington DC. * Spalding, Mark D., Helen E. Fox, Gerald R. Allen, Nick Davidson ''et al.'' "Ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Afrotropical Ecoregions
The Afrotropical realm is one of the Earth's eight biogeographic realms. It includes Sub-Saharan Africa, the southern Arabian Peninsula, the island of Madagascar, and the islands of the western Indian Ocean. It was formerly known as the Ethiopian Zone or Ethiopian Region. Major ecological regions Most of the Afrotropical realm, except for Africa's southern tip, has a tropics, tropical climate. A broad belt of deserts, including the Atlantic coastal desert, Atlantic and Sahara deserts of northern Africa and the Arabian Desert of the Arabian Peninsula, separates the Afrotropic from the Palearctic realm, which includes northern Africa and temperate Eurasia. Sahel and Sudan South of the Sahara, two belts of tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands, tropical grassland and savanna run east and west across the continent, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Ethiopian Highlands. Immediately south of the Sahara lies the Sahel belt, a transitional zone of semi-arid sho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Afromontane Ecoregions
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 Africa are discontinuous, separated from each other by lower-lying areas, and are sometimes referred to as the Afromontane archipelago, as their distribution is analogous to a series of sky islands. Geography Afromontane communities occur above elevation near the equator, and as low as elevation in the Knysna-Amatole montane forests of South Africa. Afromontane forests are generally cooler and more humid than the surrounding lowlands. The Afromontane archipelago mostly follows the East African Rift from the Red Sea to Zimbabwe, with the largest areas in the Ethiopian Highlands, the Albertine Rift Mountains of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Tanzania, and the Eastern Arc highlands of Kenya and Tanza ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thomas Baines Nature Reserve
Thomas Baines Nature Reserve is a nature reserve in the Eastern Cape, South Africa that is managed by Eastern Cape Parks. It was created as a municipal reserve in 1961 and upgraded to a provincial reserve in 1980. It is named after the artist and explorer Thomas Baines who recorded the region's flora and fauna. The northern shore of the Settlers Dam forms the southern boundary of the reserve. Fauna Mammals found within the reserve are: * African buffalo * Chacma baboon * Common eland * Greater kudu * Oribi * Red hartebeest * Vervet monkey * Warthog * Zebra Besides these mammals, 175 bird species have been recorded in the park. Flora Along with fynbos vegetation, the reserve contains Albany thicket Albany, derived from the Gaelic for Scotland, most commonly refers to: * Albany, New York, the capital of the State of New York and largest city of this name * Albany, Western Australia, a port city in the Great Southern region Albany may also ref ... woodland. Activities ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oribi Gorge Nature Reserve
Oribi Gorge is a canyon in southern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, 35 kilometres north-west of Port Shepstone, which itself is 120 km south of Durban. Oribi Gorge, cut by the Mzimkulwana River, is the eastern gorge of two gorges that cut through the Oribi Flats (flat sugarcane farmlands) of KwaZulu-Natal. The western gorge was formed by the Mzimkulu River. The gorge is approximately deep, and almost wide at its widest. Erosion by these rivers have carved out nearly of spectacular kloofs and crags, covered with subtropical vegetation. In the gorge, the dense forest on the sandstone slopes is home to various small mammals, while the large leguaans excavate their burrows along the riverbanks. At the base of the cliffs of both gorges the basement rocks are part of the Namaqua-Natal Metamorphic Province, which is over 1000 million years old. The cliffs themselves are formed by Msikaba formation sandstones deposited by fluvial environment about 365 million years ago. Dow ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Fish River Nature Reserve
Great Fish River Nature Reserve is a nature reserve in Eastern Cape Province, South Africa that is managed by Eastern Cape Parks. The park has a total area of 45,000 ha, and has been operational since 1994. It comprises three historical nature reserves that have been combined into a single reserve: * Andries Vosloo Kudu Reserve * Double Drift Nature Reserve * Sam Knott Nature Reserve The reserves are linked by a circular route, and the Great Fish River runs through the park. The elevation of the reserve varies from 95 meters to 561 meters above sea level, characterized predominantly by sharp cliffs descending into river valleys and fragmented ridges between basins. The majority of the reserve is composed of the Great Fish subtropical thicket. See also * * References External links Eastern Cape Parks Eastern Cape Provincial Parks Protected areas of the Eastern Cape Protected areas established in 1994 1994 establishments in South Africa {{EasternCape-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
White Rhino
The white rhinoceros, also known as the white rhino or square-lipped rhinoceros (''Ceratotherium simum''), is the largest extant species of rhinoceros and the most Sociality, social of all rhino species, characterized by its wide mouth adapted for grazing (behaviour), grazing. The species includes two subspecies with dramatically different conservation outlooks: the southern white rhinoceros, with an estimated 17,464 individuals in the wild as of the end of 2023, and the northern white rhinoceros. The northern subspecies is critically endangered and on the brink of extinction; its last known male, Sudan (rhinoceros), Sudan, died in March 2018, leaving behind only a very small number of females in captivity. Both subspecies have faced significant threats, primarily from poaching for their horns and habitat loss, which contribute to the species' overall Conservation status, conservation status of Near Threatened. Naming One popular, though widely discredited, theory for the origi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black Rhino
The black rhinoceros (''Diceros bicornis''), also called the black rhino or the hooked-lip rhinoceros, is a species of rhinoceros native to East and Southern Africa, including Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Although the species is referred to as ''black'', its colours vary from brown to grey. It is the only extant species of the genus '' Diceros''. The other rhinoceros native to Africa is the white rhinoceros (''Ceratotherium simum''). The word "white" in the name "white rhinoceros" is often said to be a misinterpretation of the Afrikaans word ' ( Dutch ') meaning wide, referring to its square upper lip, as opposed to the pointed or hooked lip of the black rhinoceros. These species are now sometimes referred to as the square-lipped (for white) or hook-lipped (for black) rhinoceros. The species overall is classified as critically endangered (even though the south-western black rhinoceros is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endemic (ecology)
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, the Cape sugarbird is found exclusively in southwestern South Africa and is therefore said to be ''endemic'' to that particular part of the world. An endemic species can also be referred to as an ''endemism'' or, in scientific literature, as an ''endemite''. Similarly, many species found in the Western ghats of India are examples of endemism. Endemism is an important concept in conservation biology for measuring biodiversity in a particular place and evaluating the risk of extinction for species. Endemism is also of interest in evolutionary biology, because it provides clues about how changes in the environment cause species to undergo range shifts (potentially expanding their range into a larger area or bec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Montane
Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures lapse rate, fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial factor in shaping plant community, biodiversity, metabolic processes and ecosystem dynamics for montane ecosystems. Dense montane forests are common at moderate elevations, due to moderate temperatures and high rainfall. At higher elevations, the climate is harsher, with lower temperatures and higher winds, preventing the growth of trees and causing the plant community to transition to montane grasslands and shrublands or alpine tundra. Due to the unique climate conditions of montane ecosystems, they contain increased numbers of endemic species. Montane ecosystems also exhibit variation in ecosystem services, which include carbon storage and water supply. Life zones As elevation increases, the alpine climate, climate becomes co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
