East_Sudanian_Savanna

East Sudanian savanna

East Sudanian savanna

Tropical savanna ecoregion in Africa


The East Sudanian savanna is a hot, dry, tropical savanna ecoregion of Central and East Africa.

Geography

The East Sudanian savanna is the eastern half of the Sudanian savanna belt which runs east and west across Africa. The eastern lies east of the Cameroon Highlands, and west of the Ethiopian Highlands. The Sahel belt of drier acacia savanna lies to the north, and beyond that is the Sahara Desert. More humid forest–savanna mosaic ecoregions lie to the south.

The Sudd flooded grasslands in South Sudan divide the ecoregion into eastern and western blocks. The land is mainly flat, although there are some hillier sections around Lake Albert and in western Ethiopia.

Climate

The climate is a tropical savanna climate and a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification Aw and BSh) with a dry season and a wet season and the temperature being warm and hot year-round.

Examples

More information Climate data for Garoua, Cameroon, Month ...
More information Climate data for Sarh, Chad (1961-1990), Month ...
More information Climate data for Moundou, Chad (1961-1990), Month ...
More information Climate data for Birao, Central African Republic, Month ...
More information Climate data for Wau, South Sudan, Month ...
More information Climate data for Juba, South Sudan (1971–2000, extremes 1931–1990), Month ...
More information Climate data for Ad-Damazin, Sudan (1961-1990), Month ...

Flora

Typical species are deciduous Terminalia trees with an undergrowth of shrubs and grasses such as Combretum and tall elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum). There are more than 1,000 endemic plant species.[13]

Fauna

Threatened species include the African bush elephant (Loxodonta africana) (in Chad and the CAE), East African wild dog (Lycaon pictus lupinus), Northeast African cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus soemmeringii), African leopard (Panthera pardus paruds), lion (Panthera leo), and giant eland (Taurotragus derbianus).[13]

Urban areas and settlements

In Cameroon the region is more or less contiguous with the North Region, where Bénoué National Park and Bouba Njida National Park contain some of the endangered species mentioned above. In Chad East Sudanian savanna covers the south including the industrial city of Moundou, Chad's second largest city, the oil town of Doba and the cotton-growing towns of Sarh and Pala. In the Central African Republic the region covers the sparsely populated north of the country, the larger towns include Bossangoa. In Sudan west of the Sudd swamp east Sudanian savanna covers the Bahr el Ghazal area including the town of Wau. East of the Sudd the ecoregion runs north to south from northern Uganda, through south-eastern Sudan east of the White Nile (including the area around the southern cities of Juba and Eastern Equatoria around Torit), and up along the Ethiopia–Sudan border. Much of this area has seen combat in recent decades and is in various states of reconstruction.

Threats and preservation

Seasonal cultivation and herding are lifestyles which lead the population of the savanna to overgraze, overharvest the trees for firewood or charcoal and cause fires. This has reduced the woodland considerably. However large areas of unspoilt habitat remain even outside protected areas, especially compared with the more heavily populated West Sudanian savanna.

Poaching is another problem, indeed the black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) and northern white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum cottoni) were formerly native to the ecoregion but have been eliminated through over-hunting.

Protected areas

24.68% of the ecoregion is in protected areas.[1] Protected areas include Bouba Njida National Park in Cameroon, Bamingui-Bangoran National Park and Biosphere Reserve, Andre Felix National Park, and Manovo-Gounda St. Floris National Park in the Central African Republic, Zakouma National Park in Chad, Gambella National Park in Ethiopia, Dinder National Park and Radom National Park in Sudan, Boma National Park and Kidepo Game Reserve in South Sudan, and Kidepo Valley National Park in Uganda.[13][1]

Most protected areas are severely under-resourced, and apart from hunting for sport in the Central African Republic there is little wildlife-based tourism.

See also


References

  1. "Garoua Climate Normals 1961–1990". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
  2. "World Weather Information Service – Sarh". World Meteorological Organization. Retrieved June 24, 2015.
  3. "World Weather Information Service – Moundou". World Meteorological Organization. Retrieved June 24, 2015.
  4. "Climate: Birao". Climate-Data.org. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
  5. "World Weather Information Service – Juba". World Meteorological Organization (UN). Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 21 March 2013.
  6. "Klimatafel von Juba / Sudan" (PDF) (in German). Deutscher Wetterdienst. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  7. "East Sudanian savanna". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund.


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