Northern Acacia-Commiphora bushlands and thickets

The Northern Acacia-Commiphora bushlands and thickets are a tropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands ecoregion in eastern Africa. The ecoregion is mostly located in Kenya, extending north into southeastern South Sudan, northeastern Uganda, and southwestern Ethiopia, and south into Tanzania along the Kenya-Tanzania border.[1]

Northern Acacia-Commiphora bushlands and thickets
Map of the Northern Acacia-Commiphora bushlands and thickets ecoregion
Ecology
RealmAfrotropical
Biometropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands
Geography
Area326,000 km2 (126,000 sq mi)
CountriesKenya, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda
Conservation
Conservation statusvulnerable
Global 200yes

Setting

The ecoregion occupies the middle and upper reaches of Kenya's Tana River watershed, and the closed basins in the Kenyan portion of the East African Rift including those of lakes Magadi, Naivasha, Nakuru, Baringo, and the uplands south and west of Turkana. Kenya's capital Nairobi is in the ecoregion.

The Northern Acacia-Commiphora bushlands and thickets are bounded on the southeast by the humid coastal Northern Zanzibar-Inhambane coastal forest mosaic along the lower Tana River and the Indian Ocean coast. To the south and southeast, they transition to the more humid Southern Acacia-Commiphora bushlands and thickets. To the east and northeast they transition into the drier Somali Acacia-Commiphora bushlands and thickets and Masai xeric grasslands and shrublands. East Sudanian savanna lies the northwest. In Kenya's mountains, the Acacia-Commiphora bushlands transition to humid East African montane forests at higher elevations.

Flora

The ecoregion is mostly made up of grasslands, savannas, and open-canopy woodlands. Species of Acacia and Commiphora are the principal trees.[1]

Fauna

Elephants (Loxodonta africana) are major shapers of the ecoregion, knocking down trees for forage and opening up areas of grassland and savanna.

In addition to elephants, large mammals include the Eastern black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis michaeli), Grevy’s zebra (Equus grevyi), beisa oryx (Oryx beisa), gerenuk (Litocranius walleri), and lesser kudu (Tragelaphus imberbis).[1]

Protected areas and conservation

Protected areas in the ecoregion include portions of Kenya's South Turkana and Samburu national reserves, Maralal National Sanctuary, and Amboseli, Chyulu Hills, Kora, Longonot, Marsabit, Meru, Nairobi, Ol Donyo Sabuk, Tsavo East, and Tsavo West national parks. Tanzania's Umba and Mkomazi Game Reserves are in the ecoregion, as are Uganda's Matheniko and Pian Upe wildlife reserves.[1]

References

  1. "Northern Acacia-Commiphora bushlands and thickets". World Wildlife Fund ecoregion profile. Accessed 14 September 2019.
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