Savannah natural area. Savannas of Africa and around the world: photos, videos
On the African continent, climatic conditions are not the same everywhere. Natural areas of Africa are symmetrically located on the continent on both sides of the equator. In addition to solar heat, the African climate is influenced by 2 oceans. The cool waters of the Atlantic greatly cool the western shores. The eastern ones are washed by the heated Indian Ocean, so even at the same latitude, the climate in the west and east of the continent is different.
Main climate zones
The main natural areas of Africa, having the same name on a map or in a table, can differ greatly from each other in characteristics. For example, the savanna of southern Africa is completely different from the savanna in the central regions of the continent. Not only the climate and weather vary, but also the flora and fauna, and the methods of human economic activity.
The equatorial belt is located in close proximity to the equator. It includes the Gulf of Guinea and the Congo River Valley. There is constantly high humidity, which contributes to heavy rainfall - up to 2000 mm per year. The temperature does not reach the high values typical for the dry tropics - it stays at around 28 degrees all year round.
The subequatorial belt is located north and south of the equatorial belt. There are seasonal climatic differences here. Summer is characterized by high humidity, the winter season is dry but mild, without stifling heat. Rainfall usually occurs in two seasons.
The tropical zone occupies the largest area on the continent. In the north it includes the Sahara Desert. In the south are the dry and hot regions of South Africa. However, due to northerly winds, the Sahara is significantly drier than southern Africa. Of course, there are deserts there too, for example, the Namib. But their area is much smaller. There is significantly more precipitation here than in the Sahara, which is why the vegetation is denser.
The coastal regions of northern and southern Africa are located in the subtropical zone, in which the Mediterranean type is distinguished. In areas adjacent to the Mediterranean Sea, the climate is the same as in Southern Europe. The average annual temperature here is 21 degrees.
Wet greenhouses of the equator
From the point of view of natural landscape description, a number of zones can be named in Africa:
- moist forests of the equatorial zone;
- savannas of various types;
- tropical African semi-deserts and deserts;
- evergreen forests.
Forests of equatorial territories are located along the zero parallel - the equator. They occupy less than 10% of the area of the black continent. Abundant moisture and warmth create all the necessary conditions for the rapid growth of trees, grasses and shrubs. A large amount of green mass also contributes to the diversity of the animal community. Herbivores are represented by the following species:
- hippos;
- antelope;
- okapi.
Predators include crocodiles, pythons and leopards. You can list many species of monkeys, starting from monkeys and mandrills and ending with anthropoids. Birds of paradise and parrots are well known among birds.
A huge amount of vegetation - more than 13 thousand species - is located in the equatorial waterlogged forests. However, powerful trees are predominant - it is easier for them to withstand competition in the literal sense for a place in the sun. There are also a lot of vines and exotic flowers, especially orchids. Heavy rainfall - over two meters of water per year - contributes to swamping of areas.
We must also keep in mind that the Congo River also provides excess water resources, so the humidity here is very high all year round - 80%. This, of course, makes it difficult for a person to master these places - it is quite difficult to constantly live in a steam bath environment. In addition, high humidity negatively affects the respiratory system.
From forests to steppes
The further from the equator, the lower the humidity. Equatorial forests give way to African steppes - savannas, which occupy 40% of the continent's area. There is much less rain here - up to 1200 mm per year, and this figure varies greatly in different places. In this regard, 3 types of savannas are distinguished:
- with tall grass;
- with short grass;
- transitional to deserts.
As precipitation decreases further, savannas are replaced by tropical semi-deserts and then deserts. Precipitation here is rare and light. Thus, already in the semi-desert zone, the annual precipitation volume decreases to 300 mm. A significant area of the continent is occupied by deserts. The flora is limited to shrubs and grasses that can survive in dry conditions. The main representatives of the fauna are reptiles, rodents, and birds. Of the large animals - ungulates.
The largest desert in the world - the Sahara - is a unique natural and climatic complex. It occupies 10% of the continent's area. At the same time, due to a decrease in water balance, the Sahara continues to increase towards the equator. Based on the amount of precipitation, the desert is divided into northern (annual amount 200 mm), central and southern (about 20 mm per year). In addition, the Sahara is divided into 11 geographical regions. 4 types of landscapes predominate:
- flat,
- mountainous,
- hills;
- depressions.
Despite the fact that the desert is associated with sand dunes, most of the Sahara - about 70% of the area - is rocky. Of the remaining 30%, sands also occupy only a part - besides them, there are also clayey areas.
Throughout the Sahara you can find oases - drainless water basins where there is enough moisture for the growth of trees and shrubs. Oases are, in the most literal sense, islands of life in the desert. They owe their origin to the proximity of underground water areas to the earth's surface.
Thanks to artesian waters, oases always contain lakes or other reservoirs of water. And the richness of plants is unusual for the desert. Such enclaves are scattered throughout the Sahara, where people live. Oases provide their inhabitants with the necessary conditions for existence even in extreme desert conditions. The only river crossing the desert is the Nile.
For a significant part of the year, the northern trade wind prevails in the desert, reaching the central regions of the Sahara. These winds greatly affect the temperature and cause quite frequent and long-lasting sandstorms and tornadoes. The average daily temperature ranges from + 35 to +10. The flora here is poor, and the few animals lead a predominantly crepuscular lifestyle.
Transitional type from savannah to desert
For comparison with the Sahara, we can cite another African desert - the Kalahari. Just like the Sahara , Kalahari is rapidly increasing- Over the past decades, its territory has moved north. It is interesting that although the Kalahari is considered a desert, it is still a desert-type savannah. There is more precipitation here than in the Sahara - 500 mm per year. They mostly fall in the summer. The winter climate is mild and dry, but classic droughts are relatively rare here - approximately once every 5 years.
The Kalahari is the most sunny part of southern Africa, the highest temperature here reaches + 29, and the minimum is +12. In the central part of the desert there are periodically extreme temperature changes - from +45 during the day to +3 at night. The landscape is quite heterogeneous. Part of the desert is covered with red sand dunes.
According to the main version of scientists, strong winds that bring such soil from the Namib Desert were able to paint the dunes reddish. The Kalahari has large reserves of underground water, but they are located at great depths - about 300 meters. Of course, plant roots cannot penetrate so deeply, which is why the Kalahari is one of the poorest regions in Africa in terms of species diversity.
Hard-leaved evergreen subtropical forests are found in the coastal regions of the north and south of the continent. Despite the fact that the average temperature here is +28 degrees, the influence of northern winds, especially in the highlands, is very significant. In the Atlas Mountains of Morocco there are frosts down to -15 degrees. This requires appropriate endurance from the plant world.
Biological diversity
Africa's water resources are large, but are located very unevenly. Large and deep rivers flow here. The great African lakes also contribute to the water balance. Thus, about 9% of all fresh water reserves in the world are concentrated here.
The fauna of Africa is very diverse. The most famous inhabitant of the equatorial forests is the gorilla. These great apes live in families of up to 15 members. The weight of an adult can reach 300 kg. The peculiarity of these forests is the small number of predators. Of the large ones, only the leopard is found here. But large herbivores are well represented here: hippopotamuses, giraffes, antelopes. The world of reptiles and amphibians is diverse, among which the most famous is the goliath frog.
The tropical waters of the African coast are home to unique coral colonies and about 3,000 species of fish.
There is a real paradise here for insects - there are more than 100 thousand species of them. Among them there are species characteristic only of Africa: the tsetse fly, various types of termites, endemic locusts and many others.
In any natural area you can find a wide variety of reptiles: snakes, turtles, lizards, crocodiles. In general, Africa is considered the continent where living species are most fully represented - 1/5 of the world's fauna is concentrated here. There are over one thousand one hundred species of mammals alone. At the same time, Africa also holds the record for the number of large animals weighing more than 45 kg.
Africa is home to the largest number of primate species - 45, including 2 species of great apes. In addition, on the island of Madagascar, where there are no monkeys, there is a unique population of “semi-primates” - lemurs, including more than a hundred species.
Impact of economic activities
Over the past decades, Africa has seen changes in the boundaries of natural zones, which are also associated with human economic activities. This leads to a serious environmental situation. For example, only half of the continent's inhabitants today have constant access to fresh water. The lack of drinking water is also associated with a high mortality rate among children. Meanwhile, the situation is further deteriorating due to droughts, due to which the area of African deserts is constantly increasing.
In Africa, natural zones extend mainly from west to east.
Equatorial rainforests
The equatorial belt of Africa is covered with Hylea - moist evergreen forests that develop in the humid, hot equatorial climate on red-yellow ferrallitic soils.
In the Hylaea of Africa there are up to 3,000 species of woody plants alone. Ironwood, sandalwood, red, black (ebony) wood, rubber trees, oil palm, rattan palm, breadfruit, cocoa, coffee, and nutmeg trees grow here. The trunks and crowns of trees are intertwined with vines and orchids.
The fauna of the equatorial rainforests is rich and diverse. Only here do great apes live. The ground layer is inhabited by small ungulates, pigs, okapi, and pygmy hippopotamuses. Among the predators there is a leopard. Snakes, shrews, lizards, and termites are found in the soil and forest floor. Insects are common in forests - mosquitoes, ants, etc. There are relatively few birds in humid forests.
Savannas and woodlands
The zone of variable-humid forests gives way to savannas and woodlands. Savannahs are dominated by grass cover, among which stand single or small groups of low trees and shrubs of the hot zone.
In drier places, red-brown soils of desert savannas are formed, and closer to humid forests, red ferrallitic soils of tall-grass savannas are formed. During the dry season, grasses burn out and many trees shed their leaves. As soon as the rains come, the grass rises and the trees become covered with leaves. Where it rains for a long time, thick and tall grass grows. Among the trees in the savanna, baobabs, umbrella acacias, mimosas and some types of palms are common. In the dry areas of the savannah, aloe and spurge are found.
There are many large herbivores in the savannas: a variety of antelopes, zebras, giraffes, elephants, buffaloes, rhinoceroses, hippopotamuses. Common predators include lions, cheetahs, jackals, and hyenas. The menace of many animals and humans are crocodiles.
There are many birds in the savannas of Africa: sunbird, African ostrich, secretary bird, flamingos, ibises, storks, marabou. Tsetse fly bites are fatal to cattle and horses. In humans it causes sleeping sickness.
Deserts and semi-deserts
In Africa, savannas and woodlands transform into tropical semi-deserts and deserts. In the Sahara, vast areas are occupied by rocky deserts, with alternating clayey and sandy deserts, where dunes and dunes accumulate in places.
The vegetation of the Sahara is very poor, and in some places there is none at all. Lichens are common in the rocky desert, and saltwort and wormwood are common on saline soils. At large springs and in river valleys, where groundwater comes close to the surface, rich vegetation (oases) develops. A widespread plant in oases is the date palm.
Animals of the Sahara are adapted to desert climate conditions. Lizards, turtles and snakes can go without water for a long time. Various beetles, locusts, and scorpions are also numerous. On the outskirts of the desert there are hyenas and lions.
In South Africa, deserts occupy the Atlantic coast (Namib Desert). In the west of the continent, in areas with a Mediterranean climate, there is a zone of subtropical evergreen forests and shrubs.
Hot, dry summers and relatively warm (+4 ... +10 ° C) wet winters are favorable for evergreen vegetation that grows on chestnut soils. On the plains of North Africa, this zone to the east gives way to a zone of subtropical deserts and semi-deserts.
Human impact on nature
The consequence of cutting down, burning, and improper management was the reduction of forests, the depletion of their species composition, and an increase in the area of savannas and deserts. To save many species of plants and animals from extinction, nature reserves and national parks have been organized. They are of great importance both for the study and conservation of nature.
A famous national park in Africa is the Serengeti, where landscapes of grassy savannas with areas of shrubs and individual trees are protected, and gallery forests along the river valleys. Elephants, lions, leopards, wildebeest, Grant's and Thomson's gazelles live here.
Natural events and environmental problems
Natural natural phenomena in Africa include droughts, locust attacks, and sandstorms in deserts (samum). The main environmental problems of Africa: an increase in the territory of deserts, the destruction of humid and variable-humid forests of the equatorial belt, a reduction in the number of wild animals.
Forests occupy the largest area along the coast of the Gulf of Guinea (from 7°N to 12°S) and in (from 4°N to 5°S) - hot and constantly humid. On the northern and southern edges they transform into mixed (deciduous-evergreen) and deciduous forests, which lose their leaves during the dry season (3-4 months). Tropical rain forests (mainly palm trees) grow on the east coast of Africa and in the east.
Savannah frame the forests of Equatorial Africa and extend through eastern and southern Africa beyond the southern tropic. Depending on the duration of the rainy season and annual precipitation amounts, they are distinguished into tall grass, typical (dry) and desertified.
Tall grass savannas occupy a space where the annual precipitation is 800-1200 mm, and the dry season lasts 3-4 months, they have a dense cover of tall grasses (elephant grass up to 5 m), groves and tracts of mixed or deciduous forests on watersheds, gallery ground moisture in the valleys.
In typical savannas (precipitation 500-800 mm, dry season 6 months) there is a continuous grass cover no higher than 1 m (species of bearded vulture, temida, etc.), tree palms (fan palm, hyphae), baobabs, acacias are typical, in the Eastern and - milkweed. Most of the wet and typical savannas are of secondary origin.
Desertified savannas (precipitation 300-500 mm, dry season 8-10 months) have a sparse grass cover, and thickets of thorny bushes (mainly acacias) are widespread in them.
Deserts occupy the largest area in northern Africa, where the largest in the world is located. Its vegetation is sclerophyllous (with hard leaves, well-developed mechanical tissue, and is drought-resistant), extremely sparse; in the northern Sahara it is a grass-shrub species, in the southern Sahara it is a shrub species; concentrated mainly along the river beds and on the sands. The most important plant of the oases is the date palm. In South Africa, the Namib and Karoo deserts are mainly succulent (characteristic genera are mesembryanthemum, aloe, and euphorbia). There are many acacia trees in the Karoo. On the subtropical margins, the deserts of Africa turn into grass-shrublands; in the north, feather grass alpha is typical for them, in the south - numerous bulbous and tuberous plants.
In southeast Africa, mixed deciduous-coniferous forests are widespread, on the windward slopes of the Atlas - evergreen hard-leaved forests(mainly from cork oak).
As a result of centuries of primitive slash-and-burn farming, deforestation and livestock grazing, the natural vegetation cover has been severely damaged. Most of the savannas of Africa arose on the site of cleared forests, woodlands and shrubs, representing a natural transition from moist evergreen forests to.
However, plant resources are large and varied. In the evergreen forests of Central Africa, up to 40 tree species grow that have valuable wood (black, red, etc.); High-quality edible oil is obtained from the fruits of the oil palm tree; caffeine and other alkaloids are obtained from the seeds of the cola tree. Africa is the birthplace of the coffee tree, which grows in the forests of Central Africa. The Ethiopian Highlands are the homeland of many cereal grains (including drought-resistant wheat). African sorghum, millet, arouz, castor beans, and sesame have entered the culture of many. The oases of the Sahara produce about 1/2 of the world's date palm fruit harvest. In Atlas, the most important plant resources are Atlas cedar, cork oak, olive tree (plantations in the east), and alpha fibrous grass. In Africa, cotton, sisal, peanuts, cassava, cocoa tree, and Hevea rubber plant have been acclimatized and grown.
In Africa, about 1/5 of the land suitable for arable land is used, the area of which can be expanded if proper agricultural technology is followed, since the widespread primitive slash-and-burn farming system leads to rapid depletion of fertility and to... Black tropical soils have the greatest fertility, producing good yields of cotton and grain, and soil on rocks. Red-yellow soils containing up to 10% humus, and red soils with 2-3% humus require regular application of nitrogen, potassium, and phosphate fertilizers. Brown soils contain 4-7% humus, but their use is complicated by their predominant distribution in the mountains and the need for dry summers.
Africa is a rare place on Earth where geographic zoning prevails. Nowhere are the natural zones of the continents so clearly demarcated. Africa shows this division right on the map. The far north and south are distinguished by hard-leaved evergreen forests with shrubby undergrowth, followed by semi-deserts and deserts, then savannas, and in the center - variable-humid and constantly humid forests. This latitudinal zonality is slightly disrupted in the mountains and highlands, but there are few of them on the continent. This is Africa - natural zones are demarcated unusually clearly, with regard to climate, flora, and fauna.
Attractions
In addition to the mainland, Africa also includes islands. There are not so few of them: let’s compare the area of the mainland - 30,300,000 square kilometers and the area of the islands - 1,100,000. Madagascar - the largest island - has 587,000 square kilometers.
The most beautiful waterfall in the world is Victoria. It is one of the continent's most outstanding landmarks. The Zambezi River plunges into a hundred-meter (very narrow!) chasm more than a kilometer long and more than a hundred meters high. The sound of water can be heard within a radius of forty kilometers, while splashes and fog from falling water rise half a kilometer up and can be observed at a distance of fifty kilometers. Nowhere are there such amazingly beautiful lunar rainbows from the refraction of rays.
Northeast Africa is no less famous. Here Mount Kilimanjaro rises in the desert. This is an ancient volcano, which is the highest point of the continent (5,895 meters above sea level). The fact that Kilimanjaro is amazingly beautiful can be seen for many tens of kilometers from any direction - the volcano rises like a pillar among the flat Kenyan and Tanzanian savannas. Sloping slopes raise your gaze to a flat, oblong peak - a two-kilometer-long giant cave, a vast basin at the peak of the volcano.
The lowest point of the mainland - Lake Assal - is located 153 meters below sea level. This crater lake is located in Djibouti. Below this lake is only the Dead Sea.
It remains to add that there are fifty-seven countries in Africa, the largest in area is Sudan. The climate in Africa is very hot, which is probably why the population surpasses all other continents except Asia. Africa also ranks second in area.
Equatorial forest zone
On both sides of the equator, along the Congo River basin and on the coast of the Gulf of Guinea, there are both permanent and variable rain forests for which Africa is famous. Natural zones here were formed due to the difference in the amount of heat and moisture. The soils of the local forests - red and yellow - receive all this in abundance.
The composition of tropical forests is varied. There are more than a thousand tree species. The upper tiers - more than eighty meters high - were formed by ficus trees, oil palms, cola trees and others. Bananas, tree ferns, coffee trees (Liberian species), valuable sandalwood, rubber and mahogany trees settled below,
Wildlife of the rainforest
The fauna is rich and diverse in these places. Monkeys are numerous. In addition to monkeys and chimpanzees, they are represented by a dozen other species. Dog-headed baboons raid African plantations. These monkeys are distinguished by rare intelligence - they are only afraid of armed people, even a person with a stick in his hands will not make them run away. African gorillas - great apes - reach two hundred and fifty kilograms of live weight, have a height of up to two meters and are afraid of few people at all.
East Africa is distinguished by its rich coral fauna - more than four hundred species. Marine mollusks are especially widespread in the waters of the Western region of the Indian Ocean - more than three thousand species of gastropods alone. East African lakes are rich in freshwater shellfish.
Up to twenty percent of the global diversity of the insect world—more than one hundred thousand species—has settled south of the Sahara Desert. Many are very dangerous for humans - malaria mosquitoes, for example, or the tsetse fly.
Freshwater fish in the lakes of the continent number three thousand species. There are more than two thousand marine fish in the Indian Ocean in coastal waters alone. Among amphibians, the giant goliath frog is especially famous.
African reptiles
Reptiles, with which Africa is especially rich - the natural zones of the continent, one might say, are teeming with a variety of their species - have settled almost everywhere. These are pelomedus and land turtles, as well as belt-tailed lizards, skinks, agamas, monitor lizards of various species... And the largest number of chameleons live in Madagascar.
There are many dozens of species of snakes, among which the most dangerous for travelers are mambas, cobras, poisonous African vipers, and huge pythons. Crocodiles in Africa are also very real and extremely dangerous - there are three species: African blunt-snouted, African narrow-snouted and Nile.
Reptiles have settled everywhere, as geography allows - the natural zones of Africa, differing in climate, we repeat, are suitable for reptiles to live almost everywhere.
Birds and mammals
More than two and a half thousand species of birds are considered to live in Africa, many of which are threatened with extinction. Typical for the continent: secretary bird, sunbirds, African ostriches.
There are especially many species of parrots, the most famous being, for example, the African Gray. The most interesting birds are marabou storks, guinea fowl, turacos, hornbills, and there are even penguins. A huge number of passerines - up to one and a half thousand species.
There is also a great variety of mammals in Africa - more than a thousand names. The East African Plateau is especially distinguished by the number of animals. Where the African climate changes, natural areas are characterized by the distribution of certain species of mammals. Tropical forests are inhabited by exotic species: civets, needle-tailed flying squirrels, brush-eared pigs, pygmy hippopotamuses, many species of antelope, okapi, duikers, bongos. There are only four species of apes. And in Madagascar, charming lemurs and bats have taken root.
African megafauna is the most widely represented. There are no places in the world where such large animals as elephants, lions, hippopotamuses, giraffes, cheetahs and leopards, black and white rhinoceroses have been preserved since prehistoric times... It is very possible to list which animals of the Mediterranean natural zone of Africa exist to this day. for a long time. These include antelopes, buffalos, zebras, hyenas, porcupines, and warthogs. And probably only specialists know all rodents - lagomorphs and meerkats.
Savannah
The climate of Africa and natural zones are also clearly divided. To the south and north of the equator, the humidity of equatorial forests quickly decreases, they become poorer in composition, and patches of savannas are introduced into the continuous forest massif. The jungle is first thinned out, then generally remains only within the boundaries of river valleys. Instead of evergreen tree species, deciduous trees appear.
African savannas occupy about forty percent of the total area. Of course, they differ sharply from the forests of the equator. You can immediately see what natural zones are in Africa and how they are divided. The length of the rainy season greatly affects the appearance of the area - soils and vegetation change.
Near the equatorial forests, the rainy season lasts seven to nine months, resulting in red or ferrallitic soils and grass growing up to three meters high. Further to the north and south, where it rains less than half the year, the soils are red-brown and the grasses are lower. But baobabs and umbrella-shaped acacias appear.
Closer to the border with the semi-desert, humidity decreases significantly, since the rainy season lasts only two to three months a year. Here the savannas are deserted, thorny bushes and grasses grow: milkweed and tree-like plants.
Sahara Desert
The natural desert zone of Africa also occupies a significant area in both the northern and southern parts of the continent. The largest desert is the Sahara, five thousand kilometers from east to west and two thousand kilometers from north to south. It crosses the continent from the Red Sea to the Atlantic Ocean.
In fact, there is a group of deserts there, some very large, for example, Libyan and Arabian. In the north of the country Sudan is Nubian. In Algeria, the desert is called the Great Western and Great Eastern Ergi.
Here the highest temperature on the globe is +59 in the shade. The most interesting thing is that the city of Tripoli is located on this territory. Here is the largest area in the world occupied by sandy deserts - six hundred thousand square kilometers. It is in these places that the least amount of precipitation on Earth occurs - in a number of areas it never falls at all. And in Western Sahara, temperature differences between day and night exceed thirty degrees.
Islands of life
Only in the oases of the Sahara is life beautiful: the vegetation is rich, the animal world is diverse. However, many animals have adapted to the climate of the desert itself: oryx, addax, and gazelle antelopes run great distances in search of water. The Sahara's rodents are numerous: hamsters, mice, jerboas, and squirrels. Therefore, there are also predators: hyenas, jackals, cheetahs, foxes. There are many birds - both migratory and permanently living in the desert. And of course, an abundance of reptiles: turtles, snakes, lizards.
Kalahari and Namib
South of the equator, two other famous deserts are the Kalahari and Namib. The coastal Namib is large - one and a half thousand kilometers long - cool and very harsh. The vegetation, however, is varied: milkweed, crassula, endemic species. The Welwitschia plant is generally unique and grows only here - it has a short and thick stem, from which three-meter-long leaves spread along the ground.
The Kalahari is considered one of the hottest deserts in the world. In South Africa it is the largest - it spreads across South Africa, Namibia, and Botswana. The most important thing is that it is growing constantly and inevitably, moving in space: the desert has already come to Angola, Zambia and Zimbabwe, although this kingdom of sand already occupies about six hundred thousand square kilometers.
The desert landscapes of the Kalahari are varied and magnificent. The sand is colored by nature in all shades of red - from pale pink to almost brown. The iron oxides contained in the sand have tried their best here, but it seems that this merciless sun has scorched the earth red. And I can’t even believe that Africa, whose natural zones are distinguished by such sharp contrasts, grew multi-tiered tropical forests not too far to the north.
It ranks 2nd in area and is also symmetrically located relative to the equator. Moreover, the northern part is wider than the southern. The location of natural areas looks very interesting. From north to south to: subtropics, savannas, variable-humid forests, moist evergreen equatorial forests. After the equator they go in mirror image.
Variable tropical rainforests
They are characterized by high humidity during the rainy season and severe drought. Vegetation is capable of shedding leaves during drought. During the rainfall season, they resemble equatorial forests with an abundance of vines. There are also far fewer species here than in wet and hardwood forests.
The tsetse fly lives in the forests and tropics of Africa - the most dangerous insect that can infect humans with a virus that causes unbearable pain and fever.
Variable-moist forests are located next to savannas and often intersect with them by animal species. Tropical birds, monkeys of various species, and wild cats also live here. Ferrolitic soils of brown-yellow color predominate, on which bananas, ficus, and coffee grow well.
Savannah
The natural zone occupies up to 40% of the continent. Dry seasons are followed by periods of rain. A large area here is occupied by red-brown soils, on which mainly grasses, cereals, some shrubs and baobabs grow, but trees are extremely rare. The predominant climate is subequatorial.
In the savannas, everything turns green during the rainy season, and brownish-yellow during the dry season.
Despite the hot conditions, it is home to many unique birds, such as ostriches and pelicans. A huge number of animals are also represented: rhinoceroses, giraffes, hippopotamuses, antelopes, elephants, buffaloes. Such animals as lions, hyenas and leopards also live here.
There are a huge number of insects found in savannas, the most annoying of which are mosquitoes and flies. There are also many species that can survive for long periods of time without water, and dangerous snakes.
Tropical deserts and semi-deserts
Located far from the equator, they occupy most of the north and south of the continent. Moreover, the farther the northern and southern points are, the drier the air and the less precipitation. Tropical deserts are gradually replaced by savannas. The climate here prevails.
The Namib Desert stretches in the south of the continent, but the largest and driest is located in the north - the Sahara. The annual precipitation here is no more than 50-100 mm. But even in such hot conditions, different species of animals and insects are found.
But there are few plants here. Date palms grow in oases, and acacias, succulents, and xerophytes are found in places throughout the desert. Creatures such as scorpions, various lizards, chameleons and snakes can easily go without water for many days, so they survive in the harsh conditions of the Sahara. Sandy and rocky desert soils predominate in the desert belt.
Altitudinal zones of Africa
These are the Ethiopian Highlands, Kilimanjaro, the Atlas Mountains, and the Drakensberg Mountains. At the foot of all these regions there are evergreen shrubs and thickets, as well as savannah zones. At an altitude of 1200 to 2000 m there are mixed pine-oak and cedar forests. Even higher, in the zone of 2600-2900 m, coniferous forests grow.
Above 3000 m, alpine meadows begin, and a gradual approach to 5000 m is associated with the complete disappearance of vegetation. This is where the Nival Belt begins, that is, a zone with eternal glaciers. One of the features of the altitudinal zones of Africa can be considered a clear division of zones: savannas, snow, forests and meadows clearly replace each other.
Africa is a huge continent with a rich, unique flora and fauna. However, most of its expanses are covered with savannas, life in which is associated with alternating noticeable drought and intense rains. There are also many dangerous insects here, the bite of which can be fatal to humans.
Table "Natural zones of Africa"
Name of the natural area | Geographical location | Climate and precipitation | Soils | Flora and fauna |
Hard-leaved forests and shrubs | Northern and southern edges of the continent | Mediterranean climate. Precipitation: 600 mm per year | Brown soils | Animals: leopards, antelopes, zebras, hyenas, wild boars Plants: wild olives, pistachios, myrtle, tree heather, cedars of Lebanon, oaks and arbutus, and there are also beech groves |
Equatorial rainforests | Located along the equator, closer to the eastern part of the center of the continent | Equatorial climate. Average annual temperatures are 24°C. Precipitation: more than 2000 mm per year | Red-yellow ferrallitic soils | Animals: chimpanzees, baboons, monkeys, bongos, okapi, wild boars, leopards, civets, wild cats, parrots, rodents and numerous insects Plants: ficus, palm trees, ceiba, combret trees, rubber trees, banana trees, coffee trees, selaginella, fern, clubmoss, lianas |
Savannah | North and south of equatorial rainforests | Subequatorial climate. The average temperature of the hottest month is 30ºС or more, and the coldest month is 18ºС. Precipitation: about 2000-2500 mm per year | Red-brown soils | Animals: African savannah elephant, wild dogs, hyenas, black mamba, caracals, bear baboon, Egyptian mongoose, Grant's zebra, giraffes, buffalos, leopards, cheetahs, lions, Nile crocodiles, ostriches Plants: Senegal acacia, baobabs, Bermuda grass, elephant grass, medlar persimmon, mongongo, red-leaved combretum, twisted acacia, sickle-lobed acacia, euphorbia, aloe |
Tropical deserts and semi-deserts | Located far from the equator, occupy most of the north and south of the continent | Tropical climate. Daytime temperatures can exceed 50ºC, and night temperatures can drop below 10ºC. Precipitation: in deserts - up to 100 mm per year, in semi-deserts - up to 300 mm per year | Desert soils | Animals: rodents, Saharan hare, fennec fox, antelope, gazelles, camels, scorpions, snakes, lizards, desert lark Plants: date palms, acacias, camel thorn, velvichia, wild olives, succulents, xerophytes |