List of ecoregions in South Africa

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The following is a list of

Worldwide Fund for Nature
(WWF).

Terrestrial ecoregions

Listed by

major habitat type

Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests

  • Knysna-Amatole montane forests
     – Ecoregion of the tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests biome in South Africa
  • KwaZulu-Cape coastal forest mosaic
     – Subtropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion of South Africa
  • Maputaland coastal forest mosaic – Subtropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion on the Indian Ocean coast of Southern Africa.
  • Southern Zanzibar-Inhambane coastal forest mosaic
     – Tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion of eastern Africa

Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands

  • Kalahari Acacia-Baikiaea woodlands
     – Ecoregion in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe
  • Southern Africa bushveld
     – Sub-tropical woodland ecoregion of Southern Africa
  • Zambezian and mopane woodlands – Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands ecoregion of southeastern Africa.

Montane grasslands and shrublands

  • Drakensberg alti-montane grasslands and woodlands
     – High altitude ecoregion in South Africa
  • Drakensberg montane grasslands, woodlands and forests
     – Ecoregion in Swaziland, South Africa and Lesotho comprising grassy lower slopes of the Drakensberg
  • Highveld grasslands
     – Geographic region of the South African inland plateau
  • Maputaland-Pondoland bushland and thickets
     – Montane shrubland ecoregion in South Africa

Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub

  • Albany thickets – Afrotropic terrestrial ecoregion of dense woodland in South Africa
  • Lowland fynbos and renosterveld
     – Shrubland and heathland ecoregion of southwestern South Africa
  • Montane fynbos and renosterveld
     – Shrubland and heathland ecoregion of southwestern South Africa

Deserts and xeric shrublands

  • Kalahari xeric savanna
     – Semi-arid sandy savanna ecoregion in Southern Africa
  • Nama Karoo – Xeric shrubland ecoregion on the central plateau of South Africa and Namibia
  • Succulent Karoo – Desert ecoregion of South Africa and Namibia

Tundra

Mangroves

Freshwater ecoregions

by bioregion

Zambezi

  • Kalahari
     – Semi-arid sandy savanna in Southern Africa
  • Zambezian Lowveld

Southern Temperate

  • Amatole-Winterberg Highlands
  • Cape Fold
  • Drakensberg-Maloti Highlands
  • Karoo
  • Southern Kalahari
  • Southern Temperate Highveld
  • Western Orange

Marine ecoregions

  • Benguela ecoregion
     – Ecoregion off the coast of South Africa
  • Agulhas ecoregion
     – Ecoregion off the coast of South Africa
  • Natal ecoregion
     – Marine ecoregion on the eastern coast of South Africa
  • Delagoa ecoregion – Marine ecoregion on the eastern coast of southern Africa
  • Prince Edward Islands – Two small sub-Antarctic islands belonging to South Africa

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. "Marine Ecoregions of the World: A Bioregionalization of Coastal and Shelf Areas". Bioscience Vol. 57 No. 7, July/August 2007, pp. 573–583.
  • Thieme, Michelle L. (2005). Freshwater Ecoregions of Africa and Madagascar: A Conservation Assessment. Island Press, Washington DC.