• Map Of Eastern African Showing The Main Types Of Vegetation
• Characteristics Of The Main Types Of Vegetation In Eastern Africa
  
  • Tropical rainforest vegetation
    
    • Characteristics Tropical Rainforest Vegetation
  • Savannah Woodland Vegetation
    • Characteristics Savannah Woodland Vegetation
  • Savannah Grassland Vegetation
    • Characteristics Savannah Grassland Vegetaion
  • Swamp Vegetation
  • Mangrove Vegetation
  • Mountain Vegetation
  • Semi-desert Vegetation
    • Characteristics Semi-desert Vegetation
  • Desert Vegetation
    • Characteristics Desert vegetation

Vegetation

• Vegetation refers to plants that grow in a place.
• It consists of trees, bushes, grass and shrubs.
• The vegetation that grows on its own is called natural vegetation
• The vegetation that is planted is called planted vegetation
• Types of vegetation in eastern Africa
  
  1. Tropical rainforest vegetation
  2. Savannah woodland
  3. Savannah grassland
  4. Mountain vegetation
  5. Swamp vegetation
  6. Desert vegetation
  7. Semi-desert
  8. Mangrove vegetation

Map Of Eastern African Showing The Main Types Of Vegetation

Characteristics Of The Main Types Of Vegetation In Eastern Africa

Tropical Rainforest Vegetation

• Also called equatorial vegetation
• Found in equatorial climatic region

Characteristics Tropical Rainforest Vegetation

• Tall trees that form canopies
• Vegetation is evergreen
• Trees have straight trunks
• Trees have broad leaves
• Trees have buttress roots
• Forests are thick and dense
• Trees are mainly hardwoode.g.oak, teak, mvule, mahogany, ebony, camphor,obeche, iroko, heartwood, ironwood, rosewood, sapele, limba, okoune

Savannah Woodland Vegetation

• Comes immediately after tropical rainforests
• Mainly consist of trees

Characteristics Savannah Woodland Vegetation

• Trees are of medium height
• Trees are widely spaced ( scattered)
• Trees are deciduous
• Tall grass between the trees
• Tree tops are umbrella shaped
• Common trees are acacia and baobab
• Trees are deep rooted and have thick barks

Savannah Grassland Vegetation

• Mainly consist of grass and few scattered trees

Characteristics Savannah Grassland Vegetation

• Drought resistant vegetation
• Grass may grow upto 2m
• Tall elephant grass
• Few scattered trees
• Trees have thick barks
• Trees have thorny leaves
• Main trees are baobab, acacia, cacti, euphorbia

Swamp Vegetation

• Common in swampy regions, along rivers and shores of small lakes
• Mainly grows in poorly drained areas.
• Main vegetation are; Papyrus reeds, Water lilies
• Found in South sudan bahr-el-ghazal-sudd swamp, kyoga in Uganda, malagarasi swamp in Tanzania, amboseli swamp in Kenya

Mangrove Vegetation

• Grows in the muddy salty waters along shores of Indian ocean
• The mangrove trees they have breathing roots (aerial roots)
• Trees are mainly hardwood ever green and medium height
• Is found along the shores of Indian ocean and mouths of r.ruvuma, r.juba

Mountain Vegetation

• Grows on the slopes of mountains
• Is widespread on the windward sides of the mountains
• Vegetation changes as altitude increases
• Vegetation is mainly influenced by the altitude
• Is also called alpine or montane vegetation from top to bottom the vegetation ranges from bare rocks, health and moorland , bamboo, rain forest and savannah.

Semi-desert Vegetation

• Found in areas with rainfall between 250mm-500mm

Characteristics Semi-desert Vegetation

• Short scanty thorny bushes
• Short tough and scattered patches of grass
• Vegetation is drought resistant with modified for thorns
• Common plants cactus, baobab and euphorbia

Desert Vegetation

• Found in areas with rainfall less than 250mm

Characteristics Desert vegetation

• Stunted plants
• Plants have thorny or needle-like leaves ( catus is the most common plant)
• Large section of Ground is bare
• Plants have thick fleshy stems
• Plants are deep rooted
• Spiky scanty grass
• Found in true deserts e.g. Kaisut and chalbi and taru deserts

• Types of Vegetation in Eastern Africa
  • Tropical rainforest vegetation
  • Savannah woodland
  • Savannah grassland
  • Swamp vegetation
  • Mangrove vegetation
  • Mountain vegetation
  • Semi-desert vegetation
  • Desert vegetation
• Factors that influences vegetation distribution

What is Vegetation?

• Vegetation refers to all plant cover on the surface of the earth It cosists of grasses,trees,bushes,thickets and shrubs
• Vegetation can either be natural or planted

Types of Vegetation in Eastern Africa

1. Tropical rainforest vegetation
2. Savannah woodland
3. Savannah grassland
4. Mountain vegetation
5. Swamp vegetatio
6. Desert and semi-desert
7. Mangrove vegetation

1. Tropical rainforest vegetation

   • Also called equatorial vegetation
   • Found in equatorial climatic region
     
     Characteristics
     1. Tall trees that form canopies
     2. Vegetation is evergreen
     3. Trees have straight trunks
     4. Trees have broad leaves
     5. Trees have buttress roots
     6. Forests are thick and dense
     7. Trees are mainly hardwood e.g.oak, teak, mvule, mahogany, ebony, camphor,obeche, iroko, heartwood, ironwood, rosewood, sapele, limba, okoune
        
        

2. Savannah woodland

   • Comes immediately after tropical rainforests
   • Mainly consist of trees
     
     Characteristics
     1. Trees are of medium height
     2. Trees are widely spaced compared to equatorial
     3. Trees are decidiuos
     4. Tall grass between the trees
     5. Tree tops are umbrella shaped
     6. Common trees are acacia and baobao
     7. Trees are deep rooted and have thick barks
   • Examples of woodland savannah
     1. Miombo woodland in central tanzania
     2. Shimba hills forests in kwale county
     3. Southern sudan
     4. Karamoja district of uganda
        
        

3. Savannah grassland

   • Mainly consist of grass and few scattered trees
     Characteristics
     1. Drought resistant vegetation
     2. Grass may grow upto 2m
     3. Tall elephant grass
     4. Few scattered trees
     5. Trees have thick barks
     6. Trees have thorny leaves
     7. Main trees are baobab,acacia, cacti, euphobia

4. Swamp vegetation

   • Common in swampy regions
   • Mainly grows in poorly drained areas
   • Main vegetation are;a. Papyrus reeds
   • Water lilies
   • Found in
     1. South sudan Bahr-El-Ghazal-Sudd swamp
     2. L. kyoga in Uganda
     3. Malagarasi swamp in Tanzania
     4. L.amboseli swamp in Kenya
        
        

5. Mangrove vegetation

   • grows in the mudd salty waters along shores of Indian Ocean
   • They have breathing roots(aerial roots)
   • Trees are mainly hardwood
   • Is found along the shores of idian ocean and mouths of R.ruvuma, R.juba
     
     

6. Mountain vegetation

   • grows on the slopes of mountains
   • is widespread on the winward sides of the mountains
   • vegetation changes as altitude increases
   • vegetation is mainly influenced by the altitude
   • is also called alphine or montane vegetation
     
     

7. Semi-desert vegetation

   • Found in ares with rainfall between 250mm-500mm
     
     Characteristics
     1. Short scanty thorny bushes
     2. Short tough and scattered patches of grass
     3. Vegetation is drought resistant with modified for thorns
     4. Common plants cactus, baobab and euphorbia
        
        

8. Desert vegetation

   • Found in areas with rainfall less than 250mm
     
     Characteristics
     1. Stunted plant
     2. Plants have thorny or needle-like leaves
     3. Ground is bare
     4. Plants have thick fleshy stems
     5. Plants are deep rooted
     6. Spinky scanty grass
     7. Found in true deserts e.g.
        1. Kaisut and chalbi and taru deserts
        2. Nubain desert
        3. Ogaden desert

Factors that influences vegetation distribution

1. Climate
2. Soils
3. Relief
4. Drainage
5. Human activities
6. Government policies

• Vegetation Zones in Africa
• Factors Influencing Distribution of Vegetation
• Characteritics of Vegetation in Different Zones
  • Tropical Rainforests
  • Savannah Vegetation
  • Mediterranean Vegetation
  • Desert and Semi-desert Vegetation
  • Temperate Grassland Vegetation
  • Mangrove Vegetation
  • Mountain Vegetation

Vegetation refers to the total plant life/cover on the earth sorface.
It consists of trees, bushes, thickets and grasses.
We have natural vegetation and planted vegetation.

Natural vegetation
This is a type of vegetation that grows on its own

Planted vegetation
Also called man-made or artificial vegetation
This is a type of vegetation cultivated by human beings.

Vegetation Zones in Africa

1. Tropical rainforest
2. Savannah vegetation
3. Mediterranean vegetation
4. Temperate grassland vegetation
5. Mountain vegetation
6. Desert and semi desert vegetation
7. Mangrove vegetation

Factors Influencing Distribution of Vegetation

1. Climate
2. Altitude an relief
3. Soils
4. Human activities
5. Government policy
6. Animal activities

Characteritics of Vegetation in Different Zones

Tropical Rainforests

It is also called equatorial vegetation
Is located latitude 5°N and 5°S of equator.
Are found in equatorial climatic zone.
Are found in:

• Eastern madagascar
• Gabo
• Congo
• Ghana
• Cote d ivoire
• Cameroon
• Nigeria
• Benin
• Togo

Characteristics

1. Tall evergreen trees
2. Tops of trees form layers called canopies
3. Trees have straight trunks
4. Trees have buttress roots
5. Trees have broad leaves
6. The forest has little or no undergrowth
7. Has climbing plants such as lianas
8. Consists of different tree species
9. Trees are mainly hardwood e.g.
   
   • Oak
   • Ebony
   • Obeche
   • Rosewood
   • Sapele
   • Camphor
   • Teak
   • Mahogany
   • Iroko
   • Ironwood
   • Mvule
   • Heartwood.

Savannah Vegetation

It covers the largest portion of africa
Is found between 5°N and 15°S of equator
Grows in tropical type of climate
It is made up of; savannah woodland and savannah grassland

Savannah Woodland

1. Main vegetation are trees
2. Trees are of medium height
3. Trees have umblerra shape at the top
4. Trees are widely spaced
5. Trees are decidious
6. Tall grass grow between the trees
7. Trees have thick barks and deep roots
8. Main trees are acacia and baobao

Savannah Grassland

1. Main vegetation is grass
2. Is made up of grass and trees
3. Trees are few and scattered
4. Grasses are tall and have stiff blades
5. Main trees are acacia and baobao
6. Trees have small leaves and thorns
7. Trees have dep roots and thick barks
   Examples of savannah woodland in africa
   • Miombo woodland in tanzania
   • Shimba hills forest of kenya
   • Zambia
   • Malawi
   • Angola

Mediterranean Vegetation

Also called marguis vegetation
Grows in the mediterranean climatic zone

Characteristics

1. Is made up of woodland(trees)and shrubs
2. Trees are short and thin
3. Main trees are oak, olive, fir, cedar, beech, pine, cypress, parasal.
4. Trees are short and cone shaped
5. Trees have small hard evergreen leaves
6. Trees have deep taproots and thick stems
7. Aromatic shrubs such as thyme, lavender, rosemary, aloe, sage.
8. Other plants have fleshy stems and shiny leaves.

Desert and Semi-desert Vegetation

Found in areas experincing arid and semi-arid climate
Found in sahara and namib desert, kalahari and sahel regions
Consists mainly of drought resisitance shrub

Characteristics

1. Mainly includes fleshy and thorny plants e.g.cactus and euphorbia
2. Plants are deep rooted
3. Plants have thin, spiky needle shaped leaves
4. Scattered thorny bushes and tough bunch of grass
5. Plants store water in fleshy stems and leaves
6. In some places the ground is bare

Temperate Grassland Vegetation

Grows in warm temperate climatic zone
Is also called the veld
Main vegetation is grass

Characteristics

1. Tuft/short grass and shrubs
2. Grass turns yellow-brown during the dry season
3. Has shrubs,bulbons plants and few trees.
4. Few trees are found along the river valleys.

Mangrove Vegetation

Is found along the muddy coasts of eastern and western africa.

Characteristics

1. Trees grows in salty water
2. Trees are hardwood and of medium height.
3. Trees are evergreed and they grow close together
4. Trees have aerial/breathing roots above the water surface.

Mountain Vegetation

Is found in the highlands and mountain regions
It grows in belts or zones according to the altitudes
It changes with increase in altitude
It is also known as afro-alpine vegetation
At average altitude above 400m there is no vegetation.
It grows on the slopes of :

1. Nyandarua ranges
2. Cameroon highlands
3. Ethiopia highlands
4. Atlas mountains
5. Mt.kilimanjaro
6. Mt.kenya