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Cause for Concern in Africa
Afrotropics
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Montane Grasslands and Shrublands
East African montane moorlands
At lower altitudes, forests have been destroyed to make way for tea, coffee, and conifer plantations. At higher altitudes, increased rates of human-caused fire are believed to have destroyed forest habitats, such as the cloud forests that have been lost on Mount Kilimanjaro.
Fires and tree cutting for fuel are the main threats to these montane forests. The conversion of natural habitat to agriculture is also a growing problem, especially in the lowlands. For the time being, high-altitude montane forests, grasslands, and heathlands are relatively well protected, but as land is lost at lower elevations, agricultural lands are encroaching higher into these areas.
Human population density in this region is high, and people's demands for farmland and other resources have already changed the landscape considerably. Since the early 20th century, only about five percent of the Ethiopian highlands have stayed forested. Some parts of the ecoregion are protected within the Simien Mountains and Bale Mountains national parks, but a difficult national political situation makes management challenging.
The human population is growing rapidly in this region. Activities such as high-altitude agriculture, shifting cultivation, heather fires, and overgrazing of livestock all threaten remaining blocks of habitats and wild species. Many wildlife populations are restricted to parks, but here, too, they are threatened by humans and their livestock.
Unfortunately, the only grassland habitat remaining in a near natural state in this region is restricted to just a few, small nature reserves. Since the Highveld Grassland is one of the best areas for farming in South Africa, much of this habitat has been converted for agriculture. Urban expansion, fire, coal mining, and overgrazing have also led to increased fragmentation of the habitat. Near towns, the invasion of exotic plants such as wattle and eucalyptus is a growing problem. The mass removal of peat is also of concern due to its very slow regeneration process.
Nigeria's human population is the largest in Africa, containing 25 percent of the continent's total population. As a result, the pressures exerted on natural resources are immense. Heavy grazing, mining, and cutting of trees have destroyed most of the dry forest that once covered this area. There are no reserves or protected areas in this ecoregion.
Like most of Madagascar, this ecoregion has lost much of its natural vegetation over the past century. Burning is the biggest threat to the ericoid thicket habitat, as fires set by humans to create pastureland spread to the higher elevations. Three of this ecoregion's four montane areas are included in protected areas.
Half of the habitat in this ecoregion has been altered and transformed for other uses. In many areas, erosion has led to stony, steep land covered with very shallow soils that cannot support vegetation, which has resulted in a loss of some mammal species. And because the ecoregion is neighbored by some of the most densely populated areas of Africa, habitat is continually being lost to crops such as tea, sugar cane, and maize. Furthermore, goats and other livestock are heavily overgrazing native vegetation near urban centers. Another major problem is the invasion of more than 130 species of alien plants.
Very few people live in these mountains, but population densities are increasing, causing problems for both plants and animals. Local human populations hunt the mountain gorillas for meat and cut down the forests for fuelwood and building materials. Agricultural development in higher elevations is leaving small "islands" of forest habitat. Unstable political conditions have limited tourism, but the possibility of mass development in the Ruwenzori area is a threat as increasing numbers of people come from all over the world to see the mountain gorillas. Much of this ecoregion lies in protected areas, but its mountainous habitats straddle political borders between feuding countries, making management difficult.
This ecoregion is found at the southern end of Malawi, just spilling over the border into western Mozambique. The central highlands include several valleys, including one that is the source of the Ruo River. The Ruo makes its way down Mt. Mulanje in a series of spectacular waterfalls. Lower elevations are dominated by woodland and forest, with forest stretching up the gorges onto the plateaus. Miombo woodland also exists in the foothills. The mid-altitude forest is home to Afromontane species, with grassland occuring widely on the plateaus. Near the summits, the high rock massif is dominated by grassland and heathland vegetation and represents one of the most important surviving habitats for Afromontane forest and heath. This ecoregion is hydrologically important: Virtually every river in the area stems from Mount Mulanje, supporting life on the surrounding lowlands.
