The largest natural area in Africa. Natural areas. Africa is the mainland of the savannahs. Variable rainforest

It occupies the 2nd place in terms of area, and is also symmetrically located relative to the equator. Moreover, the northern part is wider than the southern one. The location of the natural areas looks very interesting. From north to south to: subtropics, savannas, variable humid forests, humid evergreen equatorial forests. After the equator, they go in a mirror image.

Variable rainforest

They are characterized by high humidity during the rainy season and severe drought. Vegetation is capable of shedding leaves during drought. In the rainfall season, they resemble equatorial forests with an abundance of vines. There are also much fewer species here than in humid and hard-leaved forests.

In the forests and tropics of Africa, the tsetse fly lives - the most dangerous insect that can infect a person with a virus that causes unbearable pain and fever.

Variable wet forests are located next to savannas and are often crossed with animal species. It is also home to tropical birds, monkeys of various species, and wild cats. Ferrolite soils of brown-yellow color predominate, on which bananas, ficuses, and coffee grow well.

Savannah

The natural area occupies up to 40% of the mainland. Dry seasons give way to rainy periods. A large area is occupied by soils of red-brown color, on which mainly grasses, cereals, some shrubs and baobabs grow, but trees are extremely rare. The subequatorial climate prevails.

In the savannah, everything turns green during the rainy season, and brownish-yellow during the dry season.

Despite the hot conditions, many unique birds such as ostriches and pelicans live here. A huge number is also presented: rhinos, giraffes, hippos, antelopes, elephants, buffaloes. People like lions, hyenas and leopards also live here.

A huge number of insects are found in savannas, the most annoying of which are mosquitoes and flies. There are also many species that can survive for a long time without water, and dangerous snakes.

Deserts and semi-deserts of the tropical type

Located at a distance from the equator, they occupy most of the north and south of the continent. Moreover, the farther the northern and southern points, the drier the air and less precipitation. Tropical deserts are gradually replaced by savannas. The climate prevails here.

The Namib Desert stretches in the south of the mainland, but the largest and driest is located in the north - the Sahara. There is no more than 50-100 mm of precipitation per year. But even in such hot conditions, there are different types of animals and insects.

But there are few plants here. Date palms grow in the oases, and acacias, succulents and xerophytes are found in some places in the desert. Creatures such as scorpions, various lizards, chameleons and snakes can easily do without water for many days, therefore they survive in the harsh conditions of the Sahara. Sandy and stony desert soils prevail in the desert zone.

High-altitude zones of Africa

- This is the Ethiopian Highlands, Kilimanjaro, the Atlas Mountains, as well as 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. Here begins the Nival belt, that is, the zone with eternal glaciers. One of the features of the altitudinal zoning of Africa can be considered a clear division of the belts: savannahs, 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 an alternation of significant drought and intense rains. Also, there are many dangerous insects, the bite of which can be fatal to humans.

Table "Natural areas of Africa"

Areas of subtropical evergreen forests and shrubs.

However, in the structure of the Northern and South Africa there are noticeable differences. In the massive, flattened continental northern part of the mainland, the zones are almost strictly elongated from west to east. The main areas here are occupied by tropical deserts and savannas. In a narrower and less arid part of the mainland, the zones acquire a direction close to the meridian. Under the influence from the oceans, the amount of precipitation decreases from the oceanic coasts to the central basins. But nowhere does it reach such small values \u200b\u200bas in the north (with the exception of the western coast with specific climatic conditions, the Namib desert). Central Territories - inland basins - occupied in South Africa by dry savannas and tropical semi-deserts. On the east coast, they give way to areas of humid savannahs and tropical forests.

The zone of humid equatorial forests (giles) occupies the coast of the Gulf of Guinea (approximately up to 7-8 ° N) and (between 4 ° N and 5 ° S). The zone covers only 8% of the mainland area. it is equatorial, hot and humid all year round. The large amount of heat and moisture contributes to the growth and year-round vegetation of rich woody. Gileas are rich in species composition (there are up to 100 tree species per hectare of forest!) And multi-tiered (4-5 tiers). Trees with a height of 40-50 m emerge into the upper tier, and sometimes they reach 60-70 m (oil and wine palms, ficuses, ceiba). In the lower tiers there are breadfruit, stake tree, terminalia, tree ferns, bananas, Liberian coffee tree. Ebony (black), red and iron trees have valuable timber. The trunks and crowns of trees are braided with lianas (rotant palm liana, landolfia and other climbing plants with thin, flexible and very long trunks). Epiphytic plants (orchids, ficuses, ferns, mosses) settle on the branches, trunks and even leaves. They use trees as support, and take moisture and nutrients from the air.

Fallen and dead leaves, fallen tree trunks in the equatorial forest decompose quickly, the formed organic matter is immediately consumed by plants and terrestrial fauna, therefore, their significant accumulation does not occur. In addition, this is facilitated by the constant leaching regime of the soil. Under the equatorial Africa developed mainly lateritic (from Lat. Later - "brick") red-yellow soils.

In equatorial forests, special ecological conditions are created for the existence of animals - vertically, in different tiers. The loose soil has a rich microfauna; a variety of invertebrates, shrews, snakes, lizards live. The ground layer is characterized by small ungulates, forest pigs, okapi (relatives of giraffes), near - pygmy hippos. Gorillas, the largest apes, live in this tier. In the crowns of trees there are many other monkeys (monkeys, colobus, chimpanzees), birds and insects are characteristic. Ants and termites are common in all tiers. Amphibians (frogs) settle everywhere, including on trees. This is facilitated by a large amount of air. The largest predator in equatorial forests is the leopard. He lies in wait for prey and rests in trees.

Gradually, in the north, south and east, humid equatorial forests are replaced first by a transitional zone of variable-moist deciduous forests, and then by a zone of savannas and woodlands. The change is caused by the appearance of a dry period and a decrease in the annual amount of precipitation with distance from the equator.

Savannahs, woodlands and shrubs subequatorial belt occupy huge territories in Africa - 40% of the mainland. Depending on the duration of the dry period, the annual amount of precipitation and the nature of the vegetation, there are wet, park, or tall grass, savanna, dry (typical) and deserted savanna.

Wet savannahs are common in areas where there is 1500-1000 mm of precipitation per year, and the duration of the dry period is about 2 months. On the wet savannah, evergreen gallery forests are developed, extending from the main massif of gili in equatorial Africa.

Typical savannahs are developed in areas with an annual rainfall of 1000-750 mm and a dry period of 3 to 5 months. In the northern part of the continent, they extend as a wide continuous strip within the subequatorial belt from to; in the southern hemisphere they penetrate almost to the southern tropic, occupy the northern part, and the plateau. A closed grass cover (elephant grass, bearded vulture, etc.) and small groves or single specimens of trees and shrubs (baobabs, acacia, mimosa, terminalia) are typical in the savanna. Trees and shrubs are equipped to protect themselves from frequent fires. Their leaves are usually small, hard, pubescent; the trunks are covered with thick bark; water is stored in the wood of some trees. And the umbrella shape of the crowns is not accidental: the shadow from such crowns covers the near-stem root system from the scorching rays of the sun.

In the rainy season, the savannah is a green sea of \u200b\u200blush grasses, trees bloom and bear fruit; in the dry season, the savannah becomes yellow and brown: the grasses burn out, the leaves from the trees fly around. In the deserted savannas, where the dry period lasts up to 8 months and the annual precipitation drops to 500-300 mm, tree-like euphorbia and aloe with fleshy thorny leaves are already growing.

In typical and deserted savannas, red ferralite soils containing iron and aluminum compounds or red-brown soils are formed. Savannah soils are more fertile than the soils of humid equatorial forests. In the dry period of the year, humus accumulates, since the decay processes of plant residues slow down due to a lack of moisture.

The rich grass cover of the savannah provides abundant food for large herbivores: antelopes (there are more than 40 species), zebras, buffaloes, rhinos. Giraffes and elephants feed on foliage and small tree branches. Predators are also diverse in savannas: lions, leopards, cheetahs; jackals and carrion-eating hyenas. Crocodiles and hippos live in the reservoirs. The world of birds is diverse: African ostriches, secretary birds, marabou, guinea fowls; along the banks of water bodies there are colonies of lapwings, pelicans, flamingos and herons. Reptiles (lizards, chameleons, snakes, land turtles), high earthen structures of termites. Among insects, the tsetse fly is dangerous, carrying the causative agents of sleeping sickness in humans and revolver disease in livestock.

Savannah animals since ancient times served as an object of hunting among local tribes. But while they were hunted with primitive weapons and only for the sake of food, the balance that had been established in nature was almost not disturbed. With the penetration of Europeans with firearms the mass destruction of animals began for the sake of ivory, rhino horns, crocodile skin, skins of predatory animals, ostrich feathers - everything that had and still has a high value on the world market.

To preserve the nature of savannas, to protect animals from complete extermination, the African governments create nature reserves and reserves. They are actively visited by tourists from many countries of the world and therefore bring some income. Most popular in Africa national parks Serengeti in Tanzania, Virunga in Zaire, Kruger in. They have a lot of scientific work... Some national parks are famous for their specialization in the protection of certain groups of animals. So, Amboseli attracts with an abundance of ungulates, Tsavo - with elephants, Mara-Masai - with lions, - a million population of small flamingos and other water birds.

To the north and south of the savannahs in Africa are zones of tropical deserts and semi-deserts. B is a grandiose (from north to south it stretches for 2 thousand km, from west to east - about 6 thousand km, area - 8.7 million km2). In South Africa - deserts and, the Namib desert on the Atlantic coast.

In the deserts of Africa - extreme climatic conditions... They do not have a season of stable precipitation. Annual precipitation does not exceed 100-200 mm; sometimes it doesn't rain for years. Extreme dryness of air, very high daytime and relatively low nighttime, dusty and sandstorms are characteristic.

Desert soils are primitive, “skeletal”. They are formed during active physical activity, accompanied by cracking and destruction. On the territory of the Sahara sandy “seas” - ergs, rocky deserts - hamads alternate; clay deserts on the site of former lakes or sea bays; salt marshes in the place of dried salt lakes. It is characteristic that the accumulation of sands (ergs) occupy only 20% of the Sahara.

The vegetation of the African deserts is extremely sparse and is represented mainly by xerophytes in the drier Sahara and succulents in better humidified South Africa. In the Sahara, cereals are represented by aristida and wild millet, from shrubs and semi-shrubs - acacia, tamarisk, ephedra. Succulents are characteristic of the Kalahari: aloe, milkweed, wild watermelons. Namib is a kind of velvichia plant.

The fauna of African deserts and semi-deserts has adapted to life in arid conditions. In search of scarce food and water, they can travel long distances (for example, small antelopes) or go without water for a long time (reptiles, camels). In the hot time of the day, many desert inhabitants dig deep into the sand or go into holes, and lead an active life at night.

The main economic activity in the deserts is concentrated in the oases. Individual peoples and tribes (Berbers in North Africa, Bushmen and Hottentots in the Kalahari) lead a nomadic life, engaging in cattle breeding, gathering and hunting.

Subtropical rigid-leaved evergreen forests and shrubs (zones) are represented in the far north and southwest of Africa. Forests of the Mediterranean type and stiff-leaved shrub formations occupy the northern slopes and foothills of the Atlas, in spots they are found on the elevated areas of the Libyan coast, on the windward slopes of the Cape Mountains.

Climatic conditions are distinguished by a clear seasonality: long dry and hot summers and humid warm winters. Territories of the Mediterranean zones are favorable for human life; all convenient lands have long been reclaimed for plantations of subtropical crops (olive tree, tangerines, oranges, grapevines, etc.). In North Africa, the maquis formation now dominates, consisting of dry-loving evergreen shrubs and low trees: strawberry tree, cistus, myrtle, laurel, oleander, etc. oak, Atlas cedar, Aleppo pine, tree juniper, cypress.

The formations of dry evergreen forests and shrubs in South Africa are distinguished by their endemism and peculiarity of the Cape flora. Finbosh - an analogue of maquis - consists of endemic species of proteaceae, heather, legumes with a characteristic bluish or silvery-gray foliage. Herbaceous plants are dominated by bulbous, rhizome and tuberous plants from the families of lily, iris, and amaryllis.

Wet Evergreen Equatorial Forests

The humid evergreen forests of the equatorial zone occupy the largest territory along the coast of the Gulf of Guinea and in the Congo Basin. These forests cover the coast of the Atlantic Ocean up to about 8º N. sh. The climate is constantly humid and hot.

In the northern and southern outlying areas, evergreen forests turn into deciduous and mixed (deciduous-evergreen) forests, the trees of which lose their foliage for 3-4 months - during the dry season. Mangroves dominate the coasts and river deltas that are flooded at high tide.

Wet rainforests grow on the east coast of Africa and in the eastern regions of Madagascar and are represented mainly by representatives of palm plants.

Figure 1. Humid equatorial forests in Africa. Author24 - online exchange of student papers

Primary rainforests can only be found in the central basin of the Congo. North of the Gulf of Guinea, they were replaced by low-growing secondary thickets. High tiers of forests are formed by ficuses, wine and oil palm, ceiba. In the lower tiers, ferns, bananas, and the Liberian coffee tree grow.

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There are few herbivores and carnivores in the equatorial African forest. There are forest antelopes, okapis, buffaloes, wild boars, hippos, leopards, wild cats, weavers, jackals, monkeys, lemurs, crocodiles. Of the rodents, the pint-tailed letfgi and tassel-tailed porcupines are common.

Savannah zone

Savannahs are surrounded by forests Equatorial Africa and pass through East and South Africa, Sudan for the southern tropic.

Depending on the annual amount of precipitation and the duration of the rainy season, there are such types of savannahs as:

1. Typical (dry) savannas. The dry season lasts up to 6 months. Precipitation falls up to 500-800 mm. The cereal cover grows no higher than 1 meter (temeda, bearded man, etc.). From woody plants grow palms (hyphaena, fan), acacias, baobabs, milkweed (in South and East Africa).
2. Tall grass savannas. They are located in areas where the dry season lasts from 3 to 4 months, and the annual precipitation is 800-1200 mm. Gallery evergreen forests, tall grasses (elephant grass up to 5 meters high), massifs of deciduous and mixed forests, groves on watersheds grow here in the valleys.
3. Deserted savannah. The dry season lasts up to 8-10 months. Precipitation is up to 300-500 mm. Thickets of thorny bushes (mainly acacia) are widespread, and the grass cover is sparse.

Remark 1

Most of Savannah originated in the place of reduced forests, shrubs and woodlands, representing the transition from humid evergreen forests to deserts.

Deserts

Deserts occupy the largest areas in northern Africa. Here is the world's largest desert - the Sahara.

The vegetation of the desert is sclerophilous, that is, it has a well-developed mechanical tissue, has hard leaves, and is distinguished by drought resistance. The vegetation is extremely sparse: in the southern regions of the desert - kustranik, in the northern regions - cereal and shrub. The vegetation is concentrated mainly on the sands and along the Oued channels. The most common is the date palm. Halophytes, salt-tolerant plants can be found in depressions

In South Africa, the Karoo and Namib deserts are succulent (the most typical are aloe, mesembriantemum, milkweed). There are many acacias in the Karoo Desert.

On the subtropical outskirts, African deserts turn into cereal-shrub semi-deserts. Alfa feather grass grows in the northern regions, in the south - numerous representatives of tuberous and bulbous.

Desert flora has adapted well to irregular rainfall, which is reflected in great variety physiological adaptations, creation of related and dependent communities, habitat preferences, reproduction strategies. Drought-resistant perennial grasses have a deep and extensive root system (up to 15-20 meters). Ephemera - Many herbaceous plants can produce seeds after being sufficiently hydrated in three days and sowing them thereafter for 10-15 days.

In the mountainous regions of the Sahara Desert, you can find relict Neogene vegetation, often related to the Mediterranean flora. Many endemics. Among the relict plants of mountainous regions, there are many cypress, olives, mastic, tamarisks, acacia, doom palms, dates, etc.

Figs, dates, fruit and olive trees, various vegetables, and some citrus fruits are cultivated in the oases. In many parts of the desert, herbaceous plants grow - field grass, trout, millet.

Salt-resistant grasses prevail on the Atlantic coastline. Various combinations of ephemerals form ashebs - seasonal pastures. There are a lot of algae in the reservoirs.

Remark 2

In many desert areas (hamads, rivers, sand accumulations, etc.), plants are completely absent.

Zone of evergreen hard-leaved forests

This natural area was formed in the subtropical climatic zonecharacterized by sultry summers and cool winter periods with strong moisture. The average annual rainfall is about 600 mm. Brown soils are present in the forests. They are characterized by a thick layer of humus and high fertility.

Deciduous-coniferous forests are widespread in the southeastern regions of Africa, evergreen rigid-leaved forests (mainly of cork) grow on the windward slopes of the Atlas mountain range.

As a result of anthropogenic human activity, the natural vegetation cover is significantly disturbed.

Up to 40 different valuable tree species (red, black, etc.) grow in the evergreen forests of Central Africa. Edible oil is obtained from the fruit of the oil palm, which has a high nutritional value, from the seeds of the cola tree - various alkaloids (mainly caffeine).

The vegetation is dominated by sclerophytes, which are characterized by:

• bark or cork on the trunk;
• branching almost to the ground;
• tough foliage that persists over the years;
• wax coating;
• high content of essential oils;
• deep penetration of roots into the soil (up to 20 meters).

In the north of hard-leaved and evergreen shrubs and forests, there are temperate forests; from the south, savannahs, deserts and tropical thickets approach.

A large number of macaques, mouflons, hares, gophers, marmots, turtles, snakes, and various lizards live in the forests. Lots of insects. Their avifauna are the most widespread bluebird, warbler, mockingbird.

The natural zones of Africa, like the climatic zones, are located on the mainland symmetrically to the equator, and their borders almost coincide. In the location of the zones, latitudinal zoning is well traced, which is due to the flat relief, the position between the tropics and the distribution of precipitation.

Natural areas of Africa

Four natural areas of Africa.

• Zone of humid evergreen equatorial forests occupies the Congo Basin and the coast of the Gulf of Guinea north of the equator. Many types of palms grow on red-yellow ferralite soils in the forests, including oil palms, ficuses, coffee trees, tree ferns, bananas, and numerous lianas. Plants have adapted well to high humidity conditions: they form many tiers, have tough, dense, often shiny leaves, supporting roots and other adaptations. Many animals live here in trees. Gorillas, chimpanzees and other types of monkeys live in the forests; leopards, forest elephants, okapi, pygmy hippos live; hundreds of species of birds, many insects, snakes, lizards and other animals. Equatorial forests are replaced by variable wet forests, and then savannas.
• Savannah zone located north, south and east of the equatorial forests. Savannahs occupy 40% of the mainland. Among the tall grasses grow baobabs, acacias with umbrella crowns, mimosas. Gallery forests stretch along the rivers. The abundance of herbaceous vegetation is a condition for the existence of many species of ungulates in the savannas: antelopes, buffaloes, zebras, rhinos. Elephants, giraffes, hippos live in the vast savannahs. There are also many predators here - lions, cheetahs, hyenas. Ostriches, marabou, secretary bird, etc. are typical birds.
• Zones of tropical deserts and semi-deserts occupy huge areas in Africa. To the north lies the world's greatest Sahara Desert. In the southwest of the mainland along the coast of the ocean stretches the barren Namib Desert. Soils in deserts do not form a continuous cover. In sandy areas, here and there, bunches of grasses and thorny bushes grow. Lichens settle on the stones. In the oases of the Sahara, the date palm is widespread. In the semi-deserts of South Africa, velvichia grows - a peculiar plant with a short (no more than 50 cm) thick trunk and two very long leaves (over 2-3 m). Small antelopes, lizards, snakes are characteristic of the African deserts; in the Sahara there are hyenas, jackals, lions, ostriches.
• Areas of evergreen hard-leaved forests and shrubs located in the far north and in the extreme south of the mainland in the subtropical climatic zone. The nature here has been greatly changed by man. Cultivated fields and plantations are located in the place of long-cut forests and shrubs.

Everyone remembers the map of the natural zones of Africa from the school geography course: the correct horizontal stripes defining the boundaries of climatic zones are almost symmetrical about the equator. The correct zoning is slightly disturbed only in the highlands, which are few on the African continent.

Rainforests

Variably and constantly humid tropical forests are located in the equatorial part of the continent. The red phosphate soils of this part of Africa are rather poor, but the proximity of the equator, year-round hot and humid weather, support lush, rich jungle vegetation in the Congo Basin and on the Atlantic coast of the Gulf of Guinea. The equatorial forests of Africa in the north and south of this area pass into deciduous and deciduous-evergreen mixed forests. Here, some or all of the trees lose their leaves during the dry season (3-4 months) and overgrow during the rainy season. Palm rainforests cover Madagascar and the adjacent East Coast.

Savannah

The savannah zone surrounds the forests of Central Africa. In the north, it occupies Sudan and its surrounding states, in the south it extends to the southern tropic, throughout southern and eastern Africa. Savannah is heterogeneous: with distance from tropical forests, it becomes typical at first from tall grass, and then deserted.

In the tall grass savanna, up to 1200 mm of precipitation falls annually, the rainless season lasts no more than 4 months. Here the soils of Africa are covered with dense and high grass cover. Elephant grass growing in high savannas can grow up to 5 m in height. Groves and large mixed or evergreen forests are found in river valleys and watersheds.

The dry season in the typical savannah zone lasts on average six months or more. It rains up to 800 mm a year. The spaces are covered with grass, which can either completely burn out or grow up to 1 m in height. The dry savanna is characterized by free-standing trees: various types of acacias and baobabs, as well as palms and arboreal euphorbia in the south and east of the continent.

The zone of deserted savanna with a meager annual rainfall (up to 500 mm) and a long dry period (9 months) is still overgrown with grasses and thorny bushes.

Deserts take up a huge part North Africa... The largest desert in the world, the Sahara, is located there. There is an extremely rare hard-leaved vegetation, adapted to arid conditions. In the north of the Sahara, these are cereals and shrubs, and in the south, only bushes. Vegetation can be found in the beds of periodically drying up rivers - uedov. For the economy of North Africa, the most important desert plant is the date palm. They are bred in oases.

In the deserts of South Africa: Karoo and Namib, scarce African soils, many succulents grow: aloe, milkweed, and also acacia shrubs. Behind the southern deserts, semi-deserts begin, overgrown with succulents, and tuberous and bulbous plants. There are also deciduous-coniferous forests and forests of hard-leaved trees such as cork oak.

In the northern part of the African continent, deserts turn into subtropics, semi-deserts, overgrown with grasses (feather grass) and shrubs.

Resources of the African continent

At one time, almost all the space of the African savannah was occupied by forests and woodlands. Such a large number of steppes on the continent is the result of centuries of deforestation and burning of the equatorial forests of Africa, cattle grazing. Despite this, the plant and animal resources of all natural areas of Africa are diverse, large and unique. In the central regions of the continent, more than 40 species of trees grow, giving valuable wood (black, mahogany). Palm trees, date and oilseeds, provide high-quality food productsfor export, as well as coffee, which is native to the Ethiopian Highlands. Cereals endemic to Africa: millet, sorghum, sesame, arose, castor oil plant, etc., have become part of world cuisine and culture. The new, acclimatized on the mainland crops include: cocoa, hevea, peanuts, cassava, cotton.

The resources of African fauna are no less rich: ivory and animal skins are widely known. Less known is that attempts are being made to farm ungulates for meat: antelopes, hippos, zebras, etc. Breeding European cattle breeds on the African continent is difficult because of the high mortality rate from tsetse fly bites. In the twentieth century, the number of endemic African animals of many species declined sharply due to their uncontrolled shooting. Only in the second half of the century, the situation began to improve thanks to a network of national parks created throughout the continent, in all natural zones of Africa. Many populations are now being restored and maintained.

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