The ecoregion encompasses several high mountains and plateaus north and east of
Lake Malawi.[1]
Climate
The ecoregion has a tropical highlands climate, generally cooler and more humid than the surrounding lowlands. Most rainfall occurs during the November to April wet season. Most rain comes from convectional thunderstorms originating over Lake Malawi.[2]
Flora
The predominant plant communities include montane grasslands, shrublands, and evergreen forests.
The
Rungwe dwarf galago, a newly-identified species in genus Galagoides, is found on
Mount Rungwe and nearby in the
Poroto Mountains and
Kipengere Range in Tanzania. It inhabits montane evergreen and bamboo forests. Specimens were first collected in the 1930s, but were identified as different species. A formal description of the species is presently being made.[5]
In the Kipengere Range,
Kitulo National Park,
Mpanga-Kipengere Game Reserve, and the Irungu (240.32 km²), Chimala Scarp (180.68 km²), Madenge (1,146 ha), Mdando (5,140 ha), Msiora (315 ha) and Sakaranyumo (840 ha) forest reserves.[7]
In Tanzania's
Umalila Mountains, the Umalila Catchment Forest Reserve, Mpara Catchment Forest Reserve, Kyosa Forest Reserve, Msimwa Forest Reserve, and Iyondo Forest Reserve.[8]
^"Southern Rift montane forest-grassland mosaic". World Wildlife Fund ecoregion profile. Accessed 1 September 2019.
[1]
^"Southern Rift montane forest-grassland mosaic". World Wildlife Fund ecoregion profile. Accessed 5 September 2019.
[2]
^"Southern Rift montane forest-grassland mosaic". World Wildlife Fund ecoregion profile. Accessed 2 September 2019.
[3]
^Ara Monadjem, Peter J. Taylor, Christiane Denys, Fenton P.D. Cotterill (2015). "Rodents of Sub-Saharan Africa: A biogeographic and taxonomic synthesis." Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG, 2015. pg. 900
^Charles Foley, Lara Foley, Alex Lobora, Daniela De Luca, Maurus Msuha, Tim R.B. Davenport, Sarah M. Durant (2014). "A Field Guide to the Larger Mammals of Tanzania". Princeton University Press, 2014.
^Tim R. B. Davenport, Noah E. Mpunga, and Sophy J. Machaga "Census and Conservation Assessment of the Red Colobus (Procolobus Rufomitratus Tephrosceles) on the Ufipa Plateau, Southwest Tanzania: Newly-Discovered, Threatened and Extinct Populations," Primate Conservation 22(1), 97-105, (1 January 2007).
https://doi.org/10.1896/052.022.0108
^BirdLife International (2019) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Livingstone Mountains forests. Downloaded from
http://www.birdlife.org on 06/09/2019.
^BirdLife International (2019) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Umalila Mountains. Downloaded from
http://www.birdlife.org on 02/09/2019.
^BirdLife International (2019) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Ntchisi Mountain Forest Reserve. Downloaded from
http://www.birdlife.org on 01/09/2019.
^"Southern Rift montane forest-grassland mosaic". World Wildlife Fund ecoregion profile. Accessed 1 September 2019.
[4]