Miombo Ecoregion Vision Report - Biodiversity Foundation for Africa

Miombo Ecoregion Report, page 48
Mwinilunga district extending down to West Lunga. The area is a transition zone between the
Miombo Ecoregion and the Congolian rainforest ecoregion. It is very diverse with species from
both regions. The main vegetation type is wet miombo, but there are significant inclusions of
dambo grassland, swamp, swamp forest and dry evergreen forest, including that dominated by
Cryptosepalum. Chipya (Acacia–Combretum woodland) is also present.
Plant diversity is very high in a small area (around 1000 woody species) owing to a mixture of
Zambesian and Congolian elements, and there at least 53 species of restricted distribution
(possibly endemic). The area has high small mammal diversity and four endemics (Crocidura
ansellorum, Malacomys australis, Rhinolophus sp. nov., Graphiurus monardi). Bird diversity is
high with many species of Congolian affinity (e.g. African Wood-pigeon, Honeyguide
Greenbul). A rich herpetofauna (57 reptiles, 35 amphibians) includes Congolian elements. Fish
diversity is high, as elsewhere in the upper tributaries of the Zambezi. Both butterfly diversity
and endemism are high (e.g. Euptera freyja, Spindasis pinheyi, Kedestes pinheyi), and the area is
very rich in dragonflies.
There are no protected areas except for the West Lunga National Park in the south and several
small Forest Areas in Zambia. The Ikelege pedicle is a National Heritage site. Protected status in
the DRC and Angola is not known.
The area is important for hydrological processes and for water catchment protection. It is also as
a carbon sink. The major threat is severe deforestation, much of it associated with refugees
fleeing the instability in Angola and the DRC resulting in much new settlement and overexploitation
of natural resources, including game animals. Uncontrolled bush fires are also a
problem. There is significant apicultural potential, but debarking of Brachystegia trees to make
hives is a threat in some areas. Various community-based afforestation schemes using indigenous
species are in place.
3. UPPER ZAMBEZI WOODLANDS & FLOODPLAINS
An extensive area of wetland, grassland, Baikiaea woodland, wet and dry miombo woodland and
Cryptosepalum forest on Kalahari sands in western Zambia and adjacent eastern Angola,
extending from Senanga north through Mongu and Zambezi into Angola, and incorporating the
Liuwa and similar plains. It covers the Zambezi (Bulozi) floodplain, pans and surrounding level
plateau of the middle reaches of the Upper Zambezi.
There are 80–100 plant endemics or species with their core distribution in the area, particularly
woody suffrutices. A significant proportion of the total extent of Cryptosepalum forest is
incorporated. The only true mammal migration in the ecoregion – of wildebeest – occurs between
the Liuwa plains and eastern Angola, an area that also supports good populations of roan
antelope, tsessebe and wild dog. The grasslands contain a number of isolated populations of
Cisticola warblers, possibly undergoing speciation, and the wetlands support a high waterbird
diversity and abundance. Significant numbers of Wattled Crane are found. A rich herpetofauna
(70 reptile and 34 amphibian species) reflects a mixture of Congolian, Kalahari, miombo and
East African elements. There are five endemic reptiles (Typhacontias gracilis, Typhlosaurus
jappi, Zygaspis nigra, Dalophia ellenbergeri, Rhamphiophis acutus jappi) and an endemic frog
(Hemisus barotseensis). The Upper Zambezi, of which this area is a core component, has been an
important centre for fish evolution, and the ichthyofauna is still largely intact, with a high
diversity of 90 species.