TYPES OF VEGETATION IN AFRICA AND THEIR FEATURES (FOUR ZONES)

Vegetation is the species of plant coupled with the provided land cover. We are taking a look at the four types of vegetation in Africa, zones, and their features. It is a common word that had no basic reference to a significant geographical or botanical source, structure, spatial extent and life forms of any other dignified family and attributes. The word “flora” which means the composition of species is less expounded compared to Vegetation. Plant community probably is the most related word to Vegetation which can be referred to as spatial scales of wider margin with globally large scales. Under the classification of the word Vegetation are the following; deserves soil crusts, lawns, sphagnum bogs, Primeval redwood forests, cultivated gardens, coastal mangrove stands, sphagnum bogs, desert soil crusts, wheat fields, and roadside weed patches.

TYPES OF VEGETATION IN AFRICA

  1. Forests Vegetation
  2. Grasslands vegetation
  3. Deserts vegetation
  4. Tundra vegetation

Within a locality in Africa, the Vegetation Zone type that is actualized is solely determined by the impact of human, topography, soil formation, and climate.

FOUR TYPES OF VEGETATION ZONES IN AFRICA AND THEIR FEATURES

  • 1. Forest Vegetation:

A wide area of plant community predominantly dominated by tall trees forming a branch of foliage widely covering the surface of the earth and outgrowing strata with a good number of branches is referred to as Forest Vegetation. Trees that are found in the zone of Forest Vegetation are; willows, lichens, birches, mahogany, rosewoods, mosses, oaks, maple, mangroves and ashes. However, these trees are further categorized into coniferous-deciduous, evergreen and broadleaf species. Tropical rainforests, coniferous forests and temperate deciduous forests are the three divisions under Forest Vegetation in Africa.

  • 2. Grassland Vegetation:

the natural covering of plant with massive collections of all grass and other plant-related species and Vegetation are referred to as Grassland Vegetation, where the formation of grass-related Vegetation comes by nature. The temperate zone is the main location of most grasslands and its species with diverse names assigned to Grassland region from various part of the world. Some of the names and regions or countries are; South Africa – veld, Australia – Downs, Central Africa – Savannahs, South America – Pampas, Russia – Steppes, North America – Prairies. Its location on the globe is between latitude 23 0 N and 66 0 N across the Greenwich meridian in the direction of the Northern hemisphere and latitude 23 0 S and 66 0 S across the equator in the direction of the southern hemisphere.

Types Of Vegetation In Africa Zones
  • 3. Desert Vegetation:

A dry wine region dominated with both rocky soil and sandy soil with short shrub trees inclusive in the Vegetation occurring as patches and intermittently categorized with long tap roots, thorns, and coated wax leaves associated with are been referred to as Desert Vegetation. Coarse grasses, date palms, acacia, and cactus are all good examples of plant habitats in the ecosystem of the desert region. The existence of plants and animals’ habitats in the deserts Vegetation is very minimal accompanied with little or no rain but receives high temperature to the fullest. The Kalahari Desert, Indian desert, Atacama Desert, Sahara Desert, and South West Australia desert are all good for examples of Vegetations under the desert region.

  • 4. Tundra Vegetation:

North America, Asia, and Europe with the wide flat region with permafrost sporadically overwhelming the subsoil with the depth of around 1500 ft is referred to as Tundra Vegetation. In the tundra, Vegetation is lesser trees with short shrubs that are stunted such as sedges, lichens, and mosses. Highly dominating over the soil in this region is the permafrost which is as a result of dry winter occurring for a long period of time giving restrictions the growth and development of plants. The following plants are found in

in the tundra vegetation zones; junipers, lichens, mosses, arctic bluegrasses, catchfly, poppy, and willow trees,

VEGETATION ZONES IN AFRICA

Right from existence, Vegetation has been playing a crucial part in the ecosystem as a whole naturally, which also in diverse ways serves as an ally to the biosphere, by helping to control the operation of countless cells of biogeochemical, most especially for those in nitrogen, water, and carbon; it helps also in balancing energy or leverages both locally and globally. As mentioned earlier, ground full of diverse plants, a community of plant and plant cover with natural and plant vegetation inclusive are all referred to as Vegetation.

The vegetation best described as the characteristic species that are widely spread, or a mutual part of the assemblage, like a usual environment or an elevating margin. On the other side, Fredric Clement, an ecologist utilized the term earth cover in place of Vegetation equivalents, which is also expressed in the same manner by the Bureau of Land Management. Naturally, vegetation means human free or human’s undisturbed growth of plant life and having the climatic temperaments of the region as it’s monitor.

AFRICA’S MEANING OF VEGETATION

Vegetation in Africa term is any green plant of any family covering the surface of the earth or any green plant protruding beyond the earth crust. It is a region or environment predominantly grazed with plants without even a gap on the surface of the earth. Notwithstanding, Vegetation in Africa is classified into two main types; natural Vegetation and artificial or man-made Vegetation.

  • Natural Vegetation –

this Vegetation includes plants that do not need to be recovered by human actions and activities but grows naturally on their own in a particular region. Without carrying out any agricultural processes or human contribution, plants under natural Vegetation exists and grow naturally on their appointed regions. Mostly this type of negation occurs most in Savannah forest regions, where the newly germinated Vegetation and others recovered by the natural method are nurtured by the climate embodiment of the actual location.

  • Artificial Vegetation –

Artificial or man-made vegetation are most of the time referred to as traditional or cultural way of Vegetation or manor human-made cultivation and plantation sometimes referred to as cultural vegetation or that which is planted by man. The creator, pioneer, founder, overseer, and owner of this form of Vegetation is Human(man). In this case, Human uses the land for activities like biological difference conservation, water soil and environmental value protection, fertile land for wood and fiber production. Apparently, these two types of Vegetation in Africa are furthermore divided into four categories, which were discussed earlier.

Types of Vegetation Zones in Africa

IMPORTANCE OF VEGETATION ZONES TO AFRICA AND HUMANITY

  1. As vegetation encompasses all manner of plant species, they produce foods from the vegetable, carbohydrates, minerals, oils and protein classes such as plants are the main source of food for humans.
  2. Vegetation zones provide trees of various kinds and species utilized by humans as electric poles, in the construction of house and bridges and in paper products which are very essential to living things and human beings generally.
  3. Vegetation helps to regulate the flow of numerous Poisonous biogeochemical cycles composed of various chemical elements mixed together in the atmosphere due to pollution can only be controlled and regulated by Vegetation which produces enough oxygen capable of reducing the side effect, with the contribution of other elements under Vegetation such as carbon, nitrogen, and water.
  4. The essentiality of vegetation in our ecosystem is too much paramount as plants which can independently manufacture food on their own with photosynthesis process involving sunlight as an energy source and can also feed other living organisms solely relying on them as they are the food chain executor and for these features they (plant) are called primary producers.
  5. All plant parts such as the saps, roots, stems and the flowers of the plants are very useful and perform various purposes. Natural vegetation is a priceless gift from nature to every human, the following attributes prove that; leaves and flowers from trees serves as beautification and aesthetics, plant roots are useful in oil and fragrance extraction used in the cosmetics industry and production of useful oils and perfumes
  6. Vegetation among animals especially the carnivores and herbivores animals play an effective role, as Vegetation is used as camouflage by the carnivores and plant serves as a source of food to the herbivores
  7. The contribution of Vegetation to the world economy has been realistic and essential especially in the energy source sector by the usage of fossil fuels with the production of other materials like fuel, wood, food and the likes.
  8. Soil formation, chemistry, structure, texture, volume, and type are basically affected in a positive manner by Vegetation. The Vegetation attributes also have the tendency of increasing plant growth and productivity.
  9. Vegetation is an important natural resource that has helped the man with the provision of materials from some special trees by special means. Some of this material are; plastic, gum, wood, and paper that stands as raw materials for producing seats, wiring, tire, ropes, books among others.
  10. Some vegetative plants are very medicinal in nature such that they are usually utilized by pharmaceutical industries in producing drugs for curing sickness and life-threatening conditions. They are used traditionally as herbal treatment as well.
  11. The plant is too purposeful compared to animals where leather is the only product got from its hide, but plant on the other side, produce fabric and textile material from Jutes and cotton plants thereby providing clothes for the entire humanity.

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CONCLUSION ON THE FOUR TYPES OF VEGETATION IN AFRICA

As we can see that Vegetation as a free gift of nature, is very much important and useful to all living things on earth, therefore the only way to keep and promote this good gift functioning as the old is to curb the habit of deforestation and imbibe afforestation habit though planting of trees to keep the ecosystem and our environment at large safe and healthy for humanity.

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