Despite its ecological significance, SEAMA has one of the highest deforestation rates in Africa
Mount Mulanje and lush forests, Southern Malawi. Photo for representation: iStock Although modern humans have been on Earth for at least a 100,000 years, we have discovered very little about the lifeforms on the planet, which continues to spring ecological surprises every day.
Such is the case in the bountiful African regions considered the birthplace of modern homo sapiens.
A recent study in southern Africa, for instance, has unearthed a wealth of previously undocumented biodiversity in a newly recognised ecoregion called the South East Africa Montane Archipelago (SEAMA).
The mountainous SEAMA stretches across northern Mozambique to Mount Mulanje in Malawi, southern Africa’s second highest mountain.
The most comprehensively surveyed site in Malawi is Mount Mulanje, followed by Mangochi, Ndirande, Soche and Thyolo. In Mozambique, the most extensively and holistically studied sites are Mabu, Namuli and Lico. As many as nine Mozambique sites have never been scientifically surveyed.
The study published in the journal Nature Scientific Reports led by Professor Julian Bayliss and his team involved extensive research into the ecosystems’ geology, climate, uncovering hundreds of previously undescribed species.
In this study, the researchers recognised at least 30 sites (nine in Malawi, 21 in Mozambique) in the core of the SEAMA ecoregion.
The study documents 127 plants, 45 vertebrates (amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals) and 45 invertebrate species (butterflies, freshwater crabs) as well as two endemic genera of plants and reptiles.
There are 22 strictly endemic reptile species. Of these, 19 are forest-dependent and the others occur mainly in upland grasslands and on rock faces. As they predominantly occur in forests, SEAMA’s endemic reptiles are highly threatened by habitat loss.
This remarkable diversity has led to the proposal of demarcating SEAMA as a new ecoregion, recognising its global biological importance.
Over the past century, numerous biological surveys have been undertaken on the mountains in southern Malawi. Mount Mulanje in Malawi is known to host a bevy of endemic animal species.
But the mountains in northern Mozambique remained largely unstudied by biologists until recently due to a protracted war for independence (1964-74), followed by a civil war (1977–1992).
The biological surveys began in northern Mozambique only in the last 20 years. A series of scientific expeditions targeted sites in Mozambique, uncovering many species new to science and elucidating levels of shared endemism between these sites.
SEAMA has distinctly higher annual rainfall and humidity, especially in the dry season, compared to surrounding regions.
These findings prompted further surveys of other mountains in the region and resulted in new species descriptions, including many from Mount Mabu, which is now recognised to be the most extensive mid-elevation rainforest in southern Africa.
“Ecological regions (ecoregions) are widely used to inform global conservation priorities. They define large expanses of land or water, characterised by geographically distinct assemblages of animals and plants,” said Professor Bayliss, lead author of the study. “New ecoregion definitions are rare, and typically follow many years of research across a range of scientific disciplines.”
Despite its ecological significance, SEAMA faces severe deforestation threats, highlighting the urgent need for conservation initiatives.
Since 2000, it has lost 18 per cent of its primary humid forest cover (up to 43 per cent in some sites) — one of the highest deforestation rates in Africa.
The major cause of montane forest loss in SEAMA is slash and burn shifting agricultural practices, typically used for subsistence food production by local communities, along with charcoal production, for household cooking and as a source of revenue (sold on for use in urban areas).
Conservation agriculture practices and sustainable alternative livelihoods are required to address these threats throughout SEAMA ecoregion.
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