Subtropical Southern African Rainforests

The subtropical forests of southern Africa represent a remarkable vegetation and ecological anomaly in that they extend as far as latitude 34° S, well into the warm-temperate thermic zone. Their occurrence at these extreme southerly latitudes can be ascribed to the strong onshore influence of the warm Agulhas Current of the Indian Ocean. The Southern African Subtropical Rainforests in the southern half of Mozambique are a continuation of the tropical coastal forests further north along the Mozambique–Tanzania coast. Although they still can be classified as a member of the zonobiome E1 (Equatorial Zone; its subtropical global biome section), in Southern Africa, they acquire a transitional bioclimatic character through rainfall-depression becoming evident during the austral-winter season. In the study area, these forests are represented by two core regional biomes (Mozambique Tropical Lowland Forest and African Subtropical Coastal Forest) and three extrazonal (scarp) forest biomes, namely Tropical Scarp Forest, Subtropical Scarp Forest, and Albany Coastal Forest—all of the relict character.