ABSTRACT
Vegetation types vary remarkably across southern Africa. These variations are a response to changes in climate, geology, altitude and soil type, with climate playing the more dominant role. Morphologically the savannas can be regarded as ecosystems with a continuous herbaceous layer and a discontinuous woody stratum. Trees form a major structural component of the tropical savannas, providing habitat for a diversity of species, and regulating biogeochemical processes at the ecosystem level. This chapter first discusses the distribution of the savannas across southern Africa, before providing a classification of the savannas, following which the threats to the savannas and their drivers are examined. It describes climatic conditions that prevail in southern African savannas and their ecological importance. The chapter outlines the ecological processes responsible for shaping the savannas, alongside the drivers behind these processes, including both those induced by natural and anthropogenic phenomena.
