ABSTRACT
Forests in eastern Africa show an amazing variety of structure and composition. This is to be expected, of course, as it is the result of the interplay between a large variety in environmental conditions and all kinds of human interactions. The altitudinal variation in the area is large, ranging from over one hundred metres below sea level to five thousand above. The area hosts the major mountainous area of the African continent and has a large number of peaks above 4000 metres above sea level. This gives rise to a large gradient in temperature. Rainfall conditions also vary tremendously, from very dry deserts to extremely wet rainforest and cloud forest systems in most countries. And soils vary from highly weathered old and poor soils to nutrient-rich volcanic soils that may support lush vegetation and are well suited for agriculture.
