Africa - Flora, Fauna, Ecosystems

Africa

Table of Contents

Introduction
Geologic history
- General considerations
- Rock types and structural evolution
  - The Precambrian
  - The Paleozoic Era
  - The Mesozoic Era
    - Marine formations
    - Continental formations
  - The Cenozoic Era
    - Marine formations
    - Continental formations
    - Tectonic movements
    - Formation of the Red Sea
    - Volcanism and rifting
    - Pleistocene and Holocene developments
Land
- Relief
- Drainage
  - Nile basin
  - Niger basin
  - Congo basin
  - Zambezi basin
  - Orange basin
  - Chad basin
- Soils
  - Soil types
    - Desert soils
    - Chestnut-brown soils
    - Chernozem-like and black soils
    - Red tropical soils and laterites
    - Mediterranean soils
  - Soil problems
- Climate
  - Factors influencing the African climate
  - Climatic regions
- Plant life
  - Ecological relationships
  - Vegetational zones
    - Lowland rainforest
    - Eastern African forest and bush
    - Mangrove swamp
    - Broad-leaved woodland and grassland
    - Thorn woodland, grassland, and semidesert vegetation
    - Afromontane vegetation
    - Desert vegetation
    - Karoo-Namib shrubland
    - Highveld grassland
    - Mediterranean vegetation
    - Cape shrub, bush, and thicket
    - Madagascar
    - Sudd
  - Long-term changes in vegetation
    - Geologic influences
    - Climatic influences
    - Human influences
    - Conserving the vegetation
- Animal life
  - Genera and distribution
    - Mammals
    - Birds
    - Reptiles and amphibians
    - Arthropods
    - Aquatic life
    - Origin and adaption of African fauna
  - The effects of humans
  - Ecology
    - Animal life of particular interest
    - Conservation
    - Animals affecting land usage
People
- Culture areas
  - Northern Africa
  - Western Africa
  - West-central Africa
  - Eastern Africa
  - Central and Southern Africa
  - Madagascar
- Cultural patterns
  - Languages
  - Religions
  - Domestic groupings
- Demographic patterns
  - Population distribution
  - Settlement patterns
  - Migrations
Economy
- Resources
  - Mineral resources
    - Metallic deposits
    - Nonmetallic deposits
  - Water resources
    - Surface water
    - Groundwater
    - Availability for human use
  - Biological resources
    - Botanical resources
    - Animal resources
- Agriculture
  - Principal crops
    - Cereals and grains
    - Legumes and fodder
    - Tubers and root crops
    - Fruits and vegetables
    - Beverage crops
    - Fibres
    - Other cash crops
  - Livestock and fishing
- Industry
- Power
- Trade
  - Internal trade
  - External trade
    - Exports
    - Imports
- Transportation
  - Animal transport
  - Motor transport
  - Rail transport
  - Air transport
  - Navigation

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African vegetation develops in direct response to the interacting effects of rainfall, temperature, topography, and type of soil; it is further modified by the incidence of fire, human agriculture, and grazing and browsing by livestock. Of the total land area of the continent, forests cover about one-fifth; woodlands, bushlands, grasslands, and thickets about two-fifths; and deserts and their extended margins the remaining two-fifths. Until about two million years ago Africa’s vegetation had always been controlled by the interactions of climate; geology, soil, and groundwater conditions (edaphic factors); and the activities of animals (biological factors). The addition of humans to the ...(100 of 32999 words)

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