Sudanian savanna: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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{{short description|African ecoregionregion south of the Sahel}}

{{About|the bioregion to the south of the Sahel|the two neighboring countries in North-eastern Africa|Sudan|and|South Sudan}}

[[File:AT0722 map.png|thumb|[[West Sudanian savanna]] (green) in [[West Africa]]]]

{{Infobox ecoregion

[[File:AT0705 map.png|thumb|[[East Sudanian savanna]] (green) in [[Central Africa|Central]]–[[East Africa]]]]

|name = Sudan bioregion<br />بِلَادُ السُّوْدَان

|image = Kob ewes Image02.jpg

|image_size =

|image_alt =

|caption = Throughout the Sudan region's [[savanna]] grasslands, [[kob]] are found migrating along freshwater bodies

|map = {{multiple image|image1=Ecoregion_AT0722.svg|image2=AT0705_map.png|border=infobox|total_width=300}} <!-- [[c:Commons:Deletion requests/Files found with insource:/bonnerzoologis462000bonn/|Bonner zoologische Monographien (2000) (20385441742), gefärbt.png]] -->

|map_size =

|map_alt =

|map_caption = Extension of the [[West Sudanian savanna|western]] and [[East Sudanian savanna|eastern]] ecoregions comprising the Sudan bioregion and divided by the [[Mandara mountains]] <!-- [[Ecoregion]]s of [[Sub-Saharan Africa]] after [[Frank White (botanist)|White]] showing Sudan's approximate extension (5) -->

|biogeographic_realm = [[Afrotropical realm|Afrotropical]]

|biome = [[Tropical savanna]]

|animals = [[African bush elephant|elephant]], [[cheetah]], [[northern giraffe|giraffe]], [[lion]], [[African buffalo|buffalo]], [[kob]]

|border1 = [[Sahel]]

|border2 = [[Sudd]]

|border3 = [[Northern Acacia–Commiphora bushlands and thickets|Northern Acacia–Commiphora]]

|border4 = [[forest–savanna mosaic]]s ([[Victoria Basin forest–savanna mosaic|Victoria Basin]], [[Mandara Plateau mosaic|Mandara Plateau]], [[Northern Congolian forest–savanna mosaic|Northern Congolian]], [[Guinean forest–savanna mosaic|Guinean]])

|borders =

|area = 2550451

|country =

|countries =

|state =

|region_type =

|elevation =

|coordinates =

|geology =

|seas =

|rivers = [[White Nile]], [[Niger River|Niger]] and [[Chari River|Chari]]

|climate = [[Tropical savanna climate|Tropical savanna (''Aw'')]]

|soil =

|conservation = Critical/endangered

|global200 = [[Global 200#Afrotropic 2|priority]]

|habitat_loss =

|habitat_loss_ref =

|protected = {{#expr:460413/2550451*1e2round1}}

|protected_ref = <ref>{{cite web |title=East Sudanian savanna {{!}} DOPA Explorer |url=https://dopa-explorer.jrc.ec.europa.eu/ecoregion/30705 |website=dopa-explorer.jrc.ec.europa.eu}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dinerstein |first1=Eric |last2=Olson |first2=David |last3=Joshi |first3=Anup |last4=Vynne |first4=Carly |last5=Burgess |first5=Neil D. |last6=Wikramanayake |first6=Eric |last7=Hahn |first7=Nathan |last8=Palminteri |first8=Suzanne |last9=Hedao |first9=Prashant |last10=Noss |first10=Reed |last11=Hansen |first11=Matt |last12=Locke |first12=Harvey |last13=Ellis |first13=Erle C |last14=Jones |first14=Benjamin |last15=Barber |first15=Charles Victor |last16=Hayes |first16=Randy |last17=Kormos |first17=Cyril |last18=Martin |first18=Vance |last19=Crist |first19=Eileen |last20=Sechrest |first20=Wes |last21=Price |first21=Lori |last22=Baillie |first22=Jonathan E. M. |last23=Weeden |first23=Don |last24=Suckling |first24=Kierán |last25=Davis |first25=Crystal |last26=Sizer |first26=Nigel |last27=Moore |first27=Rebecca |last28=Thau |first28=David |last29=Birch |first29=Tanya |last30=Potapov |first30=Peter |last31=Turubanova |first31=Svetlana |last32=Tyukavina |first32=Alexandra |last33=De Souza |first33=Nadia |last34=Pintea |first34=Lilian |last35=Brito |first35=José C. |last36=Llewellyn |first36=Othman A. |last37=Miller |first37=Anthony G. |last38=Patzelt |first38=Annette |last39=Ghazanfar |first39=Shahina A. |last40=Timberlake |first40=Jonathan |last41=Klöser |first41=Heinz |last42=Shennan-Farpón |first42=Yara |last43=Kindt |first43=Roeland |last44=Lillesø |first44=Jens-Peter Barnekow |last45=Van Breugel |first45=Paulo |last46=Graudal |first46=Lars |last47=Voge |first47=Maianna |last48=Al-Shammari |first48=Khalaf F. |last49=Saleem |first49=Muhammad |title=An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm |journal=BioScience |date=June 2017 |volume=67 |issue=6 |pages=534–545 |doi=10.1093/biosci/bix014}}</ref>

|embedded =

}}

The '''Sudanian savanna''' or '''Sudan region''' is a broad belt of [[tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublandsTropics|tropical]] [[savanna]] that runs east and west across the [[Africa|African continent]], from the [[AtlanticEthiopian OceanHighlands]] in the westeast to the [[EthiopianAtlantic HighlandsOcean]] in the eastwest. TheIt represents the central [[Sahelbioregion]], awithin beltthe ofbroader drier[[Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands|tropical savanna biome]] of the [[Afrotropical realm]]. The [[Sahel|Sahel acacia savanna]], savannasa belt of drier grasslands, lies to the north, forming a [[ecotone|transition zone]] between the Sudanian savanna and the [[Sahara|Sahara Desert]] [[phytochorion]]. To the Sudan's south, the more humid [[forest-savanna mosaic]] forms a transition zone between the Sudanian savanna and the [[Guineo-Congolian forests]] that lie nearer the equator.

== EcoregionsEtymology ==

The name ''Sudan'' derives {{ety|ar|''{{lang|ar|بلاد السودان}}'' ({{transliteration|ar|bilād as-sūdān}})|Land of the [[Black people|Blacks]]}}, referring to Africa south of the Sahel.<ref>{{citation | author = International Association for the History of Religions | title = Numen | publisher = EJ Brill | place = Leiden | year = 1959 | page = 131 | quote = West Africa may be taken as the country stretching from Senegal in the west, to the Cameroons in the east; sometimes it has been called the central and western Sudan, the ''Bilad as-Sūdan'', 'Land of the Blacks', by the Arabs}}.</ref>

The [[World Wide Fund for Nature]] divides the Sudanian savanna into two [[ecoregion|ecoregions]], separated by the [[Mandara Mountains]]. The [[West Sudanian savanna]] runs from the Atlantic Ocean to eastern Nigeria.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://worldwildlife.org/ecoregions/at0722 |title=West Sudanian savanna |publisher=World Wide Fund for Nature |access-date=1 November 2016}}</ref> The [[East Sudanian savanna]] extends eastwards from the Mandara Mountains to the [[Gambela Region|western lowlands]] of [[Ethiopia]].<ref name=WWFeast>{{cite web |url=http://www.worldwildlife.org/ecoregions/at0705 |title=East Sudanian savanna |publisher=World Wide Fund for Nature |access-date=1 November 2016}}</ref>

== Physiographic province ==

The Sudanian savanna is one of [[List of the physiographic regions#African massive|the three]] distinct [[Physiographic province|physiographic provinces]] of the larger African Massive division. Physiography divides this province into three distinct physiographic sections, the [[Niger River|Niger Basin]], the [[Lake Chad Basin]], and the [[Middle Nile Basin]].<ref name=WWFeast/>

== Ecoregions ==

The [[World Wide Fund for Nature]] divides the Sudanian savanna bioregion into two [[ecoregion]]s, separated by the [[Mandara Plateau mosaic|Mandara Plateau]]:

* The [[East Sudanian savanna]] in [[East Africa|East]] and [[Central Africa]] extends westwards from the [[Gambela Region|western lowlands of Ethiopia]] to the [[Mandara Mountains]].<ref name=WWFeast>{{cite web |url=http://www.worldwildlife.org/ecoregions/at0705 |title=East Sudanian savanna |publisher=World Wide Fund for Nature |access-date=1 November 2016}}</ref>

* The [[West Sudanian savanna]] in [[West Africa]] runs from [[Adamawa State|eastern Nigeria]] to [[West Coast Division (The Gambia)|The Gambia West Coast]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://worldwildlife.org/ecoregions/at0722 |title=West Sudanian savanna |publisher=World Wide Fund for Nature |access-date=1 November 2016}}</ref>

== Geography ==

The area is predominantly a [[plateau]] with [[river valleys]] of the [[White Nile]], [[Chad Basin|Chad]] and [[Niger (river)|Niger]]. It extends over {{cvt|5000|km}} in a band several hundred kilometers wide across Africa. It stretches from the Atlantic Ocean in [[Senegal]], through southern [[Mali]] (known as [[French Sudan]] when it was a [[list of French possessions and colonies|French colony]]), [[Burkina Faso]], southern [[Niger]], northern [[Ghana]], northern [[Nigeria]], southern [[Chad]], [[Central African Republic]], southern [[Sudan]] and [[South Sudan]] to the [[Ethiopian Highlands]].

== Climate ==

Average annual temperatures range from {{cvt|23 to 29|C}}. Average temperatures in the coldest months are above {{cvt|20|C}} and above {{cvt|30|C}} in the hottest months. Daily temperatures fluctuate by up to {{cvt|10-15|C}}. The summer [[African monsoon|monsoon]] brings rain from the equator. Annual precipitation ranges from {{cvt|100-200|mm}} in the north to {{cvt|1500-2000|mm}} in the south. During the dry winter season ([[Köppen climate classification#Aw: tropical savanna climate with dry-winter characteristics|Köppen ''Aw'']]), the [[Harmattan]] northeasterly wind is bringing hot and dry air from the Sahara.

== Flora ==

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==Land use==

The Sudanian savanna is used by both pastoralists and farmers. Cattle are predominantly the livestock kept, but in some areas, sheep and goats are also kept. The main crops grown are [[sorghum]] and [[millet]] which are suited to the low levels of rainfall. With increasing levels of drought since the 1970s, pastoralists have needed to move southwards to search for grazing areas and have come into conflict with more settled agriculturalists.<ref name=Jayalaxshmi>{{cite book|author1=Jayalaxshmi Mistry |author2=Andrea Beradi|title=World Savannas: Ecology and Human Use|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A0qDBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA124|year=2014 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-88013-4 |pages=124–127}}</ref>

== History ==

According to some modern historians, of all the regions of Africa, western Sudan "is the one that has seen the longest development of agriculture, of markets and long-distance trade, and of complex political systems." It is also the first region "south of the Sahara where African [[Islam]] took root and flowered."<ref>Klein, Martin A. (1998). ''Slavery and Colonial Rule in French West Africa''. Cambridge University Press. p. 1.</ref>

=== Middle Ages ===

Its medieval history is marked by the [[Trans-Saharan trade|caravan trade]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Encyclopaedia of Islam IX |pages=752, 758. }}</ref> The [[sultanate]]s of eastern Sudan were [[Sultanate of Darfur|Darfur]], [[Sultanate of Bagirmi|Bagirmi]], [[Sultanate of Sennar|Sennar]] and [[Wadai Sultanate|Wadai]]. In central Sudan, [[Kanem–Bornu Empire]] and the [[Hausa Kingdoms]]. To the west were [[Wagadou]], [[Mandé peoples|Manden]], [[Songhai Empire|Songhay]] and the [[Mossi people|Mossi]]. Later, the [[Fula people]] spread to a wide area.<ref>{{cite book |title=Encyclopedia of African History and Culture, volume II |publisher=New York: Facts on File, 2005 |page=211 |isbn=0-8160-5270-0 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Gale|title=New Encyclopedia of Africa, volume 4 |publisher=Farmington Hills |pages=752, 758 |isbn=978-0-684-31458-7 }}</ref> During the colonization period, [[French Sudan]] was created and [[Anglo-Egyptian Sudan]] was named after the present Sudanese state.

=== Slave trade ===

Early on in the [[1st millennium|first millennium]], many people from the Sudan were used as "a steady steam of slaves for the Mediterranean world" in the [[Saharan slave trade]]. With the arrival of the [[Portuguese Empire|Portuguese]] in the fifteenth century, "people were directed to the [[Atlantic slave trade]]," totaling over a thousand years for the Saharan and four centuries for the Atlantic trades. As a result, slavery critically shaped the institutions and systems of the Sudan. The Portuguese first arrived at [[Senegambia]] and found that slavery was "well established" in the region, used to "feed the courts of coastal kings as it was used in the medieval empires of the interior." Between the process of capture, enslavement, and "incorporation into a new community, the slave had neither rights nor any social identity." As a result, the identity of people who were enslaved "came from membership in a corporate group, usually based on kinship."<ref>Klein 1998, p. 1-2.</ref>

=== Modern ===

During the [[Scramble for Africa|period of European colonization]], [[French Sudan]] was created in the area that would become Mali and [[Anglo-Egyptian Sudan]] was formed in what would become the present Sudanese and South Sudanese states.

== See also ==

* [[Neolithic Subpluvial]] — ''ancient Green Sahara''

* [[Sub-Saharan Africa]]

* [[SudanJews (region)of Bilad el-Sudan]]

* [[Sudd]] — ''swamp in South Sudan''

== References ==

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{{Regions of Africa}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Afrotropical ecoregions]]

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[[Category:Regions of Africa]]

[[Category:Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands]]

[[Category:Sub-Saharan Africa]]

[[Category:Geography of Burkina Faso]]

[[Category:Geography of Chad]]

[[Category:Geography of Mali]]

[[zh:苏丹草原]]

[[Category:Geography of Niger]]

[[Category:Geography of Nigeria]]

[[Category:Geography of Senegal]]

[[Category:Geography of South Sudan]]

[[Category:Geography of Sudan]]

[[Category:Divided regions]]

[[Category:Historical regions]]