Synopsis ........................................................ 2
Introduction .................................................... 9
Need for a new vegetation map of Ethiopia realised in
connection with the Ethiopian Flora project ..................... 9
The VECEA-project - "Vegetation map for land-use planning,
natural resource management and conservation of biodiversity
in Eastern Africa" ............................................. 10
Acknowledgements ............................................... 12
Topography, geology, soil and climate of Ethiopia .............. 13
Topography, place names, floristic units of the Flora of
Ethiopia and Eritrea ........................................... 13
Place names .................................................... 18
Geology and soils .............................................. 18
Climate ........................................................ 22
Methods: sources and scale of the new vegetation map ........... 26
Field surveys .................................................. 26
Resolution ..................................................... 26
Boundaries between vegetation types ............................ 26
The scale 1 : 2,000,000 ........................................ 27
Comparisons with older maps .................................... 27
Parameters and software ........................................ 28
Availability of data set ....................................... 28
Previous vegetation maps of Ethiopia and their mapping units ... 29
Mapping units used by Pichi Sermolli (1957) for vegetation
in Ethiopia .................................................... 29
Mapping units used by White (1983) for vegetation in
Ethiopia ....................................................... 32
New vegetation types from little-known Ethiopian forests
(1970-1992) .................................................... 34
Mapping units used in small-scale vegetation maps of Ethiopia
(1996-2009) .................................................... 36
Mapping units used here ........................................ 39
Potential vegetation types in Ethiopia ......................... 42
(1) Desert and semi-desert scrubland (DSS) .................... 44
(2) Acacia-Commiphora woodland and bushland (ACB) ............. 47
(Subtype 2a) Acacia-Commiphora woodland and bush-
land proper (ACB) ........................... 48
(Subtype 2b) Acacia wooded grassland of the Rift Valley
(ACB/RV) .................................... 55
(3) Wooded grassland of the western Gambela region (WGG) ...... 58
(4) Combretum-Terminalia woodland and wooded grassland
(CTW) ..................................................... 61
(5) Dry evergreen Afromontane forest and grassland complex
(DAF) ..................................................... 70
(Subtype 5a) Undifferentiated Afromontane forest
(DAF/U) ..................................... 72
(Subtype 5b) Dry single-dominant Afromontane forest of
the Ethiopian highlands (DAF/SD) ............ 77
(Subtype 5c) Afromontane woodland, wooded grassland and
grassland (DAF/WG) .......................... 81
(Subtype 5d) Transition between Afromontane vegetation
and Acacia-Commiphora bushland on the
Eastern escarpment (DAF/TR) ................. 88
(6) Moist evergreen Afromontane forest (MAF) .................. 92
(Subtype 6a) Primary or mature secondary moist
evergreen Afromontane forest (MAF/P) ........ 97
(Subtype 6b) Edges of moist evergreen Afromontane
forest, bushland, woodland and wooded
grassland (MAF/BW) ......................... 103
(7) Transitional rainforest (TRF) ............................ 106
(8) Ericaceous belt (EB) ..................................... 113
(9) Afroalpine belt (AA) ..................................... 118
(10) Riverine vegetation (RV) ................................. 127
(11) Fresh-water lakes, lake shores, marsh and floodplain
vegetation (FLV) ......................................... 136
(Subtype 11a) Freshwater lakes - Open water vegetation
(FLV/OW) ................................... 136
(Subtype 11b) Freshwater marshes and swamps, flood-
plains and lake shore vegetation
(FLV/MFS) .................................. 142
(12) Salt-water lakes, salt-lake shores, marsh and pan
vegetation (SLV) ......................................... 147
(Subtype 12a) Salt-water lakes - open water vegetation
(SLV/OW) ................................... 148
(Subtype 12b) Salt pans, saline/brackish
and intermittent wetlands and salt-lake
shore vegetation (SLV/SSS) ................. 151
APPENDIX I
The vegetation types of Ethiopia according to Pichi Sermolli
(1957) ........................................................ 157
(1) Deserto [Desert] ......................................... 157
(2) Steppa graminosa, perenniboscosa e suffruticosa
[Grass, perennial herb and subshrub steppe] .............. 157
(3) Steppa arbustata [Shrub steppe] .......................... 157
(4) Fruticeto subdesertico [Subdesert scrub] ................. 158
(5) Fruticeto subdesertico succulento alberato [Subdesert
trees succulent scrub] ................................... 158
(6) Boscaglia xerofila rada [Broken xerophilous open
woodland] ................................................ 158
(7) Boscaglia xerofila [Xerophilous open woodland] ........... 159
(8) Boscaglia a bambù (Oxytenanthera) [Bamboo thicket
(Oxytenanthera)] ......................................... 159
(10) Boscaglia e fruticeto sempreverdi montani [Montane
evergreen thicket and scrub] ............................. 160
(11) Savanna (vari tipi) [Savanna (various types)] ............ 160
(12) Savanna montana [Montane savanna] ........................ 161
(13) Bosco caducifolio [Deciduous woodland] ................... 161
(15) Foresta secca sempreverde montana [Montane dry
evergreen forest] ........................................ 162
(17) Foresta umida sempreverde montana [Montane moist
evergreen forest] ........................................ 162
(18) Foresta a bambù (Arundinaria) [Bamboo forest
(Arundinaria)] ........................................... 163
(19) Fruticeto e steppa altimontani [Altimontane scrub and
steppe] .................................................. 163
(20) Formazioni afroalpine [Afroalpine formations] ............ 164
(23) Formazioni riparie [Riparian formations] ................. 165
(24) Formazioni palustri [Swamp formations] ................... 165
APPENDIX 2
The vegetation types of Ethiopia according to White (1983) .... 167
(19a) Undifferentiated montane vegetation (A) Afromontane ..... 167
(29b) Undifferentiated [Sudanian] woodland (B) Ethiopian ...... 169
(42) Somalia-Masai Acacia-Commiphora deciduous bushland and
thicket ................................................. 170
(54) Semi-desert grassland and shrubland (B) Somalia-Masai ... 170
(65) Altimontane vegetation in tropical Africa ............... 171
(71) Regs, hamadas, wadis .................................... 171
White's mapping units with doubtful or marginal occurrence
in Ethiopia ................................................... 172
(17) Cultivation and secondary grassland replacing upland
and montane forest in Africa ............................. 172
(43) Sahel Acacia wooded grassland and deciduous bushland ..... 172
(62) Mosaic of edaphic grassland and Acacia wooded
grassland ................................................ 173
(35) Transition from undifferentiated woodland to Acacia
deciduous bushland and wooded grassland (B) Ethiopian
type and (61) Edaphic grassland of the Upper Nile
basin .................................................... 173
(38) East African evergreen and semi-evergreen bushland and
thicket .................................................. 175
(64) Mosaic of edaphic grassland and semi-aquatic vegetation
(77) Sudanian Region ..................................... 176
APPENDIX 3
Woody plants in the Flora of Ethiopia and Eritrea, assigned
to vegetation types ........................................... 177
APPENDIX 4
Development of classification system criteria and their
implementation in GRASS GIS script for the Atlas of the
Potential Vegetation of Ethiopia .............................. 238
APPENDIX 5
Officially recognised classification of the ecosystems of
Ethiopia ...................................................... 251
1. Afroalpine and Subafroalpine Ecosystem .................... 251
2. Dry Evergreen Montane Forest and Grassland complex ........ 251
3. Moist Evergreen Montane Forest Ecosystem .................. 252
4. Acacia-Commiphora Woodland Ecosystem ...................... 252
5. Combretum-Terminalia Woodland Ecosystem ................... 252
6. Lowland, Semi-evergreen Forest Ecosystem .................. 253
7. Desert and Semi-desert Scrubland Ecosystem ................ 253
8. Aquatic Ecosystem ......................................... 253
References .................................................... 255
Map plates of the potential vegetation of Ethiopia.
1 : 2,000,000 ................................................. 259
Index to plant names .......................................... 293
Index to Ethiopian place names ................................ 303
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