The Ethiopian montane moorlands form the largest Afroalpine landscape in Africa, confined to Ethiopia's highlands above roughly 3,000 meters and reaching over 4,500 meters at peaks like Ras Dashen, taking in the Sanetti Plateau of the Bale Mountains and the Simien and Arsi ranges. Lying above the tree line, the moorlands are dominated by low heathland scrub of the tree heathers Erica trimera and Erica arborea, punctuated by the giant Lobelia rynchopetalum, which can reach six meters when flowering, alongside herbs and grasses such as Helichrysum, Alchemilla, and Festuca. The montane tropical climate is harsh and variable, with rainfall as high as 2,500 mm in the southwest but as little as 1,000 mm in the drier north, cool peak temperatures, and frosts common year-round. The ecoregion is best known as the stronghold of the endemic and endangered Ethiopian wolf (Canis simensis), which hunts rodents across the open moorland and is protected within Bale Mountains and Simien Mountains National Parks. For gardeners, the native tree heath Erica arborea is a familiar ornamental heather genus rooted in this high-altitude flora.
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 6.9°N, 39.6°E.
Climate snapshot for this ecoregion
°C
°F
Current zone range (2011–2040)
11b-13b
Plotwright
CHELSA-derived typical winter month at this ecoregion's bbox grid.
Projected (2041–2070)
11b-13b
Plotwright
Where the CHELSA models say the typical winter month is heading.
Average warming this ecoregion is on track for: +4.8°F by mid-century. SSP3-7.0 (current trajectory) · CHELSA v2.1 bio06 sampled across 10 of 10 points within this ecoregion's bounding box.
At a glance
Dominant biome
Montane Grasslands & Shrublands
Realm
Afrotropic
Approximate area
6,063 sq mi
Conservation tier
Nature Could Recover (Dinerstein NNH 3)
About the montane grasslands & shrublands biome
High-elevation grasslands, meadows, and shrublands above the treeline or in mountain basins, including alpine and páramo systems. Cool temperatures, intense sunlight, and specialized, often endemic flora characterize them.
Catalog plants suited to this ecoregion
Computed from each plant's stated USDA zone range against this ecoregion's CHELSA-derived current zone range, with the CHELSA mid-century warming delta applied for the projection. Plants whose stated range falls outside both the current and projected zone end up dropped; the rest land in one of the three buckets below.
Climate-resilient picks · 52
These plants fit this ecoregion today AND remain in range under the mid-century SSP3-7.0 projection. Lead with these for a planting that holds up as the climate shifts.
No curated collection's plants all fit this ecoregion's zone range. We surface a collection only when every member would grow here — partial fits get filtered out rather than mislead. As the catalog and the curated set both grow, this section will fill in.
Related ecoregions
Other montane grasslands & shrublands ecoregions to explore: