The Southern Acacia-Commiphora bushlands and thickets stretch across north-central Tanzania and extend into southwestern Kenya near the eastern margins of Lake Victoria, taking in landmarks from Mount Kilimanjaro to the famed Serengeti plains. Its vegetation is a mosaic of open grassland, savanna, and open-canopy woodland in which Acacia and Commiphora are the dominant trees, joined by genera such as Grewia and Crotalaria and grasses including red oat grass (Themeda triandra). The climate is tropical with a bimodal rainfall pattern, a longer wet season from March to May and a shorter, less predictable one in November and December, with most areas receiving roughly 600 to 800 mm of rain a year. The ecoregion is globally renowned for its wildlife, supporting the great Serengeti-Mara migration of blue wildebeest, plains zebra, and Thomson's gazelle along with predators such as lions, leopards, cheetahs, and African wild dogs. Much of it lies within celebrated protected areas, including Serengeti National Park, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tarangire and Ruaha national parks, and Kenya's Masai Mara National Reserve.
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 2.7°S, 34.5°E.
Climate snapshot for this ecoregion
°C
°F
Current zone range (2011–2040)
12a-13b
Plotwright
CHELSA-derived typical winter month at this ecoregion's bbox grid.
Projected (2041–2070)
12a-13b
Plotwright
Where the CHELSA models say the typical winter month is heading.
Average warming this ecoregion is on track for: +3.8°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.
About the tropical & subtropical grasslands, savannas & shrublands biome
Warm grasslands and savannas where grasses dominate and trees are scattered, maintained by seasonal rainfall, grazing, and fire. They support large herbivore communities and respond sharply to wet–dry cycles.
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 · 4
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 tropical & subtropical grasslands, savannas & shrublands ecoregions to explore: