The Sudd flooded grasslands form one of Africa's largest wetlands, spreading across the White Nile floodplain in South Sudan with a marginal reach into Ethiopia. Vegetation is arranged in zones tied to flood depth: dense stands of papyrus (Cyperus papyrus), reeds such as Phragmites, and cattail (Typha) dominate the permanently wet channels, while floating-rooted hippo grass (Vossia cuspidata) and seasonally flooded swards of wild rice and Echinochloa grasses occupy the shallower margins. The climate is hot and strongly seasonal, with rains falling roughly April to September under the migrating Intertropical Convergence Zone and the wetter south receiving more than the drier north. The Sudd is a biodiversity stronghold, supporting over 400 bird species and the world's largest population of the shoebill, and serving as the stage for one of Earth's greatest mammal migrations as white-eared kob, tiang, and Mongalla gazelle move across the plains. Gardeners may recognize papyrus, native here, as a familiar ornamental water-garden sedge.
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 7.8°N, 31.6°E.
Climate snapshot for this ecoregion
°C
°F
Current zone range (2011–2040)
13b
Plotwright
CHELSA-derived typical winter month at this ecoregion's bbox grid.
Projected (2041–2070)
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.
At a glance
Dominant biome
Flooded Grasslands & Savannas
Realm
Afrotropic
Approximate area
72,937 sq mi
Conservation tier
Nature Could Recover (Dinerstein NNH 3)
About the flooded grasslands & savannas biome
Grasslands and savannas subject to seasonal or year-round flooding, including large wetland complexes. Exceptionally productive, they concentrate waterbirds and aquatic life.
Catalog plants suited to this ecoregion
No catalog plants intersect this ecoregion's zone range. As the catalog grows to cover this region's climate band, suggestions will surface here.
Collections for this ecoregion
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 flooded grasslands & savannas ecoregions to explore: