The Zambezian coastal flooded savanna is restricted to the coastal lowlands of Mozambique, comprising the floodplain deltas of the Zambezi, Pungwe, Buzi, and Save rivers, with the vast Zambezi delta stretching nearly 200 km along the Indian Ocean coast and reaching up to 120 km inland. It is a mosaic of seasonally flooded grasslands and savanna interwoven with mixed freshwater swamp forests, whose plant communities shift with soil type and flooding duration: reed swamps of Phragmites and Typha, grasses such as Hyparrhenia, Ischaemum, and Setaria, and scattered trees and palms including Parinari, Uapaca, Syzygium, and Borassus. Rainfall is strongly seasonal, with most of the roughly 800 to 1,400 mm falling between October and March, and the river-driven flood pulse governs which habitats develop. The wetlands hold the highest concentration of waterbirds in Mozambique and are a stronghold for the wattled crane, the ecoregion's flagship species, with portions protected within the Marromeu National Reserve and Gorongosa National Park. For gardeners, several striking palms are native here, among them the wild date palm (Phoenix reclinata) and the fan palm Hyphaene coriacea.
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 18.2°S, 36.2°E.
Climate snapshot for this ecoregion
°C
°F
Current zone range (2011–2040)
13a-13b
Plotwright
CHELSA-derived typical winter month at this ecoregion's bbox grid.
Projected (2041–2070)
13a-13b
Plotwright
Where the CHELSA models say the typical winter month is heading.
Average warming this ecoregion is on track for: +3.7°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
7,501 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: