Ethiopian montane forests

The Ethiopian montane forests lie in the southwestern and southeastern Ethiopian Highlands. The southwestern portion is bounded at lower elevations by the East Sudanian savanna, and the southeastern portion transitions to the Somali Acacia–Commiphora bushlands and thickets at lower elevations. The 2001 Terrestrial Ecoregions of the World system adopted by the World Wildlife Fund followed White's vegetation types in the Ethiopian Highlands, with the "Ethiopian montane forests" ecoregion corresponding to White's "Evergreen and semi-evergreen bushland and thicket - East African", the "Ethiopian montane grasslands and woodlands" to the "Undifferentiated montane vegetation (A) Afromontane", and the Ethiopian montane moorlands to White's "Altimontane vegetation in tropical Africa". In 2017 Eric Dinerstein et al. revised the ecoregion system in the highlands, following the map of potential natural vegetation of eastern Africa developed by VECEA. The revised ecoregion boundaries were adopted by One Earth, and later by the WWF. ==Climate==

Moisture-bearing winds from the Red Sea provide rainfall throughout the year. The highlands generate orographic precipitation, and are generally cooler and more humid than the lower-elevation deserts and dry shrublands that bound the highlands on the east and south. Orographic effects create fog and cloud cover which keep humidity high and help sustain forests. Southwesterly winds bring rainfall from May to October. Average annual rainfall varies with location, from 600 to 1500 mm. The southern and southwestern portions of the ecoregion generally have higher rainfall. ==Flora==

The Ethiopian montane forests are composed of two main plant communities, Afromontane rain forest (aka moist evergreen Afromontane forest) and Afromontane transitional rain forest. In the Harenna Forest, lower montane forests grow between 1900 and 2300 meters elevation. Middle montane forests occur between 2300 and 2800 meters. Upper montane forests, which include forests dominated by Hagenia abyssinica and extensive stands of the bamboo Yushania alpina, grow from 2800 to 3250 meters elevation. At lower elevations, the Harenna Forest transitions to a distinct woodland community, with an open canopy of Warburgia ugandensis, Croton macrostachyus, Syzygium guineense, and Afrocarpus gracilior, and wild coffee (Coffea arabica) as the dominant understory shrub. Afromontane transitional rain forests grow on the western slopes of the southwestern highlands, as low as 450 meters elevation and up to 1,500 meters elevation. Transitional rain forests between 450 and 650 meters elevation are typically semi-deciduous, while forests at higher elevations are mostly evergreen. Typical species include bastard white stinkwood (Celtis gomphophylla), forest fever berry (Croton sylvaticus), giant diospyros (Diospyros abyssinica), forest sandpaper fig Ficus exasperata), Manilkara butugi, and mvule (Milicia excelsa). Kolla is an open woodland found at lower elevations, in the transition to the lowland savannas and dry woodlands. Characteristic trees are species of Terminalia, Commiphora, Boswellia, and Acacia. ==Fauna==

Native birds include Harwood's spurfowl (Pternistis harwoodi), Ruspoli's turaco (Menelikornis ruspolii), and yellow-throated seedeater (Crithagra flavigula), which are endemic to the Ethiopian Highlands. ==Conservation and protected areas==

11% of the ecoregion is in protected areas. Only 1% of the area outside protected areas is covered in relatively intact forest. One Earth assesses the ecoregion as 'imperiled', with "the amount of protected and unprotected natural habitat remaining is less than or equal to 20%. Achieving half protected is not possible in the short term and efforts should focus on conserving remaining, native habitat fragments.". ==References==