The Succulent Karoo is an ecoregion defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature to include regions of desert in South Africa and Namibia,
Geography
The Succulent Karoo stretches along the coastal strip of southwestern Namibia and South Africa's Northern Cape Province, where the cold
Benguela Current offshore creates frequent fogs. The ecoregion extends inland into the uplands of South Africa's Western Cape Province. It is bounded on the south by the Mediterranean climate
fynbos, on the east by the
Nama Karoo, which has more extreme temperatures and variable rainfall, and on the north by the
Namib Desert.
File:Succulent Karoo.svg|Succulent Karoo vegetation types
File:Succulent Karoo legend.svg
Flora
The Succulent Karoo is notable for the world's richest flora of
, and harbours about one-third of the world's approximately 10,000 succulent species. 40% of its succulent plants are endemic.
The region is extraordinarily rich in
, harbouring approximately 630 species.
Fauna
The ecoregion is a centre of diversity and
endemism for
and many
. Of the ecoregion's 50
scorpion species, 22 are endemic.
, largely endemic to southern Africa, are concentrated in the Succulent Karoo and are important
of the flora. So, too, are the
Hymenoptera and
Masarinae, and
colletid,
fideliid, and
melittid bees.
[
]
Approximately 15 are found in this ecoregion, including three endemics; among the region's 115 reptile species, 48 are endemic and 15 are strict endemics. The Sperrgebiet region is a hotspot for an unusual tortoise, the Nama padloper. Endemism is present, but less pronounced, among the Succulent Karoo's bird and mammal populations.[
]
Conservation
The ecoregion has been designated a biodiversity hotspot by Conservation International.
See also
-
Knersvlakte
-
Knersvlakte Nature Reserve
-
List of vegetation types of South Africa
External links
