Topic 4 of 8 · Form 2
Vegetation and soils
Mostly savanna: grassland with scattered trees, adapted to a long dry season.
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Natural vegetation in Zimbabwe
Mostly savanna: grassland with scattered trees, adapted to a long dry season.
- Miombo (msasa and mnondo) woodland on the highveld.
- Mopane woodland in the hot, dry lowveld and Zambezi valley.
- Teak woodland on the Kalahari sands in the west.
- Montane forest and grassland in the Eastern Highlands.
Adaptations: deep roots, thick bark that resists fire, small or waxy leaves, and shedding leaves in the dry season (deciduous). The baobab stores water in its trunk.
Soils
Soil is made of mineral particles, humus, water, air and living organisms.
- Sandy soils: well-drained but infertile (many communal areas on granite sands).
- Clay soils: hold water and nutrients but can waterlog (fertile red clays on the highveld).
- Loam: a mix, best for farming.
Soil erosion and conservation
Causes: overgrazing, deforestation, ploughing up and down slopes, veld fires, stream-bank cultivation.
Effects: gullies, silting of dams and rivers, loss of fertility.
Conservation: contour ridges, terraces, gully reclamation, cover crops, mulching, conservation farming (Pfumvudza/Intwasa planting basins), controlled grazing and afforestation.
Check yourself
- Give two ways savanna trees are adapted to drought.
- Why are sandy soils less fertile than clay soils?
- Name two methods of preventing soil erosion on slopes.
Show answers
- Any two: deep roots, thick bark, small/waxy leaves, deciduous, water-storing trunks.
- Nutrients are washed (leached) out quickly and they hold little water or humus.
- Contour ridges and terraces (also strip cropping or tree planting).
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