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49-464: The range has an equatorial climate and had dense montane forests supporting diverse wildlife. Since the mid-20th century the rich ecology has increasingly been severely degraded by native forest clearance and subsistence farming, causing extensive erosion of the slopes. The Imatong Mountains massif lies mainly within Torit County (western part) and Ikotos County (eastern part) of Imatong State. It

98-471: A few specimens, no European botanists had investigated the mountain range's flora before 1929. In that year the botanist Thomas Ford Chipp , then deputy director of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew , reached the summit of Kinyeti peak. Later that year he published a report on the flora with several photographs. The biologist Neal A. Weber examined the ants in the area in 1942/1943. The mountains were

147-591: A fleshy, berry -like, brightly coloured receptacle at maturity. The fleshy cones attract birds , which then eat the cones and disperse the seeds in their droppings. About 97 to 107 species are placed in the genus depending on the circumscription of the species. Species are cultivated as ornamental plants for parks and large gardens. The cultivar 'County Park Fire' has won the Royal Horticultural Society 's Award of Garden Merit . Common names for various species include "yellowwood" and "pine", as in

196-589: A group of peaks reach about 3,000 metres (9,800 ft), and the tallest, Mount Kinyeti , reaches 3,187 metres (10,456 ft). This central block group of high mountains around Mount Kinyeti are sometimes called the Lomariti or Lolibai mountains, and the high central part on the Uganda side is sometimes called the Lomwaga Mountains. The Modole or Langia mountains in the southeast of the central block are separated from

245-668: A haven for the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) during the Second Sudanese Civil War (1983–2005). In 1986 the government of Sudan started to provide arms, training and sanctuary for the LRA, who began to raid and plunder villages along the then Sudan–Uganda border. The rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army assisted the Uganda People's Defence Force in fighting back. The struggle dragged on for over twenty years. Over 400 people were massacred by

294-614: A single mountain or range, and the montane viper ( Vipera hindii ). 35% of the ecoregion is in protected areas. Protected areas include Aberdare National Park , Mount Kenya National Park , Mount Elgon National Park , Kilimanjaro National Park , Arusha National Park , Kidepo Valley National Park , Kidepo Game Reserve , Mathews Range Forest Reserve , Mount Nyiru Forest Reserve , Pian Upe Wildlife Reserve , Ngorongoro Conservation Area , and Lake Bogoria National Reserve . Podocarpus About 97–107 species, see list Podocarpus ( / ˌ p oʊ d ə ˈ k ɑːr p ə s / )

343-425: A slender rachis with numerous spirally arranged microsporophylls around it. Each triangular microsporophyll has two basal pollen -producing pollen sacs. The pollen is bisaccate. The seed cones are highly modified with the few cone scales swelling and fusing at maturity. The cones are pedunculate and often solitary. The seed cone consists of two to five cone scales of which only the uppermost one or rarely two nearest

392-464: Is a genus of conifers , the most numerous and widely distributed of the podocarp family, the Podocarpaceae . The name comes from Greek πούς (poús, "foot") + καρπός (karpós, "fruit"). Podocarpus species are evergreen shrubs or trees , usually from 1 to 25 m (3 to 82 ft) tall, known to reach 40 m (130 ft) at times. The cones have two to five fused cone scales, which form

441-472: Is a resting place for European songbirds en route to their overwintering places in East Africa. Birdlife includes the endangered spotted ground-thrush Zoothera guttata . The villages and settlements of the region are inhabited by Nilotic people including Lotuko in the east, Acholi in the west and Lango in the southern part. They practice subsistence farming and raise some livestock. The people of

490-520: Is known of the area before the arrival of Europeans. The explorer Samuel Baker was the first European to visit the region, travelling in the northwest and west of the area in 1863. He visited Tarrangolle (Tirangole) , and observed then unnamed mountains to the south. Later he passed through them, the present-day western Acholi sub-range of the Imatongs. Emin Pasha made a trip in 1881 in which he traveled along

539-618: Is located some 190 kilometres (120 mi) southeast of Juba and south of the main road from Torit to the Kenyan border town of Lokichoggio . The mountain range rises steeply from the surrounding plains, which slope gradually down from about 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) on the South Sudan-Uganda border in the south to 600 metres (2,000 ft) at Torit in the north. These plains are crossed by many streams, separated by low, rounded ridges, and dotted with small gneiss hills, outliers of

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588-406: Is spiral, and may be subopposite on some shoots. The leaves are usually linear-lanceolate or linear-elliptic in shape, though they can be broader lanceolate, ovate, or nearly elliptic in some species. Juvenile leaves are often larger than adult leaves, though similar in shape. The leaves are coriaceous and have a distinct midrib. The stomata are usually restricted to the abaxial or underside of

637-563: Is usually green, but may be bluish or reddish in some species. The natural distribution of the genus consists of much of Africa, Asia, Australia, Central and South America, and several South Pacific islands. The genus occurs from southern Chile north to Mexico in the Americas and from New Zealand north to Japan in the Asia-Pacific region. Podocarpus and the Podocarpaceae were endemic to

686-517: The First Sudanese Civil War (1955–1972), after the 1956 independence of Sudan . After 1972 an effort was made to rehabilitate the softwood tree plantations, with a new road built from Torit , a hydro-electric scheme developed to power sawmills, and other changes. As of 1984 only the steepest slopes had natural forest and there were plans to clear-cut most of the Kinyeti basin. In 1984 only

735-643: The Imatong Mountains of South Sudan, extending south through Mount Moroto in eastern Uganda and Mount Elgon on the Kenya-Uganda border. In Kenya and Tanzania, the ecoregion follows the mountains east and west of the Eastern Rift and associated volcanoes, including the Aberdare Range , Mount Kenya , Mount Kulal , Mount Nyiru , Ndoto Mountains , Matthews Range , Mount Marsabit , Cherangany Hills , and

784-558: The Nguruman Escarpment in Kenya, and Mount Kilimanjaro , Mount Meru , Ngorongoro , and the Marang forests ( Mbulu Highlands and Mount Hanang ) in northern Tanzania. The climate of the ecoregion is more temperate and seasonal than the surrounding lowlands. Temperatures can fall below 10 °C (50 °F) in the coldest months (July and August) and rise above 30 °C (86 °F) in

833-485: The Acholi mountains sub-range in the west, and the inaccessible area south east of Mount Kinyeti, were still relatively unaffected. The Second Sudanese Civil War (1983–2005) caused further ecological disruption and decline of habitats. Erosion was very visible on farms established on steep hillsides by people who had moved into the mountains after the 1940s. Fingermillet was the last crop, grown on what soil remained among

882-716: The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan published in 1922 only showed the outlines of the mountains. The first map to show the mountain range and give it the name Imatong Mountains was published in the Geographical Journal in May 1929. It was prepared from a compilation of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan Government Survey Department. The first detailed map of the mountain range appeared in 1931. Apart from a field visit by R. Good to Gebel Marra, that obtained only

931-565: The Imatong Central Forest Reserve, which lies within the range, into a National Park, designating the remainder as a buffer zone. The Imatong Forest Reserve was established in 1952, and covers an area of 1100 km. It adjoins Uganda's Agoro–Agu Forest Reserve to the south. East African montane forests The East African montane forests is a montane tropical moist forest ecoregion of eastern Africa . The ecoregion comprises several separate areas above 2000 meters in

980-521: The Imatongs and the Dongotona Hills. Average annual rainfall in the Imatong range is about 1,500 millimetres (4.9 ft). Some of the mountain range's habitat is semi-protected within the Imatong Central Forest Reserve. The plains and the lower parts of the mountains are covered by deciduous woodland, wooded grassland and bamboo thickets to the north and west. The areas to the east and southeast are in

1029-714: The LRA in the Imotong area in March 2002. The LRA finally withdrew from the region in April 2007. Years of civil war have made violence commonplace, most people have experienced the murder of a close family member. According to a 2010 report, "interviews suggested that at least every male community member over 20 years of age owns a gun in Ikotos, with some households having as many as eight to nine guns ... 33 per cent of all crimes were reportedly carried out with an AK-47 or similar automatic rifle". After

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1078-493: The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to evaluate the impact of humans on the mountain ecology and to develop a plan for land use that balances the needs of communities, commercial plantations and conservation of biodiversity. The project makes extensive use of satellite imagery, combined with field observations to map changes to forest coverage. This has confirmed continued forest clearance. A proposal has been made to convert part of

1127-521: The Second Sudanese Civil War ended in 2005, more foreign aid workers began spending time in the region. The range became part of South Sudan when the country was established in 2011. The British colonial administration of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan began a forestry project in the Kinyeti basin in the 1940s. They cleared the native trees and natural forest habitats , to plant fast-growing softwoods, such as cypress-pines , for lumber. In 1950

1176-473: The ancient supercontinent of Gondwana , which broke up into Africa , South America , India , Australia-New Guinea , New Zealand , and New Caledonia between 105 and 45 million years ago. Podocarpus is a characteristic tree of the Antarctic flora , which originated in the cool, moist climate of southern Gondwana, and elements of the flora survive in the humid temperate regions of the former supercontinent. As

1225-401: The apex of the cone are fertile. Each fertile scale usually has one apical ovule. The infertile basal scales fuse and swell to form a succulent, usually brightly colored receptacle. Each cone generally has only one seed , but may have two or rarely more. The seed is attached to the apex of the receptacle. The seed is entirely covered by a fleshy modified scale known as an epimatium. The epimatium

1274-434: The area mostly live on the plains at the foot of the mountains, but recently they have been forced to move into the mountains as high as 2,300 metres (7,500 ft) to find land for farming. Their agricultural practices have led to serious erosion of the steep slopes. Relatively small numbers of the people practice Christianity. Foreign Christian missionaries have been entering the remote mountainous areas since 2005. Little

1323-630: The continents drifted north and became drier and hotter, podocarps and other members of the Antarctic flora generally retreated to humid regions, especially in Australia, where sclerophyll genera such as Acacia and Eucalyptus became predominant. The flora of Malesia , which includes the Malay peninsula , Indonesia, the Philippines , and New Guinea, is generally derived from Asia, but includes many elements of

1372-659: The direction of prevailing winds. The ecoregion consists of montane forests, grasslands, and savannas, transitioning to the East African montane moorlands on the highest peaks. The ecoregion is home to the Afromontane flora, which occurs in the mountains of eastern Africa, and is distinct from the lowland flora. Plant communities vary with elevation. Plant communities and characteristic species are generally similar from mountain to mountain. The elevational limits for plant communities can vary from mountain to mountain, depending on

1421-618: The eastern foothills of the mountains and then southwest to the White Nile . J.R.L. Macdonald passed through the region in 1898 on a patrol towards Lado , and later the Ugandan colonial government established a post at Ikotos , just east of the mountain range. After 1929 the British established an observation post on the north side of the range, above the village of Gilo (1800 m) at an altitude of about 2,200 metres (7,200 ft). The official map of

1470-453: The fires they have started have destroyed the forest on many hill tops. At the highest levels, the forest is replaced by Hagenia woodland, Erica (heather) thicket and areas of bamboo . According to a 1984 report, the mountains supported abundant wildlife, including healthy populations of colobus and blue monkey, bush-pig and a local sub-species of bushbuck. The south eastern Kipia and Lomwaga Uplands were least visited by hunters and had

1519-455: The largest populations of elephant, buffalo, duiker, hyaena and leopard. Mammals that normally inhabit a forest environment show greatest differentiation from similar mammals elsewhere, probably due to isolation of the Imatong forests from other forests by wide areas of semi-arid savanna. This isolation dates back to the last Pleistocene Pluvial period about 12,000 years ago. The forest contains many birds found in no other part of South Sudan, and

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1568-432: The leaf, forming two stomatal bands around the midrib. Podocarpus spp. are generally dioecious , with the male pollen cones and female seed cones borne on separate individual plants, but some species may be monoecious . The cones develop from axillary buds , and may be solitary or form clusters. The pollen cones are long and catkin -like in shape. They may be sessile or short pedunculate. A pollen cone consists of

1617-801: The lower Teretenya ridge to the east by the Shilok River, a tributary of the Koss river . Sub-ranges run to the northwest, west, and southwest of the central block, The northwest and west ranges are separated by the Kinyeti River valley, and the west and southwest ranges by the Ateppi valley. The ranges are generally about 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) high, with peaks rising to 2,400 metres (7,900 ft). The northwestern chain culminates in Mount Garia and Mount Konoro, both about 2,500 metres (8,200 ft) high, rising above

1666-468: The lower areas includes woodlands of Albizia and Terminalia , and mixed Khaya lowland semi-evergreen forest up to 1,000 metres (3,300 ft). Above 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) there is montane forest with Podocarpus , Croton , Macaranga and Albizia up to 2,900 metres (9,500 ft). The levels above 2,500 metres (8,200 ft) do not seem to have ever been inhabited by humans, but have been visited by honey-gatherers and hunters, and

1715-465: The main mountain range. The mountains are formed of crystalline basement rock that rises through the Tertiary and Quaternary unconsolidated deposits of the plains in the South Sudan-Uganda frontier zone. The most widespread types of rock are leucocratic gneisses rich in quartz . The mountains are sharply faulted and are the source of many year-round rivers. The mountains are highest in the southeast where

1764-560: The mass and height of the mountain, its proximity to the ocean, and its distance from the equator – a phenomenon known as the Massenerhebung effect (mass-elevation effect). Characteristic plant communities include: There are eight endemic or restricted-range bird species in the ecoregion. The Aberdare cisticola ( Cisticola aberdare ), Abbott's starling ( Cinnyricinclus femoralis ), and Kenrick's starling ( Poeoptera kenricki ) occur on only two or three mountains or mountain ranges in

1813-413: The mountain range's habitats above 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) were placed within the Imatong Central Forest Reserve, with no further settlement permitted. The reserve was not protected and the settlement ban was not enforced during the civil wars. Forestry brought laborers into the mountains, and they started hillside farming in a wide area around the forest plantations. Forestry was then neglected during

1862-410: The mountains of South Sudan , Uganda , Kenya , and Tanzania . The East African montane forests extend across a total of 65,500 square kilometers (25,300 sq mi), in 25 separate enclaves, which range in size from 23,700 to 113 square kilometers. The montane forests extend down to approximately 1000 meters elevation, and as high as 3500 meters. The northernmost enclave is on Mount Kinyeti in

1911-514: The old Gondwana flora, including several other genera in the Podocarpaceae ( Dacrycarpus , Dacrydium , Falcatifolium , Nageia , Phyllocladus , and the Malesian endemic Sundacarpus ), and also Agathis in the Araucariaceae . The two subgenera, Podocarpus and Foliolatus , are distinguished by cone and seed morphology. In Podocarpus , the cone is not subtended by lanceolate bracts, and

1960-713: The plum pine ( Podocarpus elatus ) or the Buddhist pine ( Podocarpus macrophyllus ). Podocarpus species are evergreen woody plants. They are generally trees, but may also be shrubs. The trees can reach a height of 40 metres (130 ft) at their tallest. Some shrubby species have a decumbent growth habit. The primary branches form pseudowhorls around the trunk. The bark can be scaly or fibrous and peeling with vertical strips. Terminal buds are distinctive with bud scales that are often imbricate and can be spreading. The leaves are simple and flattened, and may be sessile or short petiolate. The phyllotaxis or leaf arrangement

2009-671: The rain shadow of the mountains, with dry subdesert grassland or deciduous or semi-evergreen bush. The mountains have rich diversity of flora, with hundreds of species that are found nowhere else in South Sudan. Their diversity is due to their position between the West African rain forest, the Ethiopian plateau and the East African mountains, coupled with their relative isolation for long periods during which new species could emerge. Vegetation in

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2058-471: The region. The Hunter's cisticola ( Cisticola hunteri ), Jackson's francolin ( Francolinus jacksoni ), and Sharpe's longclaw ( Macronyx sharpei ) range over most of the mountains in the ecoregion. Endemic mammals include the shrews Peters's musk shrew ( Crocidura gracilipes ), Rainey's shrew ( Crocidura raineyi ), Ultimate shrew ( Crocidura ultima ), Aberdare mole shrew ( Surdisorex norae ), and Mount Kenya mole shrew ( Surdisorex polulus ), and

2107-418: The rocks and giving a scanty yield. Erosion could have been greatly reduced by constructing agricultural terraces , but needed construction efforts were not done. The Imatong softwoods forestry project let farm laborers plant crops between young trees for two years, reducing erosion and improving crop yields while also producing wood, but only in the first years. Farming continued causing erosion, and in 1984

2156-451: The rodents Grammomys gigas , Tachyoryctes annectens , and Tachyoryctes audax . Limited-range mammals native to the montane forests include Jackson's mongoose ( Bdeogale jacksoni ), Abbott's duiker ( Cephalophus spadix ), Zanj sun squirrel ( Heliosciurus undulatus ), and eastern tree hyrax ( Dendrohyrax validus ). There are nine endemic species of reptiles in the ecoregion, including six species of chameleons, most limited to

2205-578: The seed usually has an apical ridge. Species are distributed in the temperate forests of Tasmania , New Zealand , and southern Chile , with a few occurring in the tropical highlands of Africa and the Americas. In Foliolatus , the cone is subtended by two lanceolate bracts ("foliola"), and the seed usually lacks an apical ridge. The species are tropical and subtropical, concentrated in eastern and southeastern Asia and Malesia, overlapping with subgenus Podocarpus in northeastern Australia and New Caledonia . Species in family Podocarpaceae have been reshuffled

2254-682: The villages of Gilo and Katire. The western chain, with peaks rising up to 2,500 metres (8,200 ft) high, is usually known as the Acholi Mountains. The southwestern chain extending into Uganda is often called the Agoro Mountains. The Kinyeti River and other streams that drain the northern slopes of the mountains feed the Badigeru Swamps , which are 100 kilometres (62 mi) long and up to 25 kilometres (16 mi) wide at high water, but generally only 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) wide. Some of

2303-477: The warm season. Temperatures are generally lower at higher elevations, and frosts can occur at the highest elevations. Average annual rainfall varies between 1,200 and 2,000 mm, with two wet seasons – October to December and March to June – and two dry seasons – January and February and July to October. The climate is more humid than the surrounding lowlands, and with less distinct wet and dry seasons. Rainfall varies from mountain to mountain, with elevation, and with

2352-662: The water from the northern end of this swamp may filter eastward to the Veveno River, then via the Sobat River to the White Nile. Some of the water may filter westward to the Bahr el Jebel section of the White Nile . To the south and west the mountains are drained by the fast-flowing Aswa River / Ateppi system. To the northeast the mountains are drained by the Koss River , which flows between

2401-572: Was evident by muddiness of the Kinyeti River in the rainy season downstream from a potato project. A tea project was launched at Upper Talinga in 1975, opening a route for people to move into the mountains through the Ateppi valley. The result was an increase in hunting, hillside farming, and erosion. A project was launched in 2009 where the Wildlife Conservation Society worked with the Ministry of Wildlife Conservation and Tourism and

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