Nama Karoo

Nama Karoo

A map of South Africa showing the Nama Karoo ecoregion as defined by WWF
Ecology
Realm	Afrotropic
Biome	Deserts and xeric shrublands
Geography
Area	135,600 km² (52,400 sq mi)
Countries	South Africa and Namibia
Coordinates	30°S 21°E / 30°S 21°E / -30; 21

Nama Karoo is a xeric shrubland ecoregion located on the central plateau of South Africa and Namibia. It occupies most of the interior of the western half of South Africa and extends into the southern interior of Namibia.^[1]

Climate

The climate tends to be volatile and very harsh. Droughts are frequent with rain primarily falling in the summer. Rainfall can also be varied with it fluctuating between 100 and 520 millimetres (3.94 and 20.47 in) per year. Rainfall is known to be highly seasonal, peaking between December and March. It tends to decrease from the east to west and from north to south. The variability in the inter-annual rainfall also tends to increase with increasing aridity.^[2]. Temperature variations as large as 25 °C or 45 °F between day and night are common. Mean maximum temperatures in the mid-summer (January) exceeds 30 °C (86 °F), while mean minimum mid-winter (July) temperatures are below freezing.^[3].

References

^ "Nama Karoo". Ecoregions. Worldwildlife.org. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
^ Desmet, P.G., and R.M. Cowling, The climate of the Karoo – A functional approach: quoted in W.R.J. Dean and S.J. Milton, The Karoo. Ecological Patterns and Processes: Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (1999): 3-16
^ Werger, M.J.A., Biogeographical Divisions of Southern Africa: quoted in Biogeography and Ecology of Southern Africa. M.J.A. Werger and W. Junk, editors: The Hague, (1978): 231-299

External links

Biodiversity of South Africa

National taxon checklists
List of birds of South Africa List of mammals of South Africa List of non-marine molluscs of South Africa

Biodiversity hotspots
Cape Floristic Region Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany Hotspot Succulent Karoo

Terrestrial ecoregions

List of ecoregions in South Africa

v t e Marine biodiversity of South Africa
Marine ecoregions	Marine ecoregions of the South African exclusive economic zone
National masine species lists	List of comb jellies of South Africa List of echinoderms of South Africa List of marine and coastal birds of South Africa List of marine bristleworms of South Africa List of marine bryozoans of South Africa List of marine cnidarians of South Africa List of marine crustaceans of South Africa List of sea spiders of South Africa List of marine fishes of South Africa List of marine bony fishes of South Africa List of marine spiny-finned fishes of South Africa List of marine Perciform fishes of South Africa List of marine fishes of the suborder Percoidei of South Africa List of marine flatworms of South Africa List of marine mammals of South Africa List of marine molluscs of South Africa List of marine gastropods of South Africa List of marine heterobranch gastropods of South Africa List of marine reptiles of South Africa List of seaweeds of South Africa List of red seaweeds of South Africa List of sponges of South Africa
Regional and MPA species lists	List of marine animals of the Cape Peninsula and False Bay List of seaweeds of the Cape Peninsula and False Bay
Research	African Coelacanth Ecosystem Programme National Biodiversity Assessment Reef Atlas Project SeaKeys South African Environmental Observation Network South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity South African National Biodiversity Institute
Citizen science databases	iNaturalist iSpot FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology Virtual Museum
Taxonomists	Robert Anderson J. L. Barnard K. H. Barnard John J. Bolton George M. Branch Jennifer Day (biologist) Wayne Florence Terrence Gosliner Charles L. Griffiths P. Heemstra Brian Kensley N. A. H. Millard H. Milne-Edwards T. Samaai J. L. B. Smith H. Stegenga
Related	Marine protected areas of South Africa South African Sustainable Seafood Initiative
Categories: Marine biodiversity of South Africa Commons

v t e Marine protected areas of South Africa
Coastal MPAs	Addo Elephant National Park Marine Protected Area Betty's Bay Marine Protected Area Bird Island Marine Protected Area De Hoop Marine Protected Area Dwesa-Cwebe Marine Protected Area Goukamma Marine Protected Area Helderberg Marine Protected Area Hluleka Marine Protected Area iSimangaliso Marine Protected Area Jutten Island Marine Protected Area Langebaan Lagoon Marine Protected Area Malgas Island Marine Protected Area Marcus Island Marine Protected Area Namaqua National Park Marine Protected Area Pondoland Marine Protected Area Robben Island Marine Protected Area Robberg Marine Protected Area Sardinia Bay Marine Protected Area Sixteen Mile Beach Marine Protected Area Stilbaai Marine Protected Area Table Mountain National Park Marine Protected Area Trafalgar Marine Protected Area Tsitsikamma Marine Protected Area uThukela Banks Marine Protected Area Walker Bay Whale Sanctuary
Offshore MPAs	Agulhas Bank Complex Marine Protected Area Agulhas Front Marine Protected Area Agulhas Muds Marine Protected Area Aliwal Shoal Marine Protected Area Amathole Offshore Marine Protected Area Benguela Bank Marine Protected Area Benguela Muds Marine Protected Area Browns Bank Complex Marine Protected Area Browns Bank Corals Marine Protected Area Cape Canyon Marine Protected Area Childs Bank Marine Protected Area iSimangaliso Offshore Marine Protected Area Namaqua Fossil Forest Marine Protected Area Orange Shelf Edge Marine Protected Area Prince Edward Islands Marine Protected Area Protea Banks Marine Protected Area Southeast Atlantic Seamounts Marine Protected Area Southwest Indian Seamounts Marine Protected Area Port Elizabeth Corals Marine Protected Area uThukela Banks Marine Protected Area
Management organisations	CapeNature City of Cape Town Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries Department of Science and Innovation Eastern Cape Parks Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality South African National Parks
Research organisations	Council for Geoscience iNaturalist Iziko South African Museum National Research Foundation Nelson Mandela University Oceanographic Research Institute Rhodes University South African Association for Marine Biological Research South African Environmental Observation Network South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity South African National Biodiversity Institute University of KwaZulu-Natal University of Cape Town
Key people	Kerry Sink
MPA species lists	List of marine animals of the Cape Peninsula and False Bay List of seaweeds of the Cape Peninsula and False Bay
Related	African Coelacanth Ecosystem Program Biodiversity of South Africa Marine biodiversity of South Africa Environmental impact of recreational diving Low impact diving International Union for Conservation of Nature Marine ecoregions of the South African exclusive economic zone Marine protected area Marine Living Resources Act, 18 of 1998 National Environmental Management Act, 1998 National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, 10 of 2004 National Environmental Management: Integrated Coastal Management Act, 24 of 2008 National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act, 57 of 2003 Protected areas of South Africa Scuba diving tourism SeaKeys World Wide Fund for Nature
Categories: Marine protected areas of South Africa Commons Index Outline

Categories: Biodiversity of South Africa
Commons
Index

v t e Regions of Africa
Central	Guinea region Gulf of Guinea Cape Lopez Mayombe Igboland Mbaise Pool Malebo Congo Basin Chad Basin Cameroonian Highlands forests East Sudanian savanna Congolian rainforests Ouaddaï highlands Ennedi Plateau
East	African Great Lakes Albertine Rift East African Rift Great Rift Valley Gregory Rift Rift Valley lakes Virunga Mountains Kavirondo Zanj East African montane forests Eastern Arc Mountains Serengeti Horn of Africa Afar Triangle Al-Habash Barbaria Danakil Alps Danakil Desert Ethiopian Highlands Dahlak Archipelago Hanish Islands Gulf of Aden Gulf of Tadjoura Red Sea Indian Ocean islands Comoro Islands Lamu Archipelago Madagascar Central Highlands (Madagascar) Northern Highlands Zanzibar Archipelago Swahili coast
North	Eastern Desert Maghreb Ancient Libya Atlas Mountains Barbary Coast Bashmur Gibraltar Arc Ifriqiya Nile Valley Nile Delta Cataracts of the Nile Darfur Lower Egypt Lower Nubia Middle Egypt Nile Delta Nuba Mountains Nubia The Sudans Upper Egypt Tibesti Mountains Western Sahara
South	Rhodesia North South Thembuland Succulent Karoo Nama Karoo Bushveld Maputaland Highveld Fynbos Indian Ocean coastal belt Albany thickets Cape Floristic Region Skeleton Coast Kalahari Desert Okavango Delta Cape Peninsula False Bay
West	Pepper Coast Gold Coast Slave Coast Ivory Coast Cape Palmas Cape Mesurado Guinea region Guinean Forests of West Africa Upper Guinean forests Lower Guinean forests Guinean forest-savanna mosaic Guinea Highlands Gulf of Guinea Dahomey Gap Niger Basin Niger Delta Inner Niger Delta West Sudanian savanna Yorubaland
Macro-regions	Aethiopia Afromontane Arab world Commonwealth realm Equatorial Africa Françafrique Greater Middle East Guineo-Congolian region Islands of Africa List of countries where Arabic is an official language Mediterranean Basin MENA MENASA Middle East Miombo woodlands Mittelafrika Negroland Northeast Africa Portuguese-speaking African countries Sahara Sahel Sub-Saharan Africa Sudan (region) Sudanian savanna Tropical Africa Zambezian region

This page was last edited on 16 September 2020, at 15:58

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Contents

Climate

See also

References

External links