Montane forests are often cloudy, wet, cold, and occur on isolated mountains in Africa.
Montane forests are often cloudy, wet, cold, and occur on isolated mountains in Africa. They are rich in biodiversity and act as water towers by trapping water from fog and clouds, providing high quality fresh water for millions of people in the lowlands of Africa.
In the last two decades, as much as 18 % of Africa’s montane forests were lost due to deforestation, which resulted in a warming and cloud level rise two times higher than that caused by climate change. Research resulted that air temperature has increased by 1,4 centigrades, while cloud level has risen by 230 meters during the last 20 years.
“It has strong consequences to the water resources and biodiversity”, comments Prof. Dirk Zeuss from the University of Marburg.
Read More: University of Helsinki
In Africa's montane forests, air temperature has increased by 1,4 centigrades, while cloud level has risen by 230 meters during the last 20 years. Image from Taita Hills in Kenya. (Photo Credit: Petri Pellikka)
