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What is Vegetation?

• Vegetation refers to the ground cover provided by plants.
• It also refers to the different types of plants that grow in a place.

These plants are grouped into two types;

Grasses and woody plants

1.The type of vegetation that is found in areas that receive a lot of rainfall is called?

• Tropical rainforest or equatorial rain forest

2.The type of vegetation found along coastal areas is called?

• Mangrove forest

PAPYRUS A SWAMP VEGETATION

• Papyrus is a species of aquatic flowering plant belonging to the sedge family.

• It is tender perennial native to Africa and forms tall stands of reeds-like swamp vegetation in shallow water.

• This type of vegetation grows in areas that are poorly drained.

• Papyrus reedsforms the main type of vegetation growing in this vegetation

The diagram below shows swampy vegetation

Areas covered by papyrus swamp vegetation

Characteristics of papyrus swamp vegetation

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• Occurs along rivers

• Occurs along the lakes

Characteristics of papyrus swamp vegetation

• Grows in poorly drained water.
• Grows in wetlands.
• Grows in both fresh and salty waters.
• Found a long the rivers and lakes.
• Infested with snails causing bilharzia and mosquitoes causing malaria.
• Home for wild animals such as dangerous snake among others.

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The picture above shows a wooded Savannah

• In this zone trees of medium height covers a large area.
• Trees do not grow together to form a canopy,therefore this allows sunlight to reach the ground hence growth of grassbetween the trees.

The diagram below shows how trees grow.

Areas covered by wooded Savannah

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Characteristics of wooded

Savannah Dry grass
Acacia trees
Shrubs
Tiny bushes
Dry with less rainfall per year.

There are two types of Savannah grassland

Areas found in Eastern Africa

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Characteristics of Savannah grassland

• Consist of grass with a few trees.
• Where rainfall is high the grass may grow up to 2 meters.
• The height of grass decreases as the rainfall becomes less.
• The type of trees found in region are mainly ;-acacia, cacti and euphorbia.
• Bushes with thin stems.
• These bushes may sometimes grow together to form thickets.

More examples

Questions

1. The type of vegetation growing in poorly drained water is called?
2. The wooded Savannah vegetation found in central Tanzania is called?
3. The main types of trees found in Savannah grassland are?
4. Name three countries in Eastern Africa that have wooded Savannah.