South Malawi montane forest–grassland mosaic
ecoregion in Malawi
The South Malawi montane forest–grassland mosaic is an ecoregion of Malawi.
The ecoregion covers a region of highlands and plateaus that includes Mount Mulanje (3,002 m) in the southeast and the lower Shire Highlands to the northeast and east, with the Tuchila Plain between them. The Shire Highlands includes the Zomba Plateau (2,087 m) in the north and the Thyolo Mountains (1,462 m) to the south.
The low valley of the Shire River, part of the African Rift Valley system, bounds the Shire Highlands to the northwest, west, and southwest. The valley of the Ruo River, a tributary of the Shire, bounds the ecoregion on the south and southeast. The Phalombe Plain and the valley of Lake Chilwa lie to the northeast.
The ecoregion enjoyed lush forests, fertile soils, ample water, and mild climate, and is one of the most densely populated regions of Malawi. Blantyre, Malawi's second-largest city, is in the Shire Highlands. Tea is grown commercially in the highlands, especially around Thyolo and Mulanje, and is one of Malawi's chief exports.
The highlands' climate and geology are home to communities of plants and animals distinct from the woodland and savanna ecoregions of the surrounding lowlands.
The public source identifies “South Malawi montane forest–grassland mosaic” as ecoregion in Malawi. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around South, Malawi and montane.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 7, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7567902. Authority coordinates are -15.905, 35.658. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “South Malawi montane forest–grassland mosaic” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.