Kruger National Park Ecology
The geological heritage of the area has also has a decisive impact on climate. The local altitudinal range is from 200m to 2,050m above sea level. Rainfall increases with proximity to the Great Escarpment. Annual levels vary from an average of 400mm per annum in the savannah areas in the east up to 3,000mm per annum in some areas in the south and west. These climatic variations further add to the increase in ranges of habitats which favour great species diversity. The Kruger National Park area has very high levels of biodiversity and endemic (uniquely local) species as a consequence.
The Kruger National Park's underlying rock types also determine the nature of the soil that breaks down from them. In broad outline the younger surface of dark brown loams derived from the basalts today form Knob Thorn / Marula Savannah and Tree Mopane Savannah. The older exposed surfaces have more sandy soils derived from granite, and yield woodlands dominated by the Combretum species of leadwood and the bushwillows. These in turn impact the species of game that inhabit each of the Kruger National Park's ecozones, from the browsers and grazers that prefer each habitat to the carnivores that prey on them.
The Ecozones of the Kruger National Park:
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Ecology of the Kruger National Park.
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