FAO Forestry country profiles - natural woody vegetation

Broadleaved forests

In the flat intermountain basins of the middle escarpment, where runoff from the higher slopes is available, an evergreen woodland grows, dominated by Dobera glabra and mixed with Ziziphus spina-christi, Balanites aegyptiaca, Salvadora persica and Gadaba rotundifolia.

In the wadis of the middle escarpment, two main forest communities can be differentiated:

• A lowland riverine plant formation, dominated by Tamarix nilotica and Ziziphus spina-christi. Sometimes Acacia nilotica and Delonix elata occur.
• In the narrow valleys of the higher slopes, at altitudes ranging between 600 and 1 600 m above the sea level, a riverine forest grows. Tamarindus indica, Mimosopsis schimperi, Terminalia brownii, Combretum molle, Trichilia emetica, Breonardia salicina and Ficus populifolia are the most common species.

On the wetter western slopes of the highlands and higher escarpment the vegetation community is an evergreen broadleaved woodland having as dominant species Cordia abyssinica, Ficus vasta and Olea chrysophylla associated with Acacia abyssinica and A. gerrardi. In the arid eastern slopes a xerophyllous community dominated by Acacia negrii and A. gerrardi occurs, associated with shrubs like Carissa edulis, Lycium shawii and Myrsine africana.

On the highland plain, a few relict woodlands are still surviving, especially between Huth and Saads where low population density allowed the preservation of nearly natural woodland communities. Acacia negrii and A. gerrardi are the dominant species. Acacia ehrembergiana, Cordia abyssinica, Ziziphus spina-christi and Ficus salicifolia are found where more runoff water is available.

The small gorges and valleys of the dissected hills of the higher escarpment have a denser plant cover, where some species of the lower altitudes such as Acacia asak, A. mellifera, A. abyssinica, Trichilia emetica and Terminalia brownii are present.

Mangrove forests: in the protected tidal range, near the seashore of the Red Sea, the mangrove Avicenna marina is the most noteworthy tree. It grows in seawater and is present on scattered areas along the coast, especially near Al Khawbah and Al Luhayyah.