The flora and fauna of Mount Kenya are diverse, due to the variation in altitude, rainfall, aspect and temperature. The mountain slopes can be divided into vegetation zones, with each zone having different dominant plant species. Although many plants on Mount Kenya have local (Kikuyu, Meru, Embu) names, here they are reported only with their English and scientific names.[1]
Weather on the mountain mostly comes from the Indian Ocean, to the east and south-east. Consequently, these slopes are wettest.[2] The wetter slopes can support thicker forests and more bamboo, as well as plants that require more water. The eastern and south-eastern slopes have more biodiversity than the northern and western slopes.
Further information: Mount Kenya § Climate
The vegetation zones on Mount Kenya are more or less distinct. The relatively flat land surrounding the mountain are too dry for forest, and were once savanna grasslands, now often converted to agriculture or are used for grazing with more of the native flora intact. The lower slopes are covered in montane forest, which has also been largely cleared for cultivation, being more intact along the Chogoria Track to the southeast. Above this forest are large tracts of bamboo, especially in the east and south-east. The upper montane forest is dominated by Podocarpus trees. Above this is the timberline forest, characterized by Hagenia (rosewood). Directly above the treeline are heathland (on the wetter aspect) and subalpine chaparral (on the drier aspects). Higher up the mountain the vegetation becomes more specially adapted to the cold in the Afro-alpine zone, and the largely unvegetated area that has until recently been glaciated is known as the nival zone.[3]
There are plant species typical of each zone, with those at higher altitudes often exhibiting striking specializations.[4]
Approximately three-quarters of Afro-alpine vegetation is endemic.[5]
Vertebrate animals move between different vegetation zones.
^Cite error: The named reference mck was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference glacierfluctuations was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference ecology was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference zonation was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^White, F. (1981). "The history of the Afromontane archipelago and the scientific need for its conservation". African Journal of Ecology. 19 (1–2). Blackwell Scientific Publications: 33–54. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2028.1981.tb00651.x.
and 28 Related for: Natural history of Mount Kenya information
The flora and fauna ofMountKenya are diverse, due to the variation in altitude, rainfall, aspect and temperature. The mountain slopes can be divided...
MountKenya (Kikuyu: Kĩrĩnyaga, Kamba, Ki Nyaa, Embu, Kirinyaa) is an extinct volcano in Kenya and the second-highest peak in Africa, after Kilimanjaro...
MountKenya University (MKU) is a private, multi-campus university in the municipal town of Thika, Kenya. It was established by Prof. Simon N. Gicharu...
MountKenya National Park was established in 1949 to protect MountKenya, the wildlife, and the surrounding environment, which forms a habitat for wild...
A part of Eastern Africa, the territory of what is known as Kenya has seen human habitation since the beginning of the Lower Paleolithic. The Bantu expansion...
coat of arms) are the armed forces of the Republic ofKenya. They are made up of the Kenya Army, Kenya Navy, and Kenya Air Force. The current KDF was established...
Kenya, officially the Republic ofKenya (Swahili: Jamhuri ya Kenya), is a country in East Africa. A member of the African Union with a population of more...
This is a list of sites and monuments of historic value that are maintained by the National Museums ofKenya. List of museums in Kenya Wikimedia Commons...
The climate ofMountKenya has played a critical role in the development of the mountain, influencing the topography and ecology amongst other factors...
Most of the peaks on MountKenya have been summited. The majority of these involve rock climbing as the easiest route, although some only require a scramble...
The units of the Kenya Army Infantry are the principal fighting arms of the Kenya Army. The primary mission of the Infantry formations is to fight and...
The Luo ofKenya and Tanzania are a Nilotic ethnic group native to western Kenya and the Mara Region of northern Tanzania in East Africa. The Luo are...
Archdiocese ofKenya, namely the Diocese of Nyeri and MountKenya, as well as the Diocese of Kisumu and West Kenya, both falling under the Archdiocese of Nairobi...
The Cleveland Museum ofNaturalHistory is a naturalhistory museum located approximately five miles (8 km) east of downtown Cleveland, Ohio in University...
The MountKenya dwarf gecko (Lygodactylus wojnowskii) is a species of lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is endemic to Kenya. The specific name...
eastern base of the Aberdare (Nyandarua) Range, which forms part of the eastern end of the Great Rift Valley, and the western slopes ofMountKenya. The city...
timeline of the HistoryofKenya comprising important legal and territorial changes as well as political, social, and economic events in Kenya, read more...
leopard (P. p. pardus) was sighted in the alpine zone ofMountKenya in the winter of 1989–1990. In Kenya's Laikipia County, a black leopard was photographed...
The American Museum ofNaturalHistory (AMNH) is a naturalhistory museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Located in Theodore Roosevelt...
Tourism in Kenya is Kenya's third largest source of foreign exchange revenue, following diaspora remittances and agriculture. The Kenya Tourism Board is...
height ofMount Everest. On 12 May 2022, the first all-Black team summited Mt. Everest. Seven men and two women climbers from the U.S. and Kenya, guided...
Nairobi on his way to MountKenya, and said of the city: Maybe one day Nairobi will be laid out with tarred roads, with avenues of flowering trees, flanked...
commonly known as the MountKenya bush viper, Ashe's bush viper, or Desaix's bush viper, is a venomous species of viper endemic to Kenya, where only two isolated...
Eldoret is the fifth largest city in Kenya. In the Rift Valley region, it serves as the capital of Uasin Gishu County. The town was referred to by white...
other thousands back to Kenya." In the 1960s parts of the movie Hatari! with John Wayne were filmed at Momela Lakes and at Mount Meru. Arusha has been a...
The NaturalHistory Museum of Zimbabwe is located in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, on Leopold Takawira Avenue. Designed by architect James Whalley, the museum officially...
situated between Mount Elgon and the Cherangany Hills.The town has an elevation of around 1,900 metres (6,200 ft) Its population was 162,174 as of 2019. Kitale...