The Madagascar subhumid forests are a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion that covers most of the Central Highlands of the island of Madagascar. They are included in the WWF's Global 200 list of outstanding ecoregions. Most of the original habitats have been lost due to human pressure.
Geography
The Madagascar subhumid forests ecoregion covers Madagascar's highlands, which extend north and south along the length of the island, above approximately elevation on the east and above meters elevation on the west.
The Central Highlands is the largest highland region on the island, extending from approximately 16º to 23º south. The Central Highlands include Ankaratra and the Andringitra Massif, which is home to Pic Boby (2,658 m), the Central Highlands' highest peak.
The Northern Highlands includes the Tsaratanana Massif in the north, home to Maromokotro (2,876 m) Madagascar's highest peak, and the massifs of Marojejy to the northeast and Manongarivo to the northwest. It is separated from the Central Highlands by the Mandritsara Window, an east–west-running gap in the mountains with elevations below 800 meters.
The original flora of the ecoregion has been much altered by human use; extensive areas have been cleared for agriculture, grazing, and rice cultivation, and some exotic species such as Acacia and Eucalyptus have been introduced. Moist evergreen forests are less susceptible to fire than the sclerophyll forests and ericoid thickets. Frequent human-set fires have transformed some of the ecoregion's former forests into savannas and grasslands.
thumb|[[Ankarana Special Reserve|Ankarana Plateau, showing tsingy]]
Sambirano forests. The Sambirano region, also known as the Sambirano Domain, is a coastal region of northwestern Madagascar, lying west of the Tsaratanana and Manongarivo massifs. The region has higher rainfall than the rest of the west coast, and is home to distinctive forests. The Sambirano forests are predominantly evergreen, with some deciduous species characteristic of the dry forests to the north and south, which form a mature canopy 25 to 30 meters high. The Sambirano forests are home to several endemic species of plants and animals. Lowland primary forest has been reduced to small patches.
Secondary grasslands cover broad areas of the highlands. They are typically species–poor. 'Tanety' grasslands are low, sparse grasslands between 1,200 and 1,500 meters elevation, where Aristida rufescens is the characteristic species. 'Tampoketsa' grasslands cover the plateaus north and northeast of Antananarivo, between 1,600 and 1,900 meters elevation. The Madagascar endemic grass Loudetia simplex subsp. stipoides is predominant, interspersed with small patches of remnant forest. Low grasslands have also replaced most of the former tapia forests on the western slopes, between 800 and 1,600 meters elevation.
Lake Alaotra and its wetlands were once home to two endemic water birds, the Madagascar pochard (Aythya innotata) and Alaotra grebe (Tachybaptus rufolavatus). Both have disappeared from the lake. The Alaotra grebe is thought extinct, and the Madagascar pochard was thought extinct until a small population was sighted at Lake Matsaborimena.
Two dry forest species, Coquerel's coua (Coua coquereli) and Schlegel's asity (Philepitta schlegeli) also inhabit the humid forests of Sambirano.]]
The central highlands are the most densely populated region of Madagascar, and includes the country's capital and largest city, Antananarivo. The highlands' population is growing.
Madagascar's high plateau forests have been altered by humans in most places. There has been extensive slash-and-burn activity by native peoples in the central highlands, eliminating most forest. Other impacts include land clearing for agriculture, overexploitation, introduced species, and pollution.
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