Madagascar - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madagascar

running parallel to it for some

600 km (370 mi). The western
and southern sides, which lie in
the rain shadow of the central
highlands, are home to dry
deciduous forests, spiny forests,
and deserts and xeric
shrublands. Due to their lower
The grassy plains that dominate the western landscape are dotted with stony massifs
population densities,
(left), patches of deciduous forest, and baobab trees (center), while the south is
Madagascar's dry deciduous
characterized by desert and spiny forests (right).
forests have been better
preserved than the eastern rain
forests or the original woodlands of the central plateau. The western coast features many protected harbors, but
silting is a major problem caused by sediment from the high levels of inland erosion carried by rivers crossing the
broad western plains.[16]

Climate
See also: Geography of Madagascar Climate
The combination of southeastern trade winds and northwestern monsoons produces
a hot rainy season (NovemberApril) with frequently destructive cyclones, and a
relatively cooler dry season (MayOctober). Rain clouds originating over the Indian
Ocean discharge much of their moisture over the island's eastern coast; the heavy
precipitation supports the area's rain forest ecosystem. The central highlands are
both drier and cooler while the west is drier still, and a semi-arid climate prevails in
the southwest and southern interior of the island.[15] Tropical cyclones annually
cause damage to infrastructure and local economies as well as loss of life.[17] In
2004 Cyclone Gafilo became the strongest cyclone ever recorded to hit Madagascar.
The storm killed 172 people, left 214,260 homeless[18] and caused more than
US$250 million in damage.[19]

Ecology

Biogeographic timetable of
Madagascar over the last 200
million years

Main articles: Wildlife of Madagascar, Flora of Madagascar, Fauna of

Madagascar, Agroecology in Madagascar, Ecoregions of Madagascar and List of World Heritage Sites in
Madagascar
As a result of the island's long isolation from neighboring continents, Madagascar is
home to an abundance of plants and animals found nowhere else on Earth.[20][21]
Approximately 90% of all plant and animal species found in Madagascar are
endemic,[22] including the lemurs (a type of strepsirrhine primate), the carnivorous
fossa and many birds. This distinctive ecology has led some ecologists to refer to
Madagascar as the "eighth continent",[23] and the island has been classified by
Conservation International as a biodiversity hotspot.[20]
More than 80 percent of Madagascar's 14,883 plant species are found nowhere else
in the world, including five plant families.[24] The family Didiereaceae, composed
of four genera and 11 species, is limited to the spiny forests of southwestern
Madagascar.[15] Four-fifths of the world's Pachypodium species are endemic to the
island.[25] Three-fourths[26] of Madagascar's 860[24] orchid species are found here
alone, as are six of the world's eight baobab species.[27] The island is home to
around 170 palm species, three times as many as on all of mainland Africa; 165 of
4 of 27

The island's iconic traveler's

palm (ravinala) features in
the national emblem.
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