Own research: Vegetation

So I decided to study the vegetation in the Taita hills. I first did some research on the topic in Finland  by searching information on the internet and then I also borrowed some books from the library. There wasn’t much info to be found except for the fact that the weather plays a great role in how the vegetation changes during the year, and that the vegetation on different heights (like mountains and savannas) differ greatly.

After the pre-research I had the vision that the vegetation on the mountains is rich and green since there are clouds forming over the mountains at night and so the trees are able to gather moisture, and that the vegetation on the savannas is mostly made up of grass and bushes since it is so dry there. I also found out that the rain seasons play a huge role in what the vegetation looks like.

While in Kenya I noted all of this to be very true. Since it was January the trees were magnificent looking, filled with rich green colours due to the fact that the rain season had just ended. Some trees though were already starting to turn yellowish and shedding leaves to better store the energy for the next dry months. While climbing on the mountains we walked trough thick forests reaching high up towards the sky and surrounding us. The vegetation consisted of many different species of trees, bushes flowers etc.

Then when we were at the Lumo safari the scenery was entirely different, lots of grass everywhere, some bushes and only a few trees. The savannas are dry and wide. While on the safari we did see some  water spots which were surrounded by more vegetation. The trees in the savanna often get destroyed by elephants when they are eating.

Altogether the vegetation was very different from what we are used to in Finland, and differed greatly from place to place because of the variation in water resources.

Sara Hartman