Boundaries

The Zambezi Highveld, located within Zimbabwe, is situated on the great Southern African central plateau (IUCN 1992). This ecoregion is delineated based on the northern subregion of the Highveld (temperate) aquatic region of Skelton (Skelton 1993) and follows the contours of the interior plateaus of Zimbabwe above about 600 m.

Freshwater habitats

The aquatic habitats found on this plateau are large and small rivers, numerous dambos, a few artificial reservoirs, and isolated floodplains. The headwater streams of the Highveld are small and clear but revert to swollen and turbid rivers after the rains (Gratwicke 1999). Rivers and streams of this plateau flow in two directions with some feeding the Zambezi River system and others feeding the Save River system. Both rivers then flow through Mozambique and into the Indian Ocean. Perennially waterlogged dambos are widespread and cover approximately 12,000 km² (Owen 1994). Most dambos occur at an altitude above 1200 m and are associated with a mean annual rainfall greater than 800 mm. Most streams depend on dambos for their dry season flow (Magadza 2000). Two prominent wetlands are the Chipinda Pools and the Save-Runde floodplain. Chipinda Pools is a cluster of large perennial pools in the Lundi River valley, located in Gonarezhou National Park. The 40 km² Save-Runde floodplain, which includes the Tamboharta Pan, occurs in the southeastern part of the ecoregion and is one of the few floodplain areas in it (Chabwela 1994).

Terrestrial habitats

This ecoregion falls mostly within the terrestrial Zambezian biogeographic zone and the vegetation is predominantly dry miombo woodland. Grassland occurs along the Great Dyke, a broad ridge in the center of the ecoregion (IUCN 1992). Soils, which are largely derived from gneissic granite, are sandy, well drained, and have low fertility (Campbell 1994).

Description of endemic fishes

Although moderately rich in aquatic species, this ecoregion has no known endemics. 

Justification for delineation

The fauna of this ecoregion is largely Zambezian. It is believed that the fish fauna originated from the more tropical equatorial region and that deteriorating ecological conditions during the Pleistocene have resulted in reduced or depauperate faunas in many rivers of this ecoregion (Bell-Cross & Minshull 1988).

Level of taxonomic exploration

Fair. With the exception of fish (Marshall In prep; Bell-Cross & Minshull 1988), ecological information is limited, particularly for invertebrates (Mtetwe 2000). A substantial amount of research has been undertaken on the several artificial reservoirs in the region, but little work has focused on the riverine environments or the dambo areas (Marshall). Marshall and Gratwicke (1998) (Marshall and Gratwicke 1998-1999)urge further monitoring of the occurrence and distribution of fish species throughout Zimbabwe. In particular, they cite the lack of information available for the southern barred minnow (Opsaridium peringueyi) – all four specimens of this species are over 40 years old and the species has not been collected in recent years, suggesting that it may be imperiled.