African Baobab

About African Baobab: 

• Baobabs are long-lived deciduous, small to large trees from 20 to 100 ft tall with broad trunks and compact tops.
• These trees can live to become thousands of years old. The oldest baobab tree on record was the Panke baobab in Zimbabwe, which lived to be a venerable 2450 years old
• Distribution: These solitary trees are also incredibly resilient, thriving in dry, open areas such as the savannas of southern Africa and western Madagascar.
• Ecological significance:
  • Baobab trees are fundamental to the entire dry African savanna ecosystem. They help keep soil conditions humid, aid nutrient recycling, and slow soil erosion with their massive root systems.
  • It absorbs and stores water from the rainy season in its massive trunk, producing a nutrient-dense fruit in the dry season, which can grow up to a foot long.
  • The fruit contains tartaric acid and Vitamin C, serving as a vital nutrient and food source for many species.
  • These baobabs play a vital role in their ecosystem; mitigate impacts of climate change, providing food and shelter to animals and humans.
  • Its fruit is recognised as having high fibre content, acting as a natural prebiotic that promotes the growth of beneficial bacteria in the gut.

Q1: What is Savanna grassland?

It is a vegetation type that grows under hot, seasonally dry climatic conditions and is characterized by an open tree canopy above a continuous tall grass understory (the vegetation layer between the forest canopy and the ground).

Source: New research refutes claim that the African Baobab is dying due to climate change