This page features a list of biogeographic provinces that were developed by Miklos Udvardy in 1975, later modified by other authors. Biogeographic Province is a biotic subdivision of biogeographic realms subdivided into ecoregions, which are classified based on their biomes or habitat types and, on this page, correspond to the floristic kingdoms of botany.
The provinces represent the large areas of Earth's surface within which organisms have been evolving in relative isolation over long periods of time, separated from one another by geographic features, such as oceans, broad deserts, or high mountain ranges, that constitute barriers to migration.
Biomes are characterized by similar climax vegetation, though each realm may include a number of different biomes. A tropical moist broadleaf forest in Brazil, for example, may be similar to one in New Guinea in its vegetation type and structure, climate, soils, etc., but these forests are inhabited by plants with very different evolutionary histories.
Afrotropical Realm
Tropical humid forests
Guinean Rainforest
Congo Rainforest
Malagasy Rainforest
Tropical dry or deciduous forests (incl. Monsoon forests) or woodlands
West African Woodland/Savanna
East African Woodland/Savanna
Congo Woodland/Savanna
Miombo Woodland/Savanna
South African Woodland/Savanna
Malagasy Woodland/Savanna
Malagasy Thorn Forest
Evergreen sclerophyllous forests, scrubs or woodlands
Cape Sclerophyll
Warm deserts and semideserts
Western Sahel
Eastern Sahel
Somalian
Namib
Kalahari
Karroo
Mixed mountain and highland systems with complex zonation
Ethiopian Highlands
Guinean Highlands
Central African Highlands
East African Highlands
South African Highlands
Mixed island systems
Ascension and St. Helena Islands
Comores Islands and Aldabra
Mascarene Islands
Lake systems
Lake Rudolph
Lake Ukerewe (Victoria) Lake Tanganyika Lake Malawi (Nyassa)