Distribution in the Succulent Karoo Biome
The most distinctive character of the Succulent Karoo Biome is the high diversity of dwarf leaf-succulent shrubs (1,700 species). The biome covers an interrupted belt of unequal depth spanning the coastal regions near Lüderitz (Namibia), Namaqualand, the Hantam, Tanqua and Roggeveld region as well as the Little Karoo.
The Succulent Karoo Biome covers a large area characterised by complex geology. Pedogenic diversification is a hallmark of arid environments and is supposedly one of the major driving forces of diversification of flora and vegetation in these climatically extreme ecosystems.
The Succulent Karoo is a semidesert region with a strong maritime influence characterised by an even, mild climate. Most of the biome falls within a typical unimodal winter-rainfall region (Namaqualand and the western Great Escarpment), while the greater Little Karoo region shows either all-year-round precipitation or bimodal precipitation regimes.
