South Sudan

== Geography ==
{{Main|Geography of South Sudan}}
{{More citations needed section|date=July 2022}}
[[File:South Sudan protected areas.svg|thumb|upright=1.3|Protected areas in South Sudan]]
South Sudan lies between latitudes [[3rd parallel north|3°]] and [[13th parallel north|13°N]], and longitudes [[24th meridian east|24°]] and [[36th meridian east|36°E]]. It is covered in tropical forest, swamps, and grassland. The [[White Nile]] passes through the country, passing by Juba.<ref name="BBC independence" />

South Sudan's protected area of [[Bandingilo National Park]] hosts the second-largest [[wildlife]] migration in the world. Surveys have revealed that [[Boma National Park]], west of the Ethiopian border, as well as the [[Sudd]] wetland and [[Southern National Park]] near the border with Congo, provided habitat for large populations of [[hartebeest]], [[kob]], [[topi]], [[African buffalo|buffalo]], elephants, giraffes, and lions.

South Sudan's forest reserves also provided habitat for [[Bongo (antelope)|bongo]], [[giant forest hog]]s, [[red river hog]]s, forest elephants, [[Common chimpanzee|chimpanzees]], and forest [[monkeys]]. Surveys begun in 2005 by [[Wildlife Conservation Society|WCS]] in partnership with the semi-autonomous government of Southern Sudan revealed that significant, though diminished wildlife populations still exist, and that, astonishingly, the huge migration of 1.3&nbsp;million antelopes in the southeast is substantially intact.

Habitats in the country include grasslands, high-altitude plateaus and escarpments, wooded and grassy savannas, floodplains, and wetlands. Associated wildlife species include the endemic white-eared kob and [[Nile Lechwe]], as well as elephants, giraffes, [[common eland]], [[giant eland]], [[oryx]], lions, [[Lycaon pictus|African wild dogs]], cape buffalo, and topi (locally called tiang). Little is known about the white-eared kob and tiang, both types of [[antelope]], whose magnificent migrations were legendary before the civil war. The Boma-Jonglei Landscape region encompasses Boma National Park, broad pasturelands and floodplains, Bandingilo National Park, and the Sudd, a vast area of swamp and seasonally flooded grasslands that includes the Zeraf Wildlife Reserve.

Little is known of the fungi of South Sudan. A list of fungi in Sudan was prepared by S. A. J. Tarr and published by the then [[Commonwealth Mycological Institute]] (Kew, Surrey, UK) in 1955. The list, of 383 species in 175 genera, included all fungi observed within the then boundaries of the country. Many of those records relate to what is now South Sudan. Most of the species recorded were associated with diseases of crops. The true number of species of fungi in South Sudan is probably much higher.

In 2006, President Kiir announced that his government would do everything possible to protect and propagate South Sudanese fauna and flora, and seek to reduce the effects of wildfires, waste dumping, and water pollution. The environment is threatened by the development of the economy and infrastructure. The country had a 2019 [[Forest Landscape Integrity Index]] mean score of 9.45/10, ranking it fourth globally out of 172 countries.<ref name="FLII-Supplementary">{{cite journal|last1=Grantham|first1=H. S.|last2=Duncan|first2=A.|last3=Evans|first3=T. D.|last4=Jones|first4=K. R.|last5=Beyer|first5=H. L.|last6=Schuster|first6=R.|last7=Walston|first7=J.|last8=Ray|first8=J. C.|last9=Robinson|first9=J. G.|last10=Callow|first10=M.|last11=Clements|first11=T.|last12=Costa|first12=H. M.|last13=DeGemmis|first13=A.|last14=Elsen|first14=P. R.|last15=Ervin|first15=J.|last16=Franco|first16=P.|last17=Goldman|first17=E.|last18=Goetz|first18=S.|last19=Hansen|first19=A.|last20=Hofsvang|first20=E.|last21=Jantz|first21=P.|last22=Jupiter|first22=S.|last23=Kang|first23=A.|last24=Langhammer|first24=P.|last25=Laurance|first25=W. F.|last26=Lieberman|first26=S.|last27=Linkie|first27=M.|last28=Malhi|first28=Y.|last29=Maxwell|first29=S.|last30=Mendez|first30=M.|last31=Mittermeier|first31=R.|last32=Murray|first32=N. J.|last33=Possingham|first33=H.|last34=Radachowsky|first34=J.|last35=Saatchi|first35=S.|last36=Samper|first36=C.|last37=Silverman|first37=J.|last38=Shapiro|first38=A.|last39=Strassburg|first39=B.|last40=Stevens|first40=T.|last41=Stokes|first41=E.|last42=Taylor|first42=R.|last43=Tear|first43=T.|last44=Tizard|first44=R.|last45=Venter|first45=O.|last46=Visconti|first46=P.|last47=Wang|first47=S.|last48=Watson|first48=J. E. M.|display-authors=1|title=Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity – Supplementary Material|journal=Nature Communications|volume=11|issue=1|year=2020|page=5978|issn=2041-1723|doi=10.1038/s41467-020-19493-3|pmid=33293507|pmc=7723057|bibcode=2020NatCo..11.5978G|doi-access=free}}</ref>

Several [[ecoregion]]s extend across South Sudan: the [[East Sudanian savanna]], [[Northern Congolian forest–savanna mosaic]], [[Saharan flooded grasslands]] (Sudd), [[Sahelian Acacia savanna]], [[East African montane forests]], and the [[Northern Acacia–Commiphora bushlands and thickets]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Burgess|first1=Neil|first2=Jennifer|last2=D'Amico Hales|first3= Emma|last3=Underwood|year=2004|title= Terrestrial Ecoregions of Africa and Madagascar: A Conservation Assessment|publisher= Island Press|place= Washington DC|isbn=978-1-55963-364-2}}</ref>

=== Climate ===
[[File:Koppen-Geiger Map SSD present.svg|thumb|upright=1.35|South Sudan map of Köppen climate classification]]
South Sudan has a tropical climate, characterized by a rainy season of high humidity and large amounts of rainfall followed by a drier season. The temperature on average is always high with July being the coolest month with average temperatures falling between {{convert|68|and|86|F|C|order=flip}} and March being the warmest month with average temperatures ranging from {{convert|73|to|98|F|C|order=flip}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.weather-and-climate.com/average-monthly-Rainfall-Temperature-Sunshine,Juba,Sudan|title=Average weather in Juba, Sudan|work=weather-and-climate.com|access-date=19 April 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130915023106/http://www.weather-and-climate.com/average-monthly-Rainfall-Temperature-Sunshine,Juba,Sudan|archive-date=15 September 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>

The most rainfall is seen between May and October, but the rainy season can commence in April and extend until November. On average May is the wettest month. The season is "influenced by the annual shift of the Inter-Tropical Zone"<ref name="factbook" /> and the shift to southerly and southwesterly winds leading to slightly lower temperatures, higher humidity, and more cloud coverage.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/373303|title=Weather: Juba|work=BBC|access-date=19 April 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140213155823/http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/373303|archive-date=13 February 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Wildlife===
{{Main|Wildlife of South Sudan}}