grows wheat and other irrigated crops on 200 hectares with plans to expand to 2,500 hectares. Ecology The Kafue Flats consists of a complex pattern of floodplain, lagoons, ox-bow lakes, abandoning river channels, marshes and levees surrounded by grasslands and woodlands. The flats comprise two ecoregions. The central seasonally- and permanently-flooded areas are part of the Zambezian flooded grasslands ecoregion, and the surrounding grasslands and woodlands are in the Zambezian and mopane woodlands ecoregion. The soils of the flats are heavy in texture and tend to crack widely when dry, becoming very sticky and plastic when wet. These soils are mainly black or dark gray and produce an irregular surface relief known as gilgai consisting of a series of small ridges standing 20–60 cm above circular depressions about 2–7 meters in diameter. Vegetation The main vegetation types of the Kafue Flats are woodland (miombo, mopane, Acacia, and Combretum), termitaria grassland, flooded grasslands, permanent swamps and levees and lagoons. Wildlife The Kafue lechwe (Kobus leche kafuensis), an antelope specialised for living in the marshy conditions of the flats, is endemic to the area. There were estimated to be 250,000 lechwe living on the Kafue Flats in 1931, one of the highest animal carrying capacities in the world at 11,000 kg per km2. By 2005 the number of lechwe was estimated to have fallen to 38,000, a number which remained mostly stable until the next census completed in 2009. The declining numbers of Kafue lechwe has been attributed to the building of the Itezhi-Tezhi Dam and subsequent change in intensity and timing of flooding as well as illegal poaching and the pressures of rising numbers of people and cattle. Along with lechwe, zebras are the dominant species of large mammal that are found in the flats. Wildebeest, buffalo, roan, kudu, hippo are present in limited numbers particularly in and around the Lochinvar and Blue Lagoon National Parks. Birds The Kafue Flats area supports more than 450 species of threatened, endangered and migratory bird species and the area has been designated an Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) by Birdlife International. The flats are home to large concentrations of resident and migratory waterbirds including significant breeding colonies deep within the swamps. The flats also host a high diversity and density of breeding raptors particularly vultures. The flats are an extremely important habitat for the wattled crane (Bugeranus carunculatus) which is listed in the