**1. Introduction**

Forests contribute directly to Malawi's GDP through domestic and export product sales, employment and tourism. Forest supply more than 96% of the country's energy need. Apart from energy, trees provide timber and non-timber forest products [1, 2]. Malawi's forest cover 23,677 km<sup>2</sup> . This represents 25% of the total land area. The forest is mainly categorized into two: Miombo woodlands and plantation forests. Miombo woodlands covers 96% (22,857 km<sup>2</sup> ) of the forest, while the plantation forests cover the remaining 4% (820 km2 ) of the forest. Brachystegia is the most predominant tree genus in miombo woodlands while pine and eucalyptus are the most mutual trees in the plantations [2].

Despite the important role forests play in Malawi, the forests are being cut and degraded much faster than they are regenerating. It is estimated that the rate of deforestation is 2.8% per annum [3–5]. Furthermore, recent study has shown that between 2019 and 2025, Malawi's demand for wood fuel will exceed sustainable supply [1]. In

addition, the adverse impact of climate change on the environment has been widely reported [6–9]. Malawi has not been spared from the adverse impacts of climate variability and change as evidenced by recent floods and drought [10].

Therefore, it is important for Malawi to identify measures and strategies for adapting the climate variability and change. The purpose of this study was: (1) to determine how many forest vegetation zones exist in Malawi, (2) to determine how the structure of forest vegetation zones respond to future climate change in the aspects of boundaries, areas, and forest living biomass. This study is of importance for improving our understanding of the effect of climate change on vegetation zones and for planning the adaptation strategies of future ecological restoration programmes in Malawi and the surrounding region.
