The Taita Hills region includes three closely situated massifs (Dabida, Mbololo, Sagalla) and Mt. Kasigau which is located further away. The potential natural vegetation on the upper slopes of the Dabida massif consists mostly of evergreen moist montane forest classified as Ocotea forest. The long-lasting and intensive human influence has split the indigenous forest into small, isolated patches and none are in pristine condition: most are heavily disturbed, surrounded, or mixed with exotic plantation trees and embedded in an intensively used agricultural landscape. Research in the area is supported by the multidisciplinary Taita Research Station, established by the University of Helsinki in 2011.
