The Chari and Logone rivers, which drain northwards from the highlands along the basin's southern edge, supply 95% of Lake Chad's freshwater.

Common reed bed plants in the southern lake include Cyperus papyrus, Phragmites mauritianus, and Vossia cuspidata.

Nile lettuce (Pistia stratiotes) is a floating plant that occasionally forms large beds across open-water areas.

Characteristic plants include Echinochloa pyramidalis, Vetiveria nigritana, Oryza longistaminata, and Hyparrhenia rufa.

Where seasonal flooding is shallower and shorter duration, Trees and shrubs are present, ranging from savannas to woodlands, locally known ‘karal’ or ‘firki’.

An understory of grasses and shrubs grows 2 to 3 meters high, and includes Caperonia palustris, Echinochloa colona, Hibiscus asper, Hygrophila auriculata, Sorghum purpureosericeum, and Schoenfeldia gracilis.

[3] The flooded grasslands and savannas are important habitat for water birds, including Palearctic migrants that over-winter here.