|
Western Guinean Lowland Forests
The Western Guinean lowland forests ecoregion (WWF #AT0130) is a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion of West Africa. It is centered on Liberia, with portions in surrounding countries. It is the westernmost tropical rainforest in Africa, and has high levels of species endemism, with over 200 species of endemic plants. Geography The ecoregion includes the lowland forests extending from the Atlantic Ocean a few hundred kilometres inland, and from western Côte d'Ivoire across Liberia, southeastern Guinea, most of Sierra Leone, and into southwest Guinea. The terrain is relatively flat, with a mean elevation of 2,225 meters and a few isolated mountains that reach a high point of . Major rivers include the Sewa River, Mano River, Saint Paul River, Cavalla River and Sassandra River. The soils are poor, heavily leached lateritic. The Sassandra River of Côte d'Ivoire separates the Western Guinean forests from the Eastern Guinean forests which lie to the east. Inland and to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taï National Park
Taï National Park () is a national park in Côte d'Ivoire that contains one of the last areas of primary rainforest in West Africa. It was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1982 due to the diversity of its flora and fauna. Five mammal species of the Taï National Park are on the Red List of Threatened Species: pygmy hippopotamus, olive colobus monkeys, leopards, chimpanzees and Jentink's duiker. Taï National Park is approximately 100 km from the Ivoirian coast on the border with Liberia between the Cavally and Sassandra Rivers. It covers an area of 3,300 km2 with a 200 km2 buffer zone up to 396 m. The Taï Forest reserve was created in 1926, and promoted to national park status in 1972. It was recognized as a UNESCO biosphere reserve in 1978, and added to the list of Natural World Heritage Sites in 1982. The Taï Forest is a natural reservoir of the Ebola virus. The World Health Organization has expressed concern over the proximity of this reserv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cavalla River
The Cavalla River (also known as the Cavally, the Youbou and the Diougou) is a river in West Africa running from north of Mont Nimba in Guinea, through Côte d'Ivoire, to Zwedru in Liberia, and back to the border with Côte d'Ivoire. It ends in the Gulf of Guinea east of Harper, Liberia. It forms the southern two-thirds of the international boundary between Liberia and Côte d'Ivoire. It has a length of , and is the longest river in Liberia. The name is derived from the cavalla horse mackerel Horse mackerel is a vague vernacular term for a range of species of fish throughout the English-speaking world. It is commonly applied to pelagic fishes, especially of the Carangidae (jack mackerels and scads) family, most commonly those of the gen ... found at its mouth. It is home to the endemic Chiloglanis normani. References External links *World River Discharge Database Rivers of Liberia Rivers of Ivory Coast Rivers of Guinea International rivers of Africa Ivory Coast–L ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coula Edulis
''Coula edulis'' is a tree in the genus ''Coula'', native to tropical western Africa from Sierra Leone to Angola. It is plentiful in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. It prefers tropical regions and is tolerant of light shade. It can be found in the top canopy of forest as well as the lower story and has no special soil requirements. It is an evergreen tree growing to a height of 25–38 m, and has a dense crown that can cast deep shade. The leaves are arranged alternately, simple, 10–30 cm long and 4 cm broad, with an entire margin and an acuminate apex. The flowers are produced from April to June, and are greenish yellow, with either four or five petals. The nut is an ellipsoidal drupe available from August to January, 3–4 cm long, with flesh surrounding the kernel, 5–6 mm thick, smooth in texture and can be red or green. The kernel shell is extremely hard and makes germination difficult. The nuts are usually found under the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Allanblackia Floribunda
''Allanblackia floribunda'', known in English as 'tallow tree', is a species of flowering plant in the family Clusiaceae that has been long used in traditional African medicine to treat hypertension. It is a common understory tree in rainforests in western central Africa - from Sierra Leone to western Cameroon, and on into the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. The medium-sized tree (up to 30 meters tall) is evergreen and dioecious (male and female flowers on different plants). The wood is said to be resistant to termites but is not particularly durable. It is fairly easy to work and finishes well but it is of little commercial importance though it has appeared on the market in Liberia as "lacewood". Uses The wood is used in Nigeria in hut-building for making walls, doors, and window frames, and in Liberia for planks. In Ghana, small trees are cut for poles and used as mine pit props and bridge piles. The twigs are used in Ghana as candlesticks, and the smaller ones as chew-s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Strombosia Glaucescens
''Strombosia'' is a plant genus of about 10 species in the family Olacaceae. It has also been classified in the family Strombosiaceae. The generic name is from the Greek ', meaning "pear-shaped", referring to the fruit. Description ''Strombosia'' species grow as shrubs or trees. The flowers are bisexual with 5 petals. The fruits are drupes (pitted) with a thin, fleshy pericarp. Distribution and habitat ''Strombosia'' species are distributed mostly in tropical Africa, with others in tropical Asia. Their habitat is typically lowland forests. Species , Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It was launched in March 2017 with the ultimate aim being "to enable users to access information on all the world's known seed-bearing plants by ... recognised 11 species: * '' Strombosia ceylanica'' * '' Strombosia fleuryana'' * '' Strombosia gossweileri'' * '' Strombosia grandifolia'' * '' Strom ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tropical Savanna Climate With Dry-winter Characteristics
The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to as the tropical zone and the torrid zone (see geographical zone). In terms of climate, the tropics receive sunlight that is more direct than the rest of Earth and are generally hotter and wetter as they aren't affected as much by the solar seasons. The word "tropical" sometimes refers to this sort of climate in the zone rather than to the geographical zone itself. The tropical zone includes deserts and snow-capped mountains, which are not tropical in the climatic sense. The tropics are distinguished from the other climatic and biomatic regions of Earth, which are the middle latitudes and the polar regions on either side of the equatorial zone. The tropics constitute 40% of Earth's surface area and contain 36% of Earth's landmass. , t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Köppen Climate Classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notably in 1918 and 1936. Later, the climatologist Rudolf Geiger (1894–1981) introduced some changes to the classification system, which is thus sometimes called the Köppen–Geiger climate classification system. The Köppen climate classification divides climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on seasonal precipitation and temperature patterns. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (temperate), ''D'' (continental), and ''E'' (polar). Each group and subgroup is represented by a letter. All climates are assigned a main group (the first letter). All climates except for those in the ''E'' group are assigned a seasonal precipitation subgroup (the second letter). For example, ''Af'' indi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tropical Savanna Climate
Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry winter) and ''As'' (for a dry summer). The driest month has less than of precipitation and also less than 100-\left (\frac \right)mm of precipitation. This latter fact is in a direct contrast to a tropical monsoon climate, whose driest month sees less than of precipitation but has ''more'' than 100-\left (\frac \right) of precipitation. In essence, a tropical savanna climate tends to either see less overall rainfall than a tropical monsoon climate or have more pronounced dry season(s). In tropical savanna climates, the dry season can become severe, and often drought conditions prevail during the course of the year. Tropical savanna climates often feature tree-studded grasslands due to its dryness, rather than thick jungle. It is this widespread occurrence of tall, coarse grass (called savanna) which has led t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biodiversity Hotspot
A biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region with significant levels of biodiversity that is threatened by human habitation. Norman Myers wrote about the concept in two articles in ''The Environmentalist'' in 1988 and 1990, after which the concept was revised following thorough analysis by Myers and others into “Hotspots: Earth’s Biologically Richest and Most Endangered Terrestrial Ecoregions” and a paper published in the journal ''Nature'', both in 2000. To qualify as a biodiversity hotspot on Myers' 2000 edition of the hotspot map, a region must meet two strict criteria: it must contain at least 1,500 species of vascular plants (more than 0.5% of the world's total) as endemics, and it has to have lost at least 70% of its primary vegetation. Globally, 36 zones qualify under this definition. These sites support nearly 60% of the world's plant, bird, mammal, reptile, and amphibian species, with a high share of those species as endemics. Some of these hotspots support up ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guinean Forests Of West Africa
The Guinean forests of West Africa is a biodiversity hotspot designated by Conservation International, which includes the belt of tropical moist broadleaf forests along the coast of West Africa, running from Sierra Leone and Guinea in the west to the Sanaga River of Cameroon in the east. The Dahomey Gap, a region of savanna and dry forest in Togo and Benin, divides the Guinean forests into the Upper Guinean forests and Lower Guinean forests. The Upper Guinean forests extend from Sierra Leone and Guinea in the west through Liberia, Côte d'Ivoire, and Ghana to Togo in the east. The Lower Guinean forests extend east from Benin through Nigeria and Cameroon. The Lower Guinean forests also extend south past the Sanaga River, the southern boundary of the hotspot, into southern Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Republic of the Congo, Cabinda, and Democratic Republic of the Congo. Ecoregions The World Wide Fund for Nature divides the Upper and Lower Guinean forests into a number o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Conservation International
Conservation International (CI) is an American nonprofit environmental organization headquartered in Crystal City, Arlington, Virginia. CI's work focuses on science, policy and partnership with businesses, governments and communities. The organization employs nearly 1,000 people and works with more than 2,000 partners in 29 countries. CI has helped support 1,200 protected areas and interventions across 77 countries, protecting more than 6 million square kilometers (2.3 million square miles) of land and sea. History Conservation International was founded in 1987 with the goal of protecting nature for the benefit of people. In 1989, CI formally committed to the protection of biodiversity hotspots, ultimately identifying 36 such hotspots around the world and contributing to their protection. The model of protecting hotspots became a key way for organizations to do conservation work. On July 1, 2017, Peter Seligmann stepped down as CEO of CI and a new executive team made up of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
