The Cross–Niger transition forests are a

tropical moist broadleaf forest Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF), also known as tropical moist forest, is a subtropical and tropical forest habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Description TSMF is generally found in large, disco ...

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas o ...

of southeastern

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of G ...

, located between the

Niger River The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through Mali ...

on the west and the Cross River on the east. Once a rich mixture of tropical forest and savanna woodland covered these low, rolling hills but today this is one of the most densely populated areas of Africa and today most of the forest has been removed and the area is now grassland.

Location and description

The ecoregion extends across the Nigerian states of Abia,

Akwa Ibom Akwa Ibom State is a state in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered on the east by Cross River State, on the west by Rivers State and Abia State, and on the south by the Atlantic Ocean. The state takes its name from the Qua Iboe R ...

Anambra Anambra State is a Nigerian state, located in the southeastern region of the country. The state was created on August 27, 1991. Anambra state is bounded by Delta State to the west, Imo State to the south, Enugu State to the east and Kogi Stat ...

, Ebonyi, and

Imo IMO or Imo may refer to: Biology and medicine * Irish Medical Organisation, the main organization for doctors in the Republic of Ireland * Intelligent Medical Objects, a privately held company specializing in medical vocabularies * Isomaltooligos ...

, covering an area of . The Niger River separates the Cross–Niger transition forests from the

Nigerian lowland forests The Nigerian lowland forests is a tropical moist forest ecoregion in southwestern Nigeria and southeastern Benin. The ecoregion is densely populated, and home to several large cities including Lagos, Ibadan, and Benin City. There is still signifi ...

to the west, which probably resembles most closely the original environment of the Cross–Niger ecoregion. To the south and south-west lies the

Niger Delta swamp forests The Niger Delta swamp forests is a tropical moist forest ecoregion in southern Nigeria. It consists of freshwater swamp forests in the Niger Delta of the Niger River. This swamp forest is the second largest in Africa, after the Congolian swamp f ...

. To the north, the Cross–Niger transition forests yield to the

Guinean forest-savanna mosaic Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

of the drier interior. The climate is wet, becoming drier further inland, with a dry season from December to February.

Flora

The traditional flora and fauna of the ecoregion is "transitional", blending elements from the

Upper Guinean forests The Upper Guinean forests is a tropical seasonal forest region of West Africa. The Upper Guinean forests extend from Guinea and Sierra Leone in the west through Liberia, Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana to Togo in the east, and a few hundred kilometers i ...

of West Africa and the Lower Guinean-Congolian forests of Central Africa, which constitute the largest blocks of tropical moist forest on the African continent. Trees in the area include Afzelia, which is cultivated for timber, and the

Borassus aethiopum ''Borassus aethiopum'' is a species of ''Borassus'' palm from Africa. In English it is variously referred to as African fan palm, African palmyra palm, deleb palm, ron palm, toddy palm, black rhun palm, rônier palm (from the French). It is wides ...

palm.

Fauna

Small areas of protected forest do remain within the grassland and these are home to animals such as Sclater's guenon and crested chameleon (''Trioceros cristatus''). The

has always been a substantial barrier to movement of wildlife in and out of the region. Large mammals have been depleted in the area since the 1940s and there is now so little wildlife remaining in the area that even bats and frogs are now trapped and eaten.

Threats

The ecoregion has sustained a dense human population for centuries, and much of the original forest cover has been cleared for agriculture, forest plantations, and urban developments such as the oil refineries of Port Harcourt. The few remaining enclaves of native forest include the

Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve Stubbs may refer to: Places United States *Stubbs, California, former name of Clearlake Oaks, California, census-designated place *Stubbs, Missouri, an unincorporated community *Stubbs, Texas, an unincorporated community *Stubbs, Wisconsin, a tow ...

together with some enclaves of sacred forest, which are continually disappearing as village life is eroded, and patches of riverine forest. There are forest reserves in

and elsewhere but these last are mostly for the purpose of cultivating timber rather than preserving the original environment.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cross-Niger transition forests Afrotropical ecoregions Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests Geography of Nigeria Cross River (Nigeria) Niger River Ecoregions of Nigeria