The Central African mangroves

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 of ...

consists of the largest area of

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evolution in severa ...

swamp in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, located on the coasts of West Africa, mainly in

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 o ...

Location and description

These mangroves are found in fertile rivermouths and lagoons and contain trees up to 45m tall. Most are in

, with important areas

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

and Equatorial Guinea/

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the nort ...

and patches in

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

, and northern

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

. The largest area in the region is on the delta of 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 ...

on the

Gulf of Guinea The Gulf of Guinea is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean from Cape Lopez in Gabon, north and west to Cape Palmas in Liberia. The intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian (zero degrees latitude and longitude) is in ...

, while others include the eastern side of the Cross River delta in Nigeria and Cameroon, the Wouri estuary in Cameroon, and the

Muni River The Muni is an estuary of several rivers of Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.''A directory of African wetlands'' By R. H. Hughes, J. S. Hughes, p. 501 (on Google Books Part of its length form part of the border with Gabon. It is from this estuary tha ...

estuary on the border of Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, and the mouth of the

Congo River The Congo River ( kg, Nzâdi Kôngo, french: Fleuve Congo, pt, Rio Congo), formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the second largest river in the world by discharge ...

. As well as being home to much wildlife the mangroves hold rivers in place, filter the waters and create build-ups of nutrient-rich soil on the banks. Mangroves thrive in humid tropical climates where the sea is warm, and where high tides flood into the rivers. Therefore, there is less on the coast of the Congo, where the Benguela Current brings cool seas, but there are patches here and further south in Angola.

Flora

There are five main species of mangrove trees in the ecoregion: red mangrove (''

Rhizophora mangle ''Rhizophora mangle'', the red mangrove, is distributed in estuarine ecosystems throughout the tropics. Its viviparous "seeds", in actuality called propagules, become fully mature plants before dropping off the parent tree. These are disperse ...

''), ''

Rhizophora racemosa ''Rhizophora racemosa'' is a species of mangrove tree in the family Rhizophoraceae. It has a patchy distribution on the Pacific coast of Central and South America, occurs in places on the Atlantic coast of that continent, and has a more widesprea ...

'', and ''

Rhizophora harrisonii ''Rhizophora harrisonni'' is a species of plant in the family Rhizophoraceae. It can be found in Brazil, Cameroon, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guyana, French Guiana, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Suriname, Trinidad, Tobago, and Venezuela. De ...

'', black mangrove (''

Avicennia germinans ''Avicennia germinans'', the black mangrove, is a shrub or small tree growing up to 12 meters (39 feet) in the acanthus family, Acanthaceae. It grows in tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas, on both the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts, ...

'') and white mangrove (''

Laguncularia racemosa ''Laguncularia racemosa'', the white mangrove, is a species of flowering plant in the leadwood tree family, Combretaceae. It is native to the coasts of western Africa from Senegal to Cameroon, the Atlantic Coast of the Americas from Bermuda an ...

''), while the palm ''

Nypa fruticans ''Nypa fruticans'', commonly known as the nipa palm (or simply nipa, from ms, nipah) or mangrove palm, is a species of palm native to the coastlines and estuarine habitats of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the only palm considered adapt ...

'' has been introduced from Asia.

Fauna

The rich communities of oysters, crabs, invertebrates and the great variety of fish sheltering and spawning in the mangroves sustain animal life including monkeys, African manatee (''Trichechus senegalensis''), and turtles like the

African softshell turtle The African softshell turtle or Nile softshell turtle (''Trionyx triunguis'') is a large species of turtle from fresh-water and brackish habitats in Africa (larger parts of East, West and Middle Africa) and the Near East (Israel, Lebanon, Syria ...

(''Trionyx triunguis''). Birds include breeding waterbirds such as

striated heron The striated heron (''Butorides striata'') also known as mangrove heron, little green heron or green-backed heron, is a small heron, about 44 cm tall. Striated herons are mostly sedentary and noted for some interesting behavioral traits. The ...

and reed cormorant and large flocks of others during migration.

Services related to mangrove

Example of services related mangrove services include regulatory, provisional, cultural and supportive.

Threats and preservation

Nigeria is the most densely populated country in Africa, which puts a strain on the largest remaining areas of these fertile coastal habitats. Much has been cleared for urban and industrial development, such as the oil refineries of the Niger Delta which have also caused the rivers and swamps to become polluted. Urban areas in originally mangrove areas include

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...

in Nigeria and Douala in Cameroon. Other strains on the ecoregion include clearance for salt panning and agriculture. However mangrove is a resilient habitat and small clumps of mangrove remain in isolation all along the coast of west and central Africa. 19.86% of the Central African mangroves are in protected areas. National protected areas include

Douala Edéa National Park Douala-Edéa National Park, formerly known as Douala-Edéa Wildlife Reserve, is a national park in the Littoral Region of Cameroon. Location The park is located on either side of the mouth of the Sanaga River along the shores of the Bight of B ...

in Cameroon,

Monte Alén National Park Monte Alén National Park ( es, Parque nacional de Monte Alén) is located near the center of Equatorial Guinea. It was established in 1990. With an area of , it is the country's largest national park. The goliath frog ''(Conraua goliath)'', on ...

in Equatorial Guinea,

Akanda Akanda is the 10th largest city in Gabon. It had a population of 34,548 in 2013. It is situated in the Estuaire Province. See also * Akanda National Park *List of cities in Gabon This article shows a list of cities and towns in Gabon: List ...

and Pongara national parks in Gabon, and

Mangroves National Park Mangroves National Park (also french: Parc marin des Mangroves or Muanda Marine Reserve) is a protected area and Ramsar wetland in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the country's only marine park and is notable for its mangrove fores ...

in Democratic Republic of the Congo. There are several

Ramsar Sites A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O) *** Permanent 8 ha (P) *** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts) ** Marshes on inorganic soils: *** Permanent (herb dominated) (Tp) *** P ...

(internationally-designated wetlands of international importance) including Songor and

Keta Keta is a coastal town in the Volta Region of Ghana. It is the capital of the Keta Municipal District. Keta was an important trading post between the 14th and the late 20th centuries. The town attracted the interest of the Danish, because they ...

lagoons in Ghana."Central African mangroves". DOPA Explorer. Accessed 8 November 2021
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External links

References

UNEP (2007). Mangrove of Western and Central Africa. UNEP-Regional Seas Programme/UNEP-WCMC {{DEFAULTSORT:Central African Mangroves Afrotropical ecoregions Ecoregions of Angola Ecoregions of Cameroon Ecoregions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Ecoregions of Equatorial Guinea Ecoregions of Gabon Ecoregions of Ghana Ecoregions of Nigeria Mangrove ecoregions