The Eastern Guinean forests are a
tropical moist broadleaf forest 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 l ...
of
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...
.
Geography
The ecoregion includes the lowland forests extending from 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 the ...
a few hundred kilometres inland, from western
Côte d'Ivoire
Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...
to the western shore of
Lake Volta 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 ...
. A few enclaves lie further east and inland in the
Togo Mountains
The Togo Mountains is a mountain range which stretches across the central region of the West African country of Togo and across the eastern and western borders of that country into Ghana and Benin. In Ghana, the range is also known as the Akwapim ...
of
Togo
Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...
, eastern Ghana, and
Benin
Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north ...
. The
Sassandra River
The Sassandra River is a river of western Côte d'Ivoire in West Africa. It is formed by the confluence of the Tienba River, which originates in the highlands of northwestern Côte d'Ivoire, and the Gouan River (also known as the Bafing Sud Riv ...
of Cote d'Ivoire separates the Eastern Guinean forests from the
Western Guinean forests which lie to the west. Inland and to the east, the Eastern Guinean forests transition 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 ...
.
[Burgess, Neil, Jennifer D’Amico Hales, Emma Underwood (2004). ''Terrestrial Ecoregions of Africa and Madagascar: A Conservation Assessment''. Island Press, Washington DC.]
Cities in the ecoregion include
Abidjan
Abidjan ( , ; N'Ko script, N’ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the economic capital of the Ivory Coast. As of the Demographics of Ivory Coast, 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of overall population of the country, ...
and
Yamoussoukro
Yamoussoukro (; , locally ) is the ''de jure'' capital of Ivory Coast and an autonomous district. As of the 2014 census, Yamoussoukro is the fifth most populous city in Ivory Coast with a population of 212,670. Located north-west of Abidjan, th ...
in Ivory Coast and
Kumasi
Kumasi (historically spelled Comassie or Coomassie, usually spelled Kumase in Twi) is a city in the Ashanti Region, and is among the largest metropolitan areas in Ghana. Kumasi is located in a rain forest region near Lake Bosomtwe, and is the ...
in Ghana.
The Eastern Guinean forests, together with the other tropical moist broadleaf forests of West Africa, is included within
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 organ ...
's
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 ...
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 co ...
.
Climate
The climate is tropical, with distinct wet and dry seasons. Average annual rainfall ranges from 2500 mm in the west, declining as one moves inland to 1500 mm along the northern edge and in the mountains of Togo and Benin.
[
]
Flora
Tropical moist forest is the predominant vegetation type. Moist evergreen forest is found in the west and along the coast, transitioning to moist semi-evergreen
Semi-deciduous or semi-evergreen is a botanical term which refers to plants that lose their foliage for a very short period, when old leaves fall off and new foliage growth is starting. This phenomenon occurs in tropical and sub-tropical woody spec ...
forest further inland, and dry semi-evergreen forest in the north.
Characteristic trees of the moist evergreen forest are ''Entandrophragma utile
''Entandrophragma utile'', called the sipo or utile, is a species of large tree in the genus ''Entandrophragma'', native to nearly all of tropical Africa facing the Atlantic, from Guinea to Angola, and as far east as Uganda. The timber
L ...
, Khaya ivorensis
''Khaya ivorensis'', also called African mahogany or Lagos mahogany, is a tall forest tree with a buttressed trunk in the family Meliaceae. It is found in Angola, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Gabon, Ghana, Liberia, and Nigeria where it grows primar ...
'', and ''Triplochiton scleroxylon
''Triplochiton scleroxylon'' is a tree of the genus '' Triplochiton'' of the family ''Malvaceae''. The timber is known by the common names African whitewood, abachi, obeche (in Nigeria), wawa (in Ghana), ayous (in Cameroon) and sambawawa (in Ivor ...
''. Dominant trees in the moist semi-evergreen forests are ''Celtis
''Celtis'' is a genus of about 60–70 species of deciduous trees, commonly known as hackberries or nettle trees, widespread in warm temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The genus is part of the extended hemp family (Cannabaceae).
De ...
'' spp., ''Mansonia altissima
''Mansonia altissima'' is a species of tree native to western and Central Africa."''Mansonia altissima'' J.R.Drumm." ''Plants of the World Online.'' Kew Science. Accessed 3 December 2021/ref> It has the vernacular names of;
African black walnut o ...
, Pterygota macrocarpa
''Pterygota macrocarpa'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae. It is found in Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone. It is threatened by habitat loss
Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and ha ...
, Nesogordonia papaverifera, Sterculia rhinopetala'', and ''Milicia excelsa
''Milicia excelsa'' is a tree species from the genus '' Milicia'' of the family ''Moraceae''. Distributed across tropical Central Africa, it is one of two species (the other being ''Milicia regia'') yielding timber commonly known as African teak ...
''. Trees of the Togo Mountains forests include ''Milicia excelsa, Triplochiton scleroxylon, Antiaris toxicaria africana, Diospyros mespiliformis, Afzelia africana
''Afzelia africana'', the African mahogany, afzelia, lenke, lengue, apa, or doussi, is a tree species in the family Fabaceae.
Range
It occurs in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, DRCongo, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Gui ...
'', and ''Ceiba pentandra
''Ceiba pentandra'' is a tropical tree of the order Malvales and the family Malvaceae (previously emplaced in the family Bombacaceae), native to Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, northern South America, and (as the variety ''C. pentandr ...
''.[
]
Fauna
Four mammals are endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to the ecoregion – Wimmer's shrew (''Crocidura wimmeri''), Ivory Coast rat (''Dephomys eburneae''), Cansdale's swamp rat (''Malacomys cansdalei''), and Togo mouse
The Togo mouse (''Leimacomys buettneri''), also known as Büttner's African forest mouse or the groove-toothed forest mouse, is a unique muroid rodent known from only two specimens taken from near the type locality of Bismarckburg, near Yege, To ...
(''Leimacomys buettneri'').[
]
Protected areas
A 2017 assessment found that 42,299 km², or 23%, of the ecoregion is in protected areas. About one-third of the unprotected area is still forested.[Eric Dinerstein, David Olson, et al. (2017). An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm, BioScience, Volume 67, Issue 6, June 2017, Pages 534–545; Supplemental material 2 table S1b]
/ref> Protected areas include Gaoulou Natural Park and the southern and western portions of Marahoue National Park in Ivory Coast, and Bia National Park
Bia National Park is a national park in the Bia district in the Western Region of Ghana. It is also a biosphere reserve with a 563 square kilometer resource reserve. It has some of Ghana's last remnants of relatively untouched forest complete w ...
, Kakum National Park
Kakum National Park, located in the coastal environs of the Central Region of Ghana, covers an area of . Established in 1931 as a reserve, it was gazetted as a national park only in 1992 after an initial survey of avifauna was conducted. The ar ...
, Nini-Suhien National Park
The Nini-Suhien National Park is found in Ghana. It was established in 1976. This site is in size.
Along with the Ankasa Resource Reserve, the national park is part of the Ankasa Conservation Area.
References
National parks of Ghana ...
, Agmatsa Wildlife Reserve, Boin Tano Forest Reserve
The Boin Tano Forest Reserve is a nature reserve located in the Western Region of Ghana. It was established in 1968. This site, which is , is rich both in faunal and floral species.
Flora and fauna
The Boin Tano Forest Reserve is located only ...
, and Mamiri Forest Reserve
The Mamiri Forest Reserve is found 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 ...
in Ghana.
External links
*
References
{{Coord, 6.3, -3.6, display=title
Afrotropical ecoregions
Ecoregions of Benin
Ecoregions of Ghana
Ecoregions of Ivory Coast
Ecoregions of Togo
Forests of Ghana
Forests of Ivory Coast
Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests