The Finima Nature Park is a natural park in

Bonny Island Bonny Island is situated at the southern edge of Rivers State in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. It is near Port Harcourt. Ferries are the main form of transport to and from the island. The local language spoken on Bonny Island is Ibani, ...

Rivers State Rivers State, also known as Rivers, is a state in the Niger Delta region of southern Nigeria (Old Eastern Region). Formed in 1967, when it was split from the former Eastern Region, Rivers State borders include: Imo to the north, Abia and Akwa ...

, Nigeria covering an area of approximately 1000 ha (3.9 sq mi). It was established by the

Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) is a liquefied natural gas (LNG)-producing company and a liquefied natural gas plant on Bonny Island, Nigeria. History Nigeria LNG Limited was incorporated as a limited liability company on 17 May 1989, to produce LNG ...

with the aim of conserving nature and

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...

in the region.

Ecology

Finima's reserve area is covered by

tropical rainforest Tropical rainforests are rainforests that occur in areas of tropical rainforest climate in which there is no dry season – all months have an average precipitation of at least 60 mm – and may also be referred to as ''lowland equa ...

and mangrove swamps, some parts contain

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class o ...

with freshwater ponds and tall timber between the swamps and the beach.

Flora

Vegetation of the park has progressively developed into a high forest considering the form from which it began in 1999. There are two storeys that can be distinguished from outside the forest, the emergents include ''

Symphonia globulifera ''Symphonia globulifera'', commonly known as boarwood, is a timber tree abundant in Central America, the Caribbean, South America and Africa. This plant is also used as a medicinal plant and ornamental plant. Common names Common trade names of t ...

'', ''

Cleistopholis patens ''Cleistopholis'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Annonaceae The Annonaceae are a family of flowering plants consisting of trees, shrubs, or rarely lianas commonly known as the custard apple family or soursop family. Wit ...

'', ''

Uapaca ''Uapaca'' is a genus of plant, in the family Phyllanthaceae first described as a genus in 1858. It is the only genus comprised in the tribe Uapaceae. The genus is native to Africa and Madagascar. ''Uapaca'' is dioecious, with male and female f ...

'' spp., ''

Musanga cecropioides ''Musanga cecropioides'', the African corkwood tree or umbrella tree, is found in tropical Africa from Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is border ...

'', ''

Hallea ledermannii ''Mitragyna stipulosa'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Rubiaceae. It is found in Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Nigeria, S ...

'', ''

Terminalia Terminalia may refer to: * Terminalia (festival), a Roman festival to the god of boundaries Terminus * ''Terminalia'' (plant), a tree genus * Terminalia (insect anatomy), the terminal region of the abdomen in insects * ''Polyscias terminalia'', a ...

'' spp., ''

Anthostema aubryanum ''Anthostema'' is a flowering plant genus in the Family Euphorbiaceae (spurge family) first described as a genus in 1824. It is native to Africa and Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg ...

'', ''

Tectona grandis Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters (panicl ...

'' and ''

Elaeis guineensis ''Elaeis guineensis'' is a species of palm commonly just called oil palm but also sometimes African oil palm or macaw-fat. It is the principal source of palm oil. It is native to west and southwest Africa, specifically the area between Angola a ...

''. The

understory In forestry and ecology, understory (American English), or understorey (Commonwealth English), also known as underbrush or undergrowth, includes plant life growing beneath the forest canopy without penetrating it to any great extent, but abo ...

is composed mainly of ''

Calamus deeratus Calamus may refer to: Botany and zoology * ''Calamus'' (fish), a genus of fish in the family Sparidae * ''Calamus'' (palm), a genus of rattan palms * Calamus, the hollow shaft of a feather, also known as the quill * ''Acorus calamus'', the swe ...

'', ''

Alchornea cordifolia ''Alchornea cordifolia'' is a shrub or small tree distributed throughout tropical Africa, it can grow up to 8 metres tall. The plant is used in traditional African medicine. Common name is the Christmas bush. Chemical constituents The leaves, ...

'', '' Monodora tenuifolia'', ''

Harungana madagascariensis ''Harungana madagascariensis'' is a flowering plant found in Madagascar that is commonly known as the dragon's blood tree, orange-milk tree or haronga. Description The haronga is a small, bushy tree that usually ranges from 4 m to 7 ...

'', '' Strophanthus preussii'', ''

Rauvolfia vomitoria ''Rauvolfia vomitoria'', the poison devil's-pepper, is a plant species in the genus ''Rauvolfia''. It is native from Senegal east to Sudan and Tanzania, south to Angola; and naturalized in China, Bangladesh, different ranges of Himalayan and P ...

'' and '' Raphia'' spp. The interior of the forest is very shady, and as a result a wide variety of

shade tolerant In ecology, shade tolerance is a plant's ability to tolerate low light levels. The term is also used in horticulture and landscaping, although in this context its use is sometimes imprecise, especially in labeling of plants for sale in commercial ...

forbs (e.g. '' Nephrolepis biserrata'', ''

Culcasia scandens ''Culcasia scandens'' is an African climbing plant, often epiphytic, with slender, wiry stems, up to 5 m long clinging to tree trunks by means of clasping roots, and growing on forest and stream margins and in savanna. It is native to countries o ...

'', ''

Laportea ''Laportea'' is a genus of plants in the family Urticaceae. They are herbaceous, either annual or perennial. Like many plants of the Urticaceae, they have stinging hairs. There are stinging and non-stinging hairs on the same plant. The genus was ...

'' spp., ''

Chromolaena odorata ''Chromolaena odorata'' is a tropical and subtropical species of flowering shrub in the family Asteraceae. It is native to the Americas, from Florida and Texas in the United States south through Mexico and the Caribbean to South America. I ...

'', '' Aframomum melegueta'' and '' Costus afer'') and various sedges form thickets on the forest floor. By dry season, large cushion of litter cover the floor because of increase in

abscission Abscission () is the shedding of various parts of an organism, such as a plant dropping a leaf, fruit, flower, or seed. In zoology, abscission is the intentional shedding of a body part, such as the shedding of a claw, husk, or the autotomy of a ...

rate of some plants such as ''Musanga cecropioides'', ''Hallea ledermannii'', ''Calamus deeratus'', ''

Gmelina arborea ''Gmelina arborea'', (in English beechwood, gmelina, goomar teak, Kashmir tree, Malay beechwood, white teak, yamane ), locally known as gamhar, is a fast-growing deciduous tree in the family Lamiaceae. Distribution and habitat ''Gmelina arbore ...

'', ''Raphia'' spp. and ''Elaeis guineensis''.

Fauna

Finima Nature Park is home to some wildlife species of high conservation value, a variety of mammals, birds and reptiles including crocodiles, snakes and alligators. The site of the nature park is the

natural habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

of salt water

hippopotamuses The hippopotamus ( ; : hippopotamuses or hippopotami; ''Hippopotamus amphibius''), also called the hippo, common hippopotamus, or river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of only two extan ...

. The area is protected by

park rangers A ranger, park ranger, park warden, or forest ranger is a law enforcement person entrusted with protecting and preserving parklands – national, state, provincial, or local parks. Description "Parks" may be broadly defined by some systems in th ...

and hunting is prohibited.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Finima Nature Park Protected areas established in 1999 1990s establishments in Rivers State Parks in Rivers State Forests of Rivers State Nature parks in Nigeria 1999 establishments in Nigeria