The Upper Guinean forests is a

tropical seasonal forest Seasonal tropical forest, also known as moist deciduous, semi-evergreen seasonal, tropical mixed or monsoon forests, typically contain a range of tree species: only some of which drop some or all of their leaves during the dry season. This tropic ...

region 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, M ...

. The Upper Guinean forests extend from Guinea and

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...

in the west through Liberia, Côte d'Ivoire and

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 ...

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 ...

in the east, and a few hundred kilometers inland from the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

coast. A few enclaves of

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial ...

lie further inland in the mountains of central Guinea and central Togo 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 nort ...

. In the drier interior, the Upper Guinean 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 ...

, a belt of dry forests and

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland- grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

s that lies between the coastal forests and the savannas and grasslands of the Sudan further north. The

Dahomey Gap In West Africa, the Dahomey Gap refers to the portion of the Guinean forest-savanna mosaic that extends all the way to the coast in Benin, Togo, and Ghana, thus separating the forest zone that covers much of the south of the region into two separa ...

, a region of Togo and Benin where the Guinean forest-savanna mosaic extends to the Atlantic coast, separates the Upper Guinean forests from the

Lower Guinean forests The Lower Guinean forests is region of coastal tropical moist broadleaf forest in West Africa, extending along the eastern coast of the Gulf of Guinea from eastern Benin through Nigeria and Cameroon. The Dahomey Gap, a region of savanna and dry fo ...

to the east, which extend from eastern Benin through

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 ...

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 south along the coast of 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 Upper Guinean forests are a

Global 200 The Global 200 is the list of ecoregions identified by the World Wide Fund for Nature ( WWF), the global conservation organization, as priorities for conservation. According to WWF, an ecoregion is defined as a "relatively large unit of land or w ...

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 ...

. The Guinean moist forests are much affected by winds from the hot dry area to the north and the cool Atlantic currents. This gives the region a very seasonal climate with over of rain falling in some areas in the wet season. Over 2000 species of vascular plant have been recorded in the ecoregion, and mammals found here include the chimpanzee (''Pan troglodytes''), leopard (''Panthera pardus''),

pygmy hippopotamus The pygmy hippopotamus or pygmy hippo (''Choeropsis liberiensis'') is a small hippopotamid which is native to the forests and swamps of West Africa, primarily in Liberia, with small populations in Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Ivory Coast. It has ...

(''Hexaprotodon liberiensis''),

Ogilby's duiker Ogilby's duiker (''Cephalophus ogilbyi'') is a small antelope found in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ghana, southeastern Nigeria, Bioko Island and possibly Gabon. No subspecies are recognized. The two former subspecies, the white-legged duiker ''Ceph ...

(''Cephalophus ogilbyi''),

Nimba otter shrew The Nimba otter shrew (''Micropotamogale lamottei'') is a dwarf otter shrew and belongs to the mammal family Potamogalidae. Otter shrews are shrew-like afrotherian mammals found in sub-Saharan Africa. They are most closely related to the tenrecs ...

(''Micropotamogale lamottei'') and the

African golden cat The African golden cat (''Caracal aurata'') is a wild cat endemic to the rainforests of West and Central Africa. It is threatened due to deforestation and bushmeat hunting and listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. It is a close relative o ...

(''Profelis aurata''). There are twenty-one endemic/near-endemic and seasonal forest birds in the ecoregion; three avian species, the

Nimba flycatcher The Nimba flycatcher (''Melaenornis annamarulae'') is a small passerine bird of the genus '' Melaenornis'' in the flycatcher family Muscicapidae. It is native to the West African countries of Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra ...

(''Melaenornis annamarulae''), the

Gola malimbe The Gola malimbe or Ballman's malimbe (''Malimbus ballmanni'') is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae. Description The Gola malimbe is a black forest weaver, the males have an orange-yellow nape, bright golden-yellow crescent on the breast ...

(''Malimbus ballmanni'') and the

spot-winged greenbul The icterine greenbul (''Phyllastrephus icterinus'') is a species of songbird in the bulbul family, Pycnonotidae. It is found in western and central Africa. Taxonomy and systematics The icterine greenbul was originally described in the genus '' ...

(''Phyllastrephus leucolepis'') are further restricted in distribution to the western forests only. The

World Wide Fund for Nature The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the Wor ...

(WWF) listed the Upper Guinean forests (which it calls the Guinean moist forests) on its

Critical Regions for Conservation. The WWF divides the Upper Guinean forests into three

s: * The

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, an ...

, extending from Guinea and Sierra Leone through Liberia and southeastern Côte d'Ivoire, and as far as 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 ...

. * The

Eastern Guinean forests The Eastern Guinean forests are a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion of West Africa. Geography The ecoregion includes the lowland forests extending from the Gulf of Guinea a few hundred kilometres inland, from western Côte d'Ivoire to ...

, extending east from the Sassandra River through Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana to western Togo, with a few isolated pockets further inland, in the highlands of central Togo and Benin. * The

Guinean montane forests The Guinean montane forests are a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion of West Africa. The ecoregion occupies the portions of the Guinea Highlands lying above 600 meters elevation, extending across portions of Guinea, Sierra Leone, Lib ...

are found at higher elevations in the

Guinea Highlands The Guinea Highlands is a densely forested mountainous plateau extending from central Guinea through northern Sierra Leone and Liberia to western Ivory Coast. The highlands include a number of mountains, ranges and plateaus, including the Fouta ...

, which extend through central and southeastern Guinea, northern Sierra Leone, and eastern Côte d'Ivoire.

References

{{reflist

External links

Guinean Forests of West Africa (Conservation International)Map of the Guinean Forests of West Africa (Conservation International)
( PDF file)
Woody Plants of Western African Forests(Reference to Upper Guinean Plants)
Afrotropical realm Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests Endemic Bird Areas

See also

References

External links