Congolian rainforests: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Content deleted Content added

Inline

Revision as of 07:02, 21 August 2023

Congolian rainforests
Congolian rainforest ecoregions: 2. Atlantic Equatorial coastal forests, 6. Central Congolian lowland forests 7. Eastern Congolian swamp forests, 8. Western Congolian swamp forests, 9. Northeastern Congolian lowland forests, 15. Northwestern Congolian lowland forests
Ecology
Realm	Afrotropical
Biome	Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests
Geography
Countries	List Angola (Cabinda) Cameroon Central African Republic Democratic Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo Equatorial Guinea Gabon

The Congolian rainforests are a broad belt of lowland tropical moist broadleaf forests which extend across the basin of the Congo River and its tributaries in Central Africa.

Descriptio

v t e Regions of Africa
Central	Guinea region Gulf of Guinea Cape Lopez Mayombe Igboland Mbaise Pool Malebo Congo Basin Chad Basin Cameroonian Highlands forests East Sudanian savanna Congolian rainforests Ouaddaï highlands Ennedi Plateau
East	African Great Lakes Albertine Rift East African Rift Great Rift Valley Gregory Rift Rift Valley lakes Virunga Mountains Kavirondo Zanj East African montane forests Eastern Arc Mountains Serengeti Horn of Africa Afar Triangle Al-Habash Barbaria Danakil Alps Danakil Desert Ethiopian Highlands Dahlak Archipelago Hanish Islands Gulf of Aden Gulf of Tadjoura Red Sea Indian Ocean islands Comoro Islands Lamu Archipelago Madagascar Central Highlands Northern Highlands Zanzibar Archipelago Swahili coast
North	Eastern Desert Maghreb Ancient Libya Atlas Mountains Barbary Coast Gibraltar Arc Ifriqiya Nile Valley Nile Delta Bashmur Cataracts of the Nile Darfur Lower Egypt Lower Nubia Middle Egypt Nile Delta Nuba Mountains Nubia The Sudans Upper Egypt Tibesti Mountains Western Sahara
South	Rhodesia North South Thembuland Succulent Karoo Nama Karoo Bushveld Maputaland Highveld Fynbos Indian Ocean coastal belt Albany thickets Cape Floristic Region Skeleton Coast Kalahari Desert Okavango Delta Cape Peninsula False Bay
West	Pepper Coast Gold Coast Slave Coast Ivory Coast Cape Palmas Cape Mesurado Guinea region Guinean Forests of West Africa Upper Guinean forests Lower Guinean forests Guinean forest-savanna mosaic Guinea Highlands Gulf of Guinea Dahomey Gap Niger Basin Niger Delta Inner Niger Delta West Sudanian savanna Yorubaland
Macro-regions	Aethiopia Afromontane Arab world Commonwealth realm Equatorial Africa Françafrique Greater Middle East Guineo-Congolian region Islands of Africa List of countries where Arabic is an official language Mediterranean Basin MENASA Middle East Middle East and North Africa Miombo woodlands Mittelafrika Negroland Northeast Africa Portuguese-speaking African countries Sahara Sahel Southeast Africa Sub-Saharan Africa Sudan (region) Sudanian savanna Tropical Africa Zambezian region

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Congolian_rainforests&oldid=1171463179"

Categories:

Hidden categories:

@@ Line 42: / Line 42: @@
 The '''Congolian rainforests''' are a broad belt of lowland [[tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests|tropical moist broadleaf forest]]s which extend across the [[Congo Basin|basin]] of the [[Congo River]] and its tributaries in [[Central Africa]].
-==Description==
+==Descriptio==
-[[File:Sapele Tree Congo Brazzaville.jpg|thumb|A Sapele tree in the Republic of the Congo]]
-The Congolian rainforest is the world's second-largest [[tropical forest]], after the [[Amazon rainforest]]. It covers over {{convert|500000000|acres|km2}} across six countries and contains a quarter of the world's remaining tropical forest.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.usaid.gov/locations/sub-saharan_africa/initiatives/cbfp.html|title=Congo Basin Forest Partnership|publisher=USAID|access-date=2008-05-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080508210051/http://www.usaid.gov/locations/sub-saharan_africa/initiatives/cbfp.html|archive-date=2008-05-08|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="congobasin">{{cite web |url= https://www.worldwildlife.org/places/congo-basin|title= Congo Basin|author=<!--Not stated--> |date= |website= World Wildlife Fund|publisher= World Wildlife Fund - WWF|access-date= 20 May 2022|quote=}}</ref> The Congolian forests cover southeastern [[Cameroon]], [[Gabon]], [[Republic of the Congo]], the northern and central [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]], and portions of southern and central Africa. The Congolian rainforest is home to a large number of flora and fauna, including more than 10,000 species of plants and over 10,000 species of animals. It is estimated that the region contains more than a quarter of the world’s plant species and is home to one of the world’s most threatened primate species, the [[Western lowland gorilla|western lowland gorilla]].[4] There are also a number of other species of primates, including the [[chimpanzee]], [[Black colobus|black colobus monkey]], [[Red colobus|red colobus monkey]], and [[olive baboon]].
-To the north, south, and southwest, the forests transition to drier [[forest-savanna mosaic]], a mosaic of drier forests, [[savanna]]s, and [[grassland]]s.<ref>Linder, H. Peter, Helen M. de Klerk  Julia Born et al. (2012). "The partitioning of Africa: statistically defined biogeographical regions in sub‐Saharan Africa". ''Journal of Biogeography'' Volume 39, Issue 7 May 2012. [https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1365-2699.2012.02728]</ref> To the west, the Congolian forests transition to the coastal [[Lower Guinean forests]], which extend from southwestern Cameroon into southern [[Nigeria]] and [[Benin]]; these forest zones share many similarities and are sometimes known as the Lower Guinean-Congolian forests. To the east, the lowland Congolian forests transition to the highland [[Albertine Rift montane forests]], which cover the mountains lining the [[Albertine Rift]], a branch of the [[East African Rift]] system.
-=== Ecoregions ===
-The [[World Wide Fund for Nature]] divides the Congolian forests into six distinct [[ecoregion]]s:
-* [[Atlantic Equatorial coastal forests]] (Cameroon, [[Equatorial Guinea]], Gabon, Republic of the Congo, [[Angola]], Democratic Republic of the Congo)
-* [[Northwestern Congolian lowland forests]] (Cameroon, [[Central African Republic]], Gabon, Republic of  Congo)
-* [[Western Congolian swamp forests]] (Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo)
-* [[Eastern Congolian swamp forests]] (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
-* [[Central Congolian lowland forests]] (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
-*[[Northeastern Congolian lowland forests]] (Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic)
-==Flora and fauna==
-[[File:Grooming de Zoé.jpg|thumb|[[Bonobo]]s live south of the [[Congo River]]]]
-{{See also|Category:Flora of West-Central Tropical Africa}}
-The Congolian rainforests are home to over 10,000 species of plants of which 30% are [[endemic]].<ref name="congobasin" /> The Congolian rainforests are less biodiverse than the Amazon and [[Southeast Asia]]n rainforests. However, its plant and animal life is still more rich and varied than most other places on Earth. The Congolian Forests are a [[global 200]] [[ecoregion]].
-There are over 400 species of mammals in the rainforest, including [[African forest elephant]]s, [[African bush elephant]]s, [[leopard]]s, [[Bongo (antelope)|bongo]]s, [[red river hog]]s, [[chimpanzee]]s, [[bonobo]]s, [[mountain gorilla]]s, and [[lowland gorilla]]s.<ref name="congobasin" /> The [[okapi]] is endemic to the northeastern Congolian rainforests.
-The rainforests have 1,000 native species of birds, and 700 species of fish.<ref name = congobasin/>
-[[File:Rainforest Gabon.jpg|thumb|Rainforest in Gabon]]
-==Conservation==
-[[File:Rainforest - Ituri (20874628148).jpg|thumb|The rainforest from above]]
-Threats to the rainforests include destruction and fragmentation of forests by commercial logging, [[Elaeis guineensis|oil palm]] plantations, and mining. The [[bushmeat]] trade and poaching is depleting the rainforests of wildlife.<ref name="congobasin" /> With annual forest loss of 0.3% during the 2000s,<ref>{{cite journal|title= Mayaux et al 2013|journal= Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences|volume= 368|issue= 1625|pages= 20120300|publisher=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B|doi= 10.1098/rstb.2012.0300|pmid= 23878331|pmc= 3720022|year= 2013|last1= Mayaux|first1= P.|last2= Pekel|first2= J. F.|last3= Desclée|first3= B.|last4= Donnay|first4= F.|last5= Lupi|first5= A.|last6= Achard|first6= F.|last7= Clerici|first7= M.|last8= Bodart|first8= C.|last9= Brink|first9= A.|last10= Nasi|first10= R.|last11= Belward|first11= A.}}</ref> the region had the lowest [[deforestation]] rate of any major tropical forest zone.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rainforests.mongabay.com/congo/deforestation.html|title=Deforestation in the Congo Rainforest|publisher=Mongabay}}</ref> From 2015 to 2019, the rate of [[deforestation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo|deforestation]] in the Democratic Republic of the Congo doubled.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-49679883|title=World 'losing battle against deforestation'|last=Kinver|first=Mark|date=2019-09-12|work=BBC News}}</ref> In 2021, deforestation of the Congolese rainforest increased by 5%.<ref>{{cite news |title=Analysis: The next Amazon? Congo Basin faces rising deforestation threat |url=https://www.reuters.com/business/cop/next-amazon-congo-basin-faces-rising-deforestation-threat-2022-11-11/ |work=Reuters |date=11 November 2022}}</ref>
-==References==
-{{Reflist}}
-==External links==
-* https://web.archive.org/web/20120308120322/http://www.whrc.org/mapping/pantropical/carbonmap2000.html
-* [http://globalforestatlas.yale.edu/congo/ecoregions/congo-basin-ecoregion Congo Basin Ecoregions], Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies
-* [http://rainforests.mongabay.com/congo/ The Congo Rainforest]
-* [https://www.worldwildlife.org/places/congo-basin Congo Rainforest and Basin (WWF)]
 {{Regions of Africa}}