Nigerian-Cameroonian BioProvince

This BioProvince (as defined by Armen Takhtajan) includes southwestern Dahomey, southern Nigeria, western Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, most of Gaban and western Congo. Much of it lies on the Precambrian African Shield and includes metamorphic rocks such as amphiboltes, schists and gneiss. Having been weathered for millions of years much of the bedrock is overlain by thick layers of heavily leached red earth soils. It experiences a humid tropical climate and in the foothills of Mount Cameroon rainfall can exceed 10,000 mm per annum but in the mixed deciduous forest zones rainfall is closer to 2000 mm per year. Temperatures can reach 33°C and the diurnal temperature range often exceeds annual variations. The flora is extremely rich but difficult to quantify as a whole. Cameroon’s extremely rich flora amounts to some 9000 vascular plant species and western Cameroon is known to be the richest area of tropical Africa in terms of its plant species diversity. Nigeria is know to have about 200 endemic vascular plants. However, for the area as a whole, there are probably up to about 2000 endemic vascular plant species.

The following accounts for this BioProvince have been written or will be written with particular reference to endemic and locally important species. Accounts available are displayed in green or yellow. Those displayed in red are either in the pipeline or awaiting expert contributions.

 

Index
Major Ecosystems
Endemic Vascular Plant Flora
Endemic Flora (Cameroon Mtn)
Bryophyte Flora
Fungus Flora
Lichen Flora
Invertebrate Fauna
Amphibian Fauna
Reptile Fauna
Bird Fauna
Mammal Fauna
Conservation Status