Western Congolian forest-savanna mosaic
The Western Congolian forest-savanna mosaic is an ecoregion of Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, and Gabon.
Western Congolian forest-savanna mosaic | |
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Elephants in Lopé National Park, Gabon | |
![]() Map of the Western Congolian forest-savanna mosaic | |
Ecology | |
Realm | Afrotropic |
Biome | Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands |
Borders | |
Geography | |
Area | 413,400 km2 (159,600 sq mi) |
Countries | Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, and Gabon |
Elevation | 200-900 meters |
Conservation | |
Conservation status | relatively stable |
Protected | 5,563 km² (1%)[1] |
Geography
The forest-savanna mosaic covers a region of dissected plateaus lying between the Congo Basin on the east and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The lower Congo River passes through the ecoregion.[2]
The ecoregion is bounded on the northwest by the humid Atlantic Equatorial coastal forests, which extend north from the Congo River along the Atlantic coast. The Northwestern Congolian lowland forests lie to the north and northeast. The Southern Congolian forest-savanna mosaic bounds the ecoregion on the east, south of the Congo River. The Angolan miombo woodlands lie to the southeast and south. The Angolan Scarp savanna and woodlands lies to the southwest along the Atlantic coast, extending south from the Congo River's mouth.
The cities of Kinshasa and Brazzaville, capitals of the two Congo republics, are in the ecoregion, located opposite one another on the Congo River. Other cities in the ecoregion include Matadi and Cabinda.
Flora
The ecoregion is a mosaic of wooded grassland with patches of forest. It includes gallery forests along rivers, and areas of dry evergreen forest on the Bateke Plateau in the Republic of the Congo.[2]
References
- 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.
- Burgess, Neil, Jennifer D'Amico Hales, Emma Underwood, et al. (2004). Terrestrial Ecoregions of Africa and Madagascar: A Conservation Assessment. World Wildlife Fund. Island Press, 2004, pp. 294-296.