Guinean montane forests | |
---|---|
Ecology | |
Realm | Afrotropical |
Biome | tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests |
Borders | |
Geography | |
Area | 30,924 km2 (11,940 sq mi) |
Countries | |
Coordinates | 9°00′N 9°24′W / 9°N 9.4°W |
Conservation | |
Conservation status | Critical/endangered |
Global 200 | Guinean moist forests |
Protected | 8,715 km2 (28%)[1] |
The Guinean montane forests are a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion of West Africa.[2][3][4]
The ecoregion occupies the portions of the Guinea Highlands lying above 600 meters elevation, extending across portions of Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Côte d'Ivoire. It includes the Fouta Djallon plateau and the massifs of Ziama, Simandou, Tétini, Béro, Kourandou in Guinea, the Loma Mountains and Tingi Hills in Sierra Leone, the Nimba Range in Guinea, Liberia, and Côte d'Ivoire, and the Monts du Toura in Côte d'Ivoire. Mount Bintumani in the Loma Mountains is the highest peak in West Africa west of Mount Cameroon. The next highest peaks in the region are in the Sankan Biriwa massif (1850 meters) in the Tingi Hills.
Average rainfall is between 1,600 and 2400 mm per year and many important rivers have their sources in these mountains.[5]