[en] Landscape Ecological Survey of the Bipindi-Akom II ... - ITTO

6. VEGETATION
6.1 LITERATURE REVIEW
Flora and vegetation of Cameroon are relatively well known. The most relevant studies for the
present vegetation inventory are Letouzey's 'Etude Phytogeographique du Cameroun' (1968) and
his 'Carte Phytogeographique du Cameroun au 1 :500,000' (1985).
The TCP research area is part of the Guineo-Congolian domain of dense humid evergreen forests
(see 2.7) and for the greater part belongs to the Biafran Atlantic district (low and medium altitude).
Only along the fringes elements of the low and medium altitude Littoral Atlantic district may be
found. Individual small summit areas belong to the submontane zone of the Guineo-Congolian
domain (Letouzey, 1968, 1985).
In Table 6.1, the original french denominations of the districts are presented, together with the in
the TCP area represented formations. In Figure 6.1 the area relevant to the present survey of
Letouzey's (1985) phytogeographical map is reproduced. In the following a brief description of
the different vegetational zones is given.
Table 6.1 Forest types of the TCP research area and its surrounding; 1 :500,000
phytogeographical map (Letouzey, 1985)
Region Guineo-Congolaise
Etage submontagnard (800-2 200 m)
Forets submontagnardes 800-2 200 m (n° 117)
Etage de basse et moyenne altitude (0 - 800 m)
District atlantique biajreen
Forets atlantiques biafreennes a Caesalpiniaceae (nO 228)
Forets atJantiques atIantiques biafreennes it a Caesalpiniaceae encore abondantes, avec Saccoglottis gabonensis et autres indices
Iittoraux (nO 231)
Forets mixtes, toujours vertes atlantiques et semi-caducifoliees, avec predominance d'elements de forets toujours
vertes atlantiques (nO 233)
Facies de degradation prononcee des forets toujours vertes (n° 234 = n° 251)
District atlantique littoral
Forets atlantiques littorales a Caesalpiniaceae relativement rares, avec Saccoglottis gabonensis (nO 247)
Facies de degradation prononcee des forets toujours vertes (n° 251 = n° 234)
The majority of the TCP research area lies within the Atlantic Biafran forests zone rich in
Caesa/piniaceae (n° 228 in Letouzey, 1985). The vegetation can be characterized as evergreen
tropical moist forest with many species of the Caesalpiniaceae family. Of the total of 130-140
species of shrubs and trees of this family recorded in Cameroon, more than half appear to be
concentrated in the Biafran Atlantic forests. Many Caesa/piniaceae species are gregariously
distributed. The range in altitude of this forest type is (100) 200-500 m as!.
The mixed evergreen Atlantic and semi-deciduous forest (n° 233) is restricted to the mountainous
region in the East of the TCP research area. This vegetation type is a transition between the
evergreen forests of the Biafran district and the semi-deciduous forest of the Central/Oriental
Atlantic district. Characteristic families are Caesa/piniaceae, Sterculiaceae and Ulmaceae. The
zone is confined to altitudes higher than 500 m as!.
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