list of figures - Terry Sunderland

3.3.3.3 Topography, geology and soil type
The majority of the lowland forest area within the southern and central part of the
Reserve lies between 100-400m. The terrain is rolling in the lowland areas but rises
sharply to 1500m altitude in the north of Reserve, where slopes are extremely steep.
Small hills, up to 725m, lie to the north of the Obonyi villages along the border with
Nigeria. The hills separating the villages of Kekpani and Basho are similar in height,
rising to about 600-700m. The soils of the reserve are mainly ferrite, derived from
Pre-cambrian crystalline rock, although large areas of alluvial soil are found towards
the southern end of the reserve.
3.3.3.4 Vegetation
The majority of the southern and central parts of the Takamanda Forest Reserve are
covered by lowland (100-700m) Guineo-Congolian forest. The dense sub-montane
(“highland”) humid forest (700-2,000m) is predominantly found mostly in the
northern part of the Reserve, although some isolated patches occur further south on
long ridge tops and isolated hills reaching an altitude of up to 1,500m. Areas further
east and outside of the Reserve, including the northern part of the Mone Forest
Reserve, including Mount Oko, which rises to over 1500m, are also of this latter
vegetation type.
There are also some isolated patches of wooded savannah and gallery forests, along
with relics of herbaceous savannah, in the extreme north of the Reserve. Whilst these
vegetation types are an important component of the highland areas towards Akwaya,
they are but a small component of the Takamanda Forest Reserve itself. This
savannah/ woodland complex extends eastwards and northwards along the Nigerian
border, and in the direction of the Bamenda highlands. Finally, there are three
enclaved villages within the Reserve, surrounded by extensive areas of secondary
vegetation and farm bush. Patches of this vegetation type are found near all the
villages of the area.
The lowland forest of the Takamanda Reserve forms part of a large contiguous forest
block that covers large areas of the Cross River Basin north of Mamfe (Letouzey,
1985). The reserve is unique in that it represents a sharp gradation from lowland forest
to sub-montane (highland) forest with the associated variations within. Floristically,
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