Analavelona, also known as Analavelona Massif, is a mountain in southwestern Madagascar. The massif is home to an enclave of montane subhumid forest, which is considered a sacred forest by the local people and notable for its
biodiversity
Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...
.
Geography
Analavelona is located in
Sakaraha District
Sakaraha is a district located in Atsimo-Andrefana Region, south-western Madagascar.
Communes
The district is further divided into 11 communes:
* Ambinany
* Amboronabo
* Andalamasina Vineta
* Andranolava
* Bereketa
* Mahaboboka
* Miary L ...
of
Atsimo-Andrefana
Atsimo-Andrefana (South West) is a region of Madagascar. It borders Menabe in north, Amoron'i Mania and Haute Matsiatra in northeast, Ihorombe and Anosy in east and Androy in southeast. The capital is Toliara and the population was 1,799,088 i ...
region of Madagascar, west-northwest of the town of
Sakaraha. The massif extends generally northeast–southwest, with steep slopes incised by stream valleys.
[ The highest peak is Mitsinjoriake at 1325 meters elevation.][Alandraza Analavelo Site #92]
''Protected Areas of Madagascar''. Accessed 19 November 2022.
The massif is surrounded by a mostly arid peneplain
In geomorphology and geology, a peneplain is a low-relief plain formed by protracted erosion. This is the definition in the broadest of terms, albeit with frequency the usage of peneplain is meant to imply the representation of a near-final (or ...
.[ The southeastern slope receives more ]orographic precipitation
Orography is the study of the topographic relief of mountains, and can more broadly include hills, and any part of a region's elevated terrain. Orography (also known as ''oreography'', ''orology,'' or ''oreology'') falls within the broader disci ...
than the surrounding region, and the higher rainfall sustains subhumid forests.[ Rivers including the Fiherenana, which flows in the southeast, rise from springs on the mountain.][
]
Flora and fauna
The forests of Analavelona are a southwestern outlier of Madagascar subhumid forests
The Madagascar subhumid forests are a tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion that covers most of the Central Highlands (Madagascar), Central Highlands of the island of Madagascar. They are inclu ...
, which cover the highlands of central Madagascar. The forests are surrounded at lower elevations by semi-arid succulent woodlands. The nearest subhumid forests to Analavelona are on Isalo Massif, about 100 km to the east. Analavelona is home to plants and animals characteristic of the subhumid forests, as well as some endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
species found only on the mountain.
The varied elevation, climate, and soil composition on the massif supports diverse plant communities. The lower slopes are home to dense humid evergreen forest. The humid evergreen forests are tall and stratified, and canopy trees include species of ''Uapaca
''Uapaca'' is a genus of plant, in the family Phyllanthaceae first described as a genus in 1858. It is the only genus comprised in the tribe Uapaceae. The genus is native to Africa and Madagascar. ''Uapaca'' is dioecious
Dioecy ( ; ; adj. dio ...
'' and ''Dalbergia
''Dalbergia'' is a large genus of small to medium-size trees, shrubs and lianas in the pea family, Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae. It was recently assigned to the informal monophyletic ''Dalbergia'' clade (or tribe): the Dalbergieae. The ...
'', with abundant liana
A liana is a long-Plant stem, stemmed Woody plant, woody vine that is rooted in the soil at ground level and uses trees, as well as other means of vertical support, to climb up to the Canopy (biology), canopy in search of direct sunlight. T ...
s and strangler figs. Dense sclerophyllous montane forests are found on the plateau and upper slopes, and generally have an open understory. There is xerophilous brushland on rocky slopes, with species of '' Dracaena'' and ''Aloe
''Aloe'' (; also written ''Aloë'') is a genus containing over 650 species of flowering plant, flowering succulent plant, succulent plants.WFO (2022): Aloe L. Published on the Internet;http://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-4000001341. Acc ...
''. The forests and brushland are interspersed with areas of grassland.[
The forest is home to several rare and limited-range plants. '']Spondias tefyi
''Spondias'' is a genus of flowering plants in the cashew family, Anacardiaceae. The genus consists of 17 described species, 7 of which are native to the Neotropics and about 10 are native to tropical Asia. They are commonly named hog plums, Span ...
'' is a species of tree found only in the Analavelona forests and the deciduous forests of Zombitse about 50 km to the southeast.[Mitchell, J. D., Daly, D. C., & Randrianasolo, A. (2012). The first report of Spondias native to Madagascar: Spondias tefyi, sp. nov. (Anacardiaceae). ''Brittonia'', 64(3), 263–267. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23254063] ''Dalbergia hirticalyx
''Dalbergia hirticalyx'' is a species of legume in the family Fabaceae. It is found only in Madagascar. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Description
''Dalbergia hirticalyx'' is a large tree which grows to 29 meters tall. It flowers in September ...
'' is a large forest tree found in the Analavelona forest, with smaller populations in Zombitse and in Bongolava
Bongolava is a region in central-western Madagascar. The capital of the region is Tsiroanomandidy. It had a population of 674,474 in 2018.
Geography
The region is situated in central-western Madagascar. It is bordered by Betsiboka, Melaky, Men ...
in central Madagascar. Other native plants include ''Aloe analavelonensis
''Aloe'' (; also written ''Aloë'') is a genus containing over 650 species of flowering succulent plants.WFO (2022): Aloe L. Published on the Internet;http://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-4000001341. Accessed on: 06 Nov 2022 The most wid ...
, Euphorbia analavelonensis
''Euphorbia'' is a large and diverse genus of flowering plants, commonly called spurge, in the family Euphorbiaceae.
Euphorbias range from tiny annual plants to large and long-lived trees, with perhaps the tallest being ''Euphorbia ampliphyll ...
'', and ''Pseudodicliptera humilis
''Pseudodicliptera'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Acanthaceae. It includes four species endemic to Madagascar
Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of M ...
''.
Birds present include the green jery
The green jery (''Neomixis viridis'') is a species of bird in the family Cisticolidae.
It is endemic to Madagascar.
Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest
Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF), ...
(''Neomixis viridis''), forest fody
The forest fody (''Foudia omissa'') is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae.
It is endemic to Madagascar.
Range and habitat
The forest fody ranges across eastern Madagascar from the northern to the southern ends of the island. There are a f ...
(''Foudia omissa'') and spectacled tetraka
The spectacled tetraka (''Xanthomixis zosterops'') is a species of Malagasy warbler in the family Bernieridae. It is found only in Madagascar. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest
A forest is an ecosystem ...
(''Phyllastrephus zosterops''), which are characteristic of the subhumid forests. Appert's tetraka
Appert's tetraka formerly known as Appert's greenbul (''Xanthomixis apperti'') is a small passerine bird endemism, endemic to the south-west of Madagascar. The species was only described in 1972, and has been the subject of considerable taxonomic ...
(''Phyllastrephus apperti'') is found only here and in the Zombitse forests.[BirdLife International (2022)]
Important Bird Areas factsheet: Analavelona NPA
Accessed 19 November 2022.
Native mammals include Verreaux's sifaka
Verreaux's sifaka (''Propithecus verreauxi''), or the white sifaka, is a medium-sized primate in one of the lemur families, the Indriidae. Critically Endangered, it lives in Madagascar and can be found in a variety of habitats from rainforest to ...
(''Propithecus verreauxi''), ring-tailed lemur
The ring-tailed lemur (''Lemur catta'') is a medium- to larger-sized strepsirrhine (wet-nosed) primate and the most internationally recognized lemur species, owing to its long, black-and-white, ringed tail. It belongs to Lemuridae, one of fiv ...
(''Lemur catta''), Zombitse sportive lemur
Hubbard's sportive lemur (''Lepilemur hubbardorum''), or the Zombitse sportive lemur, is a sportive lemur endemic to Madagascar. It has total length of about , of which are tail. Hubbard's sportive lemur is found north of the Onilahy River and s ...
(''Lepilemur hubbardorum''), pale fork-marked lemur
The pale fork-marked lemur (''Phaner pallescens''), or western fork-marked lemur, is a species of lemur known from western Madagascar; south of the Fiherenana River to the region of Soalala. It is said to be the smallest fork-marked species. It is ...
(''Phaner pallescens''), red-fronted brown lemur
The red-fronted lemur (''Eulemur rufifrons''), also known as the red-fronted brown lemur or southern red-fronted brown lemur, is a species of lemur from Madagascar. Until 2001, it was considered a subspecies of the common brown lemur, ''E. fulvu ...
(''Eulemur rufifrons''), and the carnivore fossa (''Cryptoprocta ferox'').[
The Analavelona wood-millipede ('' Hylekobolus analavelona'') and Analavelona giant pill-millipede ('']Zoosphaerium analavelona
''Zoosphaerium'' is a genus of giant pill millipedes endemic to Madagascar. Some species within this genus express island gigantism. The largest of the known species of giant pill millipede known is ''Zoosphaerium neptunus'', which is capable of ...
'')[Rudolf, E. & Wesener, T. 2017. ''Zoosphaerium analavelona''. ]The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological spe ...
2017: e.T65524334A65527840. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-1.RLTS.T65524334A65527840.en. Accessed 19 November 2022. are endemic to Analavelona Massif.
Conservation
The Analavelona Forest, also known as Alandraza Analavelo, is considered a sacred forest by the local Bara people
The Bara people are a Malagasy ethnic group living in the southern part of the central plateaus of Madagascar, in the Toliara Province, concentrated around their historic capital at Ihosy. The Bara are the largest of the island's zebu-herdi ...
, for whom the forest has high social and cultural value as well as being a source of timber, food, and other forest products. A community-based management program, assisted by the Missouri Botanical Garden
The Missouri Botanical Garden is a botanical garden located at 4344 Shaw Boulevard in St. Louis, Missouri. It is also known informally as Shaw's Garden for founder and philanthropy, philanthropist Henry Shaw (philanthropist), Henry Shaw. I ...
's Madagascar Conservation Program, has been managing the forest for over a decade.[Beech, E., Rivers, M., Rabarimanarivo, M., Ravololomanana, N., Manjato, N., Lantoarisoa, F., Andriambololonera, S., Ramandimbisoa, B., Ralimanana, H., Rakotoarisoa, S., Razanajatovo , H., Razafiniary, V., Andriamanohera, A., Randrianasolo, V., Rakotonasolo, F., Rakotoarisoa, A., Randriamamonjy, N., Rajaovelona, L., Rakotomalala, N., Randriamboavonjy, T., Rajaonah, M., Rabehevitra, D., Ramarosandratana, A.V., Rakotoarinivo, M., B.H. Ravaomanalina and Jeannoda, V. (2021). ''Red List of Trees of Madagascar''. BGCI. Richmond, UK.]
The forest was designated a classified forest by the Government of Madagascar. On 28 April 2015 (Decree No. 2015-766) the government designated the forest a natural monument
A natural monument is a natural or cultural feature of outstanding or unique value because of its inherent rarity, representative of aesthetic qualities, or cultural significance. They can be natural geological and geographical features such as w ...
, officially the ''Monument Naturel de la Forêt Sacrée Alandraza Analavelo'' (Alandraza Analavelo Sacred Forest Natural Monument), with an area of 44.87 km2.[ It is also proposed as a ]national park
A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...
.[UNEP-WCMC (2022)]
Protected Area Profile for Analavelona
from the World Database on Protected Areas. Accessed 19 November 2022.
References
{{reflist
Madagascar subhumid forests
Atsimo-Andrefana
Forests of Atsimo-Andrefana
Important Bird Areas of Madagascar
Protected areas of Madagascar
Sacred sites in traditional African religions
Natural monuments