The Cameroonian Highlands forests, also known as the Cameroon Highlands forests, is a

montane Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures lapse rate, fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is ...

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecological and geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and c ...

located on the range of mountains that runs inland from the

Gulf of Guinea The Gulf of Guinea (French language, French: ''Golfe de Guinée''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Golfo de Guinea''; Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Golfo da Guiné'') is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean from Cape Lopez i ...

and forms the border between

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

and

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

. This is an area of forest and grassland which has become more populous as land is cleared for agriculture.

Geography

The Cameroonian Highlands forests extend across the Cameroon Highlands, a chain of extinct volcanoes, covering an area of in eastern Nigeria and western Cameroon. The highlands extend roughly southwest–northeast. In the southwest the ecoregion includes the Rumpi Hills, Bakossi Mountains, Mount Nlonako, Mount Kupe, and Mount Manengouba. It extends northeast towards the Mambila Plateau, and north to the Bamenda Highlands. It continues northeast along the western flank of the

Adamawa Plateau The Adamawa Plateau () is a plateau region in west-central Africa stretching from south-eastern Nigeria through north-central Cameroon ( Adamawa and North Provinces) to the Central African Republic. The part of the plateau that lies in Nigeria i ...

to Tchabal Gangdaba. Northern outliers include the Mambilla Plateau to the northeast, Nigeria's Obudu Plateau to the northwest, the Alantika Mountains and Hosséré Vokré to the north, and in the southeastern Adamawa Plateau east of

Ngaoundéré Ngaoundéré or N'Gaoundéré (Fula: N'gamdere, , 𞤲'𞤺𞤢𞤥𞤣𞤫𞥅𞤪𞤫𞥅) is the capital of the Adamawa Region of Cameroon. It had a population of 152,700 at the 2005 census. According to the film ''Les Mairuuwas – Maitre de l ...

. The ecoregion lies above 900 meters elevation, and is surrounded at lower elevations by the Cross–Sanaga–Bioko coastal forests at the southern end of the range, and by

Guinean forest–savanna mosaic The Guinean forest-savanna, also known as the Guinean forest-savanna transition, is a distinctive ecological region located in West Africa. It stretches across several countries including Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, B ...

along the central and northern ends of the range. The Cameroon Highlands form the boundary between the Guinean and Northern Congolian forest–savanna mosaic ecoregions. The highest peak within the ecoregion is Mount Oku ().

Mount Cameroon Mount Cameroon is an active volcano in the Southwest Region of Cameroon next to the city of Buea near the Gulf of Guinea. Mount Cameroon is also known as Cameroon Mountain or Fako (the name of the higher of its two peaks) or by its indigenous ...

is highest mountain in the chain, but its high-elevation forests are designated a separate ecoregion.

Climate

Mean maximum temperatures are below 20°C due to the effects of altitude, and are cooler than the surrounding lowlands. Average annual rainfall ranges from around 4,000 mm near the coast to 1,800 mm or less further inland. The highlands are an important source of water for both Nigeria and Cameroon.

Flora

The vegetation varies with elevation. Submontane forests extend from approximately to meters elevation. Above elevation are distinct montane forests and patches of montane grassland, bamboo forest, and subalpine grasslands and shrublands. The ecoregion is characterized by the presence of

Afromontane The Afromontane regions are subregions of the Afrotropical realm, one of the Earth's eight biogeographic realms, covering the plant and animal species found in the mountains of Africa and the southern Arabian Peninsula. The Afromontane regions o ...

species, which have an archipelago-like distribution across the highlands of Africa and are distinct from the lowland flora. Typical afromontane tree species are '' Nuxia congesta, Olea capensis, Podocarpus milanjianus,

Prunus africana ''Prunus africana'', the African cherry, has a wide distribution in Africa, occurring in montane regions of central and southern Africa and on the islands of Bioko, São-Tomé, Grande Comore, and Madagascar. It can be found at above sea level. I ...

, Myrsine melanophloeos,'' and '' Syzygium staudtii''.Lorelei Verlhac, Kenji Izumi, Anne-Marie Lézine, Kévin Lemonnier, Guillaume Buchet, Gaston Achoundong, Barthélémy Tchiengué (2018). Altitudinal distribution of pollen, plants and biomes in the Cameroon highlands. ''Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology'', Volume 259, 2018, Pages 21-28. ISSN 0034-6667. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.revpalbo.2018.09.011. Submontane forests from 850 to 1600 meters elevation typically have an open canopy. Common trees include species of ''

Alchornea ''Alchornea'' is a plant genus of the family (biology), family Euphorbiaceae first described as a genus in 1788. It is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, South Asia, Australia, Latin America, and various oceanic islands. Mo ...

'', along with species characteristic of the adjacent lowland plant communities, like semi-deciduous forests (species of ''

Ficus ''Ficus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes and hemiepiphytes in the family (biology), family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few spe ...

, Santiria, Symphonia, Allanblackia'' and '' Anthocleista'') and savanna (species of '' Lannea, Bridelia, Lophira'', and

Fabaceae Fabaceae () or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomen ...

). Grasses are abundant in the understorey. From 1600 to 2000 meters, trees from the

Euphorbiaceae Euphorbiaceae (), the spurge family, is a large family of flowering plants. In English, they are also commonly called euphorbias, which is also the name of Euphorbia, the type genus of the family. Most spurges, such as ''Euphorbia paralias'', ar ...

family predominate, including species of ''

Macaranga ''Macaranga'' is a large genus of Old World tropical trees of the family Euphorbiaceae and the only genus in the subtribe Macaranginae (tribe Acalypheae). Native to Africa, Australasia, Asia and various islands of the Indian and Pacific Oc ...

, Alchornea'', and '' Mallotus''. Savanna and semi-deciduous forest species - ''Ficus, Lophira, Bridelia, Lannea'', and Fabaceae – are also present. The Afromontane genus '' Astropanax'' is abundant, and Afromontane species including '' Olea capensis, Syzygium, Maesa'',

Meliaceae Meliaceae, the mahogany family, is a flowering plant family of mostly trees and shrubs (and a few herbaceous plants, mangroves) in the order Sapindales. They are characterised by alternate, usually pinnate leaves without stipules, and by syncarp ...

, and ''

Clematis ''Clematis'' is a genus of about 380 species within the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae. Their garden hybrids and cultivars have been popular among gardeners, beginning with ''Clematis'' 'Jackmanii', a garden staple since 1862; more cultivars ...

'' grow in smaller numbers. Grasses remain common in the understory. Afromontane forests grow above 2000 meters elevation. Lower montane forests generally have a denser canopy than the submontane and upper montane forests, with fewer grasses in the shady understorey. Trees in the lower Afromontane forests include species of ''Astropanax, Alchornea, Myrica'', and ''

Ilex ''Ilex'' () or holly is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergreen or ...

'', and the palm ''

Elaeis guineensis ''Elaeis guineensis'' is a species of Arecaceae, palm commonly just called oil palm but also sometimes African oil palm or macaw-fat. The first Western world, Western person to describe it and bring back seeds was the French naturalist Michel Ad ...

''. '' Nuxia congesta'', ''Olea capensis'', and ''Astropanax'' are predominant from 2270 to 2500 meters elevation. In the upper montane forest from 2500 to 2945 meters elevation ''Podocarpus milanjianus'' and ''Astropanax'' are predominant, together with '' Myrsine melanophloeos, Syzygium,

, Ixora'', and shrubs and herbs like '' Isoglossa, Pavetta,

Rubus ''Rubus'' is a large and diverse genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, subfamily Rosoideae, most commonly known as brambles. Fruits of various species are known as raspberries, blackberries, dewberries, and bristleberries. ...

'', and ''

Impatiens ''Impatiens'' is a genus of more than 1,000 species of flowering plants, widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere and the tropics. Together with the genus ''Hydrocera'' (one species), ''Impatiens'' make up the family (biology), f ...

''. In the northern mountains, including the Adamawa Plateau, Hosséré Vokré, and Alantika mountains, the climate is drier and rainfall is more seasonal. Submontane forests are generally absent, and the Afromontane forests transition directly to savanna. Afromontane forests on the Hosséré Vokré and Alantika mountains are mostly limited to stream valleys and ravines, separated by areas of montane savanna or grassland.BirdLife International (2024
Endemic Bird Areas factsheet: Cameroon mountains
Retrieved 25 February 2024.B. Larison, T. B. Smith, D. Mcniven, R. Fotso, M. Bruford, K. Holbrook,and A. Lamperti, Faunal Surveys of Selected Montane and Lowland Areas of Cameroon, WWF Cameroon, 1996, unpubl
PDF
/ref> The ericaceous belt is a transition between the upper montane forests and high-elevation grasslands, ranging from approximately 2750 up to 2950 meters elevation. Shrubs and stunted trees of genus

Ericaceae The Ericaceae () are a Family (biology), family of flowering plants, commonly known as the heath or heather family, found most commonly in acidic and infertile growing conditions. The family is large, with about 4,250 known species spread acros ...

, including '' Erica mannii'' and '' Erica silvatica'', are predominant. Subalpine grasslands grow above 2800 meters elevation, with many grasses, and herbs in the genera ''

Alchemilla ''Alchemilla'' is a genus of herbaceous perennial plants in the family Rosaceae, with the common name lady's mantle applied generically as well as specifically to ''Alchemilla mollis'' when referred to as a garden plant. The plant used as a herb ...

'' and '' Anthospermum'' and the families

Caryophyllaceae Caryophyllaceae, commonly called the pink family or carnation family, is a family (biology), family of flowering plants. It is included in the dicotyledon order Caryophyllales in the APG III system, alongside 33 other families, including Amaranth ...

Asteraceae Asteraceae () is a large family (biology), family of flowering plants that consists of over 32,000 known species in over 1,900 genera within the Order (biology), order Asterales. The number of species in Asteraceae is rivaled only by the Orchi ...

, and

Lamiaceae The Lamiaceae ( ) or Labiatae are a family (biology), family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint, deadnettle, or sage family. Many of the plants are aromatic in all parts and include widely used culinary herbs like basil (herb), ba ...

Fauna

The ecoregion is home to a number of

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, along with several more that are also found in the nearby Mount Cameroon and Bioko montane forests ecoregion. Six species of birds are strictly endemic: the Bamenda apalis (''Apalis bamendae''), white-throated mountain-babbler (''Kupeornis gilberti''), banded wattle-eye (''Platysteira laticincta''), Bannerman's weaver (''Ploceus bannermani''), Mount Kupe bush-shrike (''Telophorus kupeensis'') and Bannerman's turaco (''Tauraco bannermani),'' which is a cultural icon for the Kom people who live in the area. Seven species are endemic to the Cameroon Highlands forests and

: Cameroon greenbul (''Arizelocichla montana''), Bangwa forest warbler (''Bradypterus bangwaensis''), grey-headed greenbul (''Phyllastrephus poliocephalus''), yellow-breasted boubou (''Laniarius atroflavus''), green-breasted bushshrike (''Malaconotus gladiator''), mountain robin-chat (''Cossyphicula isabellae'') and a subspecies of Chubb's cisticola, ''Cisticola chubbi discolor'' (sometimes considered a separate species ''C. discolor''). Nine more montane endemic species are shared with Mount Cameroon and

Bioko Bioko (; ; ; historically known as Fernando Pó, ) is an island of Equatorial Guinea. It is located south of the coast of Cameroon, and northwest of the northernmost part of mainland Equatorial Guinea. Malabo, on the north coast of the is ...

: the western greenbul (''Arizelocichla tephrolaema''), Cameroon olive greenbul (''Phyllastrephus poensis''), black-capped woodland warbler (''Phylloscopus herberti''), green longtail (''Urolais epichlorus''), white-tailed warbler (''Poliolais lopezi''), Cameroon sunbird (''Cyanomitra oritis''), Ursula's sunbird (''Cinnyris ursulae''), Shelley's oliveback (''Nesocharis shelleyi''), and Cameroon olive-pigeon (''Columba sjostedti''). Eleven small mammal species are endemic to the ecoregion:

Eisentraut's striped mouse Eisentraut's striped mouse or Eisentraut's hybomys (''Hybomys badius'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found only in Cameroon. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. It is threatened by habitat l ...

(''Hybomys eisentrauti''), the Mount Oku hylomyscus (''Hylomyscus grandis''), Mount Oku rat (''Lamottemys okuensis''), Mittendorf's striped grass mouse (''Lemniscomys mittendorfi''), Dieterlen's brush-furred mouse (''Lophuromys dieterleni'') and Eisentraut's brush-furred rat (''L. eisentrauti''), Oku mouse shrew (''Myosorex okuensis,'') Rumpi mouse shrew (''M. rumpii''), western vlei rat (''Otomys occidentalis''), Hartwig's soft-furred mouse (''Praomys hartwigi''), and Bioko forest shrew ('' Sylvisorex isabellae''). The ecoregion is home to several endangered

primate Primates is an order (biology), order of mammals, which is further divided into the Strepsirrhini, strepsirrhines, which include lemurs, galagos, and Lorisidae, lorisids; and the Haplorhini, haplorhines, which include Tarsiiformes, tarsiers a ...

s, including the Cross River gorilla (''Gorilla gorilla diehli''), an endemic subspecies of

western gorilla The western gorilla (''Gorilla gorilla'') is a great ape found in Africa, one of two species of the hominid genus ''Gorilla''. Large and robust with males weighing around , the species is found in a region of midwest Africa, geographically iso ...

, mainland drill (''Mandrillus leucophaeus leucophaeus''), Preuss's red colobus (''Pilocolobus preussi''),

chimpanzee The chimpanzee (; ''Pan troglodytes''), also simply known as the chimp, is a species of Hominidae, great ape native to the forests and savannahs of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed one. When its close rel ...

('' Pan troglodytes'') and several species of guenon including Preuss's monkey (''Cercopithecus preussi''). Forty species of amphibians are endemic to the ecoregion: '' Petropedetes parkeri'', '' Petropedetes perreti'', '' Phrynobatrachus cricogaster'', '' Phrynobatrachus steindachneri'', '' Phrynobatrachus werneri'', ''

Phrynobatrachus ''Phrynobatrachus'' is a genus of Sub-Saharan Africa, Sub-Saharan frogs that form the monogeneric family Phrynobatrachidae. Their common name is puddle frogs, dwarf puddle frogs, African puddle frogs, or African river frogs. The common name, pud ...

'' species, '' Phrynodon'' species, '' Cardioglossa melanogaster'', '' Cardioglossa oreas'', '' Cardioglossa pulchra'', '' Cardioglossa schioetzi'', '' Cardioglossa trifasciata'', '' Cardioglossa venusta'', '' Astylosternus nganhanus'', '' Astylosternus perreti'', '' Astylosternus montanus'', '' Astylosternus rheophilus'', '' Leptodactylodon axillaris'', '' Leptodactylodon bicolor'', '' Leptodactylodon boulengeri'', '' Leptodactylodon erythrogaster'', '' Leptodactylodon mertensi'', '' Leptodactylodon polyacanthus'', '' Leptodactylodon perreti'', '' Afrixalus lacteus'', '' Hyperolius ademetzi'', '' Hyperolius riggenbachi'', '' Leptopelis nordequatorialis'', '' Xenopus amieti'', ''

Xenopus ''Xenopus'' () (Gk., ξενος, ''xenos'' = strange, πους, ''pous'' = foot, commonly known as the clawed frog) is a genus of highly aquatic frogs native to sub-Saharan Africa. Twenty species are currently described with ...

'' species, '' Bufo villiersi'', '' Werneria bambutensis'', '' Werneria tandyi'', '' Wolterstorffina mirei''. The following reptiles are also considered more or less endemic: '' Atractaspis coalescens'', Pfeffer's chameleon (''Trioceros pfefferi''), four-horned chameleon (''Trioceros quadricornis''), '' Leptosiaphos ianthinoxantha'' and Angel's five-toed skink (''Lacertaspis lepesmei''). The gecko '' Ancylodactylus alantika'' is endemic to the Alantika Mountains and Hosséré Vokré.

Urban areas and settlements

In Cameroon the mountains are quite heavily populated and used for farming and grazing; much of this ecoregion lies in the

Northwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west— ...

and

Adamawa Region The Adamawa Region () is a constituent region of the Cameroon, Republic of Cameroon. It borders the Centre Region (Cameroon), Centre and East Region (Cameroon), East regions to the south, the Northwest Region (Cameroon), Northwest and West Re ...

s. Towns include

Bamenda Bamenda, also known as Abakwa and Mankon Town, is a city in northwestern Cameroon and capital of the Northwest Region (Cameroon), Northwest Region. The city has a population of about six hundred thousand people and is located north-west of the C ...

, capital of the Northwest and base for visiting the mountains including Oku, the Kilum-Ijim Forest and

Lake Nyos Lake Nyos ( ) is a crater lake in the Northwest Region of Cameroon, located about northwest of Yaoundé, the capital. Nyos is a deep lake high on the flank of an inactive volcano in the Oku volcanic plain along the Cameroon line of volcan ...

. In Nigeria the ecoregion is located mainly on the Mambila Plateau, an area of agricultural and grazing land in

Taraba State Taraba is a States of Nigeria, state in north-eastern Nigeria, named after the Taraba River, which traverses the southern part of the state. It is known as "Nature's Gift to the Nation". Its capital is Jalingo. The state's main Demographics ...

Conservation and threats

The forest is continually being cleared for firewood, timber and to create farmland, and many of the mountains have lost significant amounts of forest cover. There is very little formal environmental protection.

Protected areas

6.9% of the ecoregion is in protected areas. Protected areas include Gashaka-Gumti National Park, Korup National Park, Bayang-Mbo Wildlife Sanctuary, Santchou Faunal Reserve, Gangoro Forest Reserve, Mai Samari Forest Reserve, Ngel-Nyaki Forest Reserve, River Nwum Forest Reserve, Kakara Forest Reserve, and Nguroje Forest Reserve.

References

External links

*
Mission for the preservation of drill monkeys
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cameroonian Highlands forests Afromontane ecoregions Afrotropical ecoregions Ecoregions of Cameroon Ecoregions of Nigeria Forests of Cameroon Subtropical rainforests Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests