The Niger Delta swamp forests is a

tropical moist forest Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF), also known as tropical moist forest, is a subtropical and tropical forest habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Description TSMF is generally found in large, disco ...

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas o ...

in southern

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya 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 G ...

. It consists of freshwater swamp forests in the

Niger Delta The Niger Delta is the delta of the Niger River sitting directly on the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean in Nigeria. It is located within nine coastal southern Nigerian states, which include: all six states from the South South geopoliti ...

of the

Niger River The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through Mali ...

. This swamp forest is the second largest in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, after the Congolian swamp forests. Although there are large cities just outside the

, the area has been relatively isolated by the difficulty of building roads across the swamps, although this is changing with development of oil and logging industries. Scientific surveys have only begun in recent years, and new species were being identified into the 1990s.

Location and description

The Niger Delta swamp forests ecoregion covers a triangular territory at the mouth of the

. The southern edge is set back about 10 km from the

Gulf of Guinea The Gulf of Guinea is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean from Cape Lopez in Gabon, north and west to Cape Palmas in Liberia. The intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian (zero degrees latitude and longitude) is in the ...

, buffered by the

Central African mangroves The Central African mangroves ecoregion consists of the largest area of mangrove swamp in Africa, located on the coasts of West Africa, mainly in Nigeria. Location and description These mangroves are found in fertile rivermouths and lagoons ...

ecoregion where the effects of salt water are more pronounced. The western border of the ecoregion is formed along the

Benin River The Benin River is a river that flows through the south west of Nigeria. The river starts under the name " Ethiope" in the south east of the state Edo. Subsequently, it runs through various cities and villages, such as Umutu, Owah Abbi, Obiaru ...

, the northern tip is just north of the city of

Aboh Aboh or Abo,"Ibo, a district of British West Africa..." () is a city in Delta State of Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nig ...

, and the eastern edge runs along the

Imo River The Imo River ( Igbo:Imo) is in southeastern Nigeria and flows into the Atlantic Ocean. In Akwa Ibom State, the river is known as Imoh River, that is, Inyang Imoh, which translates to River of Wealth ( Ibibio: Inyang means River or Ocean, and Im ...

. The city of Port Harcourt is in the southeast corner of the ecoregion. The Niger Delta is built up from silt deposits from the Niger River. The landscape is flat with meandering branches of the main river. The soils of the delta vary by the shifting rivers and creeks, with sand and loam marking the remains of old levees, water-logged heavy clay in the backswamps behind the levees, and silty loam and clay on the higher ground.

Climate

The climate of the ecoregion is ''

Tropical monsoon climate An area of tropical monsoon climate (occasionally known as a sub-equatorial, tropical wet climate or a tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate) is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification category ...

'' (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

(Am)). This climate is characterized by relatively even temperatures throughout the year (all months being greater than average temperature), and a pronounced dry season. The driest month has less than 60 mm of precipitation, but more than (100-(average/25) mm. This climate is mid-way between a tropical rainforest and a tropical savannah. The rainy season runs from March-April to October. Precipitation ranges from 2,500 mm/year in the north to 4,000 mm/year along the coast in the south. Relative humidity is 90-100% for most of the year.

Flora and fauna

Approximately 67% of the ecoregion is covered in closed forest, mostly broadleaf evergreen. Another 13% is open forest, 8% herbaceous wetland, 5% urban or built up, 3% under agricultural cultivation, and the remainder permanent and seasonal water. The abura ( Hallea ledermannii) tree, formerly common, has mostly been logged out of the delta. Common trees in the flood forest include Oil palm (''

Elaeis guineensis ''Elaeis guineensis'' is a species of palm commonly just called oil palm but also sometimes African oil palm or macaw-fat. It is the principal source of palm oil. It is native to west and southwest Africa, specifically the area between Angola a ...

''), Azobe tree (''

Lophira alata ''Lophira alata'', commonly known as azobé, ekki or the red ironwood tree, is a species of plant in the family Ochnaceae. It is found in Cameroon, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, G ...

''), African nutmeg ('' Pycnanthus angolensis''), '' Ricinodendron heudelotii'', '' Hallea ledermannii'', Flatcrown tree ('' Albizia adianthifolia''), Wild mango (''

Irvingia gabonensis ''Irvingia gabonensis'' is a species of African trees in the genus '' Irvingia'', sometimes known by the common names wild mango, African mango, or bush mango. They bear edible mango-like fruits, and are especially valued for their fat- and p ...

''), ('' Klainedoxa gabonensis''), ('' Treculia africana''), and species of (''

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

'').

Protected areas

While about 8% of the ecoregion is nominally under some form of administrative protection, most such territory is in forest reserves subject to heavy logging pressure. A survey in 2006 identified the presence of the endangered Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee in the Edumanom Forest Reserve and Ologbo Forest Reserve in the region.

References

{{reflist Afrotropical ecoregions Ecoregions of Nigeria Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests