Omo Forest Reserve is a preserved area of

tropical rainforest Tropical rainforests are dense and warm rainforests with high rainfall typically found between 10° north and south of the Equator. They are a subset of the tropical forest biome that occurs roughly within the 28° latitudes (in the torrid zo ...

Ogun Ogun or Ogoun ( Yoruba: Ògún, Edo: Ògún, Portuguese: Ogum, Gu; also spelled Oggun or Ogou; known as Ogún or Ogum in Latin America) is a Yoruba Orisha that is adopted in several African religions. Ògún is a warrior and a powerful spi ...

state, in the south-western part of Nigeria. It is located about northeast of

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

and east of

Ijebu Ode Ijebu-Ode is a town in Ogun State, South Western geopolitical zone in Nigeria, close to the A121 highway. The city is located 110 km by road Northeast of Lagos; it is within of the Atlantic Ocean in the eastern part of Ogun State and po ...

. This

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

covers an area of . The average rainfall is around . The terrain is largely flat and well-drained, with some low rolling hills, and forms part of the Omo River watershed.

History

The omo forest reserve was established in 1925 and covers about 130,500 hectares.which was constituted during the British colonial era.it was initially set-up for conservation of timber resources for commercial exploitation.afterwards the reserve focus shifted towards conservation of biodiversity and protection of endangered species.which made the area ecological value becomes more important and widely recognized.

Geography

Omo forest reserve is located in ijebu east local government area of Ogun State, Nigeria.it is situated within the rainforest zone of South Western Nigeria.it shares borders with other forest reserve like Shasha and oluwa.The reserve covers a vast area of 1,305 square kilometers.making it one of the largest forest in Nigeria.

Description

This forest reserve consists of a large area of tropical rainforest covering . In the northern part of the reserve, the vegetation consists of a dry evergreen mixed

deciduous forest In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, after flo ...

, while in the south, it consists of a moist, mixed,

semi-deciduous Semi-deciduous or semi-evergreen is a botanical term which refers to plants that lose their foliage for a very short period, when old leaves fall off and new foliage growth is starting. This phenomenon occurs in tropical and sub-tropical wood ...

forest. Parts of the reserve consist of

primary forest An old-growth forest or primary forest is a forest that has developed over a long period of time without Disturbance (ecology), disturbance. Due to this, old-growth forests exhibit unique ecological features. The Food and Agriculture Organizati ...

with mature trees, especially near the watercourses. However, large portions have been disturbed, with the felling of the original trees and the establishment of plantations. At the centre of the reserve, a plot of has been designated a

strict nature reserve A strict nature reserve (IUCN category Ia) or wilderness area (IUCN category Ib) is the highest category of protected area recognised by the World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA), a body which is part of the International Union for ...

, and this portion is now a

UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB) is an intergovernmental scientific program, launched in 1971 by UNESCO, that aims to establish a scientific basis for the 'improvement of relationships' between people and their environments. MAB engages w ...

Biodiversity

Over two hundred species of tree have been recorded in the reserve, the most common trees being ''

Diospyros ''Diospyros'' is a genus of over 700 species of deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs. The majority are native to the tropics, with only a few species extending into temperate regions. Individual species valued for their hard, heavy, dark timb ...

'' spp., ''

Drypetes ''Drypetes'' is a plant genus of the family Putranjivaceae, in the order Malpighiales. It was previously in the family Euphorbiaceae, tribe Drypeteae, and was the sole pantropical zoochorous genus of the family. The genus comprises about 200 ...

'' spp., '' Strombosia pustulata'', '' Rinorea dentata'' and ''

Voacanga africana ''Voacanga'' is a genus of plants in the family Apocynaceae found in Africa, Southeast Asia, New Guinea, and Australia. the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families recognises 13 species:Search for "Voacanga", ;Species # ''Voacanga africana' ...

'', and the most common plant families include

Araceae The Araceae are a family of monocotyledonous flowering plants in which flowers are borne on a type of inflorescence called a spadix. The spadix is usually accompanied by, and sometimes partially enclosed in, a spathe (or leaf-like bract). Also ...

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 ...

Ebenaceae The Ebenaceae are a family of flowering plants belonging to order Ericales. The family includes ebony and persimmon among about 768 species of trees and shrubs. It is distributed across the tropical and warmer temperate regions of the world. It i ...

Faboideae The Faboideae are a subfamily of the flowering plant family Fabaceae or Leguminosae. An acceptable alternative name for the subfamily is Papilionoideae, or Papilionaceae when this group of plants is treated as a family. This subfamily is widely ...

Liliaceae The lily family, Liliaceae, consists of about 15 genera and 610 species of flowering plants within the order Liliales. They are monocotyledonous, perennial, herbaceous, often bulbous geophytes. Plants in this family have evolved with a fai ...

Poaceae Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivate ...

Rubiaceae Rubiaceae () is a family (biology), family of flowering plants, commonly known as the coffee, madder, or bedstraw family. It consists of terrestrial trees, shrubs, lianas, or herbs that are recognizable by simple, opposite leaves with Petiole ( ...

and

Violaceae Violaceae is a family of flowering plants established in 1802, consisting of about 1000 species in about 25 genera. It takes its name from the genus '' Viola'', the violets and pansies. Older classifications such as the Cronquist system plac ...

. Also recorded in the reserve are 125 species of bird, and among a number of mammals present are such endangered species as

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 ...

elephant Elephants are the largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant ('' Loxodonta africana''), the African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''), and the Asian elephant ('' Elephas maximus ...

s and the white-throated guenon monkey.

Conservation

The reserve is subject to poaching, illegal timber extraction, and uncontrolled agricultural activities. The Nigerian Forest Elephant Group is a conservation charity, established in 1989, that aims to educate the local community about the benefits of conservation and to protect the forest environment.

References

{{Protected areas of Nigeria Forest reserves of Nigeria Nigerian lowland forests Protected areas of Nigeria Deforestation in Nigeria