Broadleaved forests

The low- and medium-altitude closed rainforests of Guinea are continuations of the forests of Liberia and western Côte d'Ivoire (the three countries share the Mount Nimba mountain massif). These forests correspond to the categories given in F. White's UNESCO/AETFAT/UNSO Vegetation Map of Africa as a "mosaic of Guineo-Congolian lowland rain forest, wetter types, and Guineo-Congolian lowland rain forest, drier types". Their composition is similar to that of the forests of neighbouring Liberia, and the commercial timber species are those found in the evergreen and semi-deciduous closed forests of West Africa: red wood species such as Meliaceae (mahoganies ­ Khaya spp.; aboudikro, sipo, kosipo ­ Entandrophragma spp.; bossé ­ Guarea cedrata; dibétou ­ Lovoa trichilioides), niangon (Tarrietia utilis) and iroko (Chlorophora excelsa); white woods for joinery and veneering such as samba (Triplochiton scleroxylon), fraké (Terminalia superba), framiré (Terminalia ivorensis), avodiré (Turraeanthus africana), ilomba (Pycnanthus angolensis), silk-cotton (Ceiba pentandra) and ako (Antiaris welwitschii); and hard, heavy woods such as azobé (Lophira alata), badi (Naucla diderrichii) and dabéma (Piptadeniastratum africanum) (Khalidou Diallo, 1978).

In the forest-savannah mosaic zone (the Guéckédou, Kissidougou and Beyla regions), which represents the transition between savannah and forest proper (the Macenta and Nzérékoré regions), the closed forest is scattered into islands that are now disappearing as a result of bush fires and clearing. In addition to some of the species mentioned above, species such as trade sougué (Parinari excelsa), Pentadesma butyracea and Anisophyllea zaurina are also found. Further north, such stands occur only in humid areas, especially along watercourses in the form of gallery forests, which cover an appreciable area of the country.

Small mountain stands of evergreen forest containing bastard mahogany (Khaya senegalensis) and iroko have been identified on satellite images of central Guinea, particularly on the southern and south-eastern edge of the Fouta Djallon plateau.

Mangroves cover a large area because the coastline is broken up by many estuaries, islands and peninsulas. There are two main species, red mangrove (Rhizophora racemosa) and white mangrove (Avicennia nitida) (Khalidou Diallo, 1978). Two other Rhizophora ­ R. mangle and R. harrisonii ­ are also noted. Mangroves are used for firewood and construction timber.

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last updated: Monday, January 12, 2004