IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Sunderland, T.C.H. | |
| A biodiversity assessment of the Monte Mitra forest, Monte Alen National Park, Equatorial Guinea | |
| 2005 Full Book | |
During a three-week period in September and October 2005, a multi-institutional and multi-disciplinary team undertook a rapid biodiversity assessment of the Monte Mitra forest within the Monte Alen National Park. The field surveys focussed on assessments of the vegetation, using both standardised plot and transect methods, large mammals, birds and reptiles and amphibians. Human signs within the National Park were also recorded by the field teams enabling an assessment of the management issues pertaining to the conservation of the area to be made. The information presented in this report suggest that the Monte Mitra forest is one of the most important reservoirs for biodiversity in the Congo Basin. In addition, the theory that the wider Monte Alen and Monts de Cristal Inselberg Forest Landscape is a Pleistocene refuge of global importance is further supported by our findings, particularly when our results are compared with other sites in the region. In terms of vegetation, the Monte Mitra assessment site exhibited the highest tree diversity recorded on our permanent 1 ha Biodiversity Plots (BDPs) as yet in the Congo Basin, aside from the contiguous Monts de Cristal region in Gabon. In addition, the standardised transect methodology utilised by researchers of the Missouri Botanical Garden found that not only that levels of plant diversity are correspondingly high but levels of endemism within the Landscape are exceptional. The finding of a new species of Scaphopetalum, and of a new record of Korupodendron songweanum to Equatorial Guinea, confirm this floristic importance. The large mammal fauna is also of interest with one of the highest encounter rates of forest elephant for Africa recorded on the slopes of Monte Mitra. Primate diversity and endemism are also high and many large mammals, notably extirpated in many comparable sites in the Congo Basin, such as the leopard (_Panthera pardus_) are confirmed extant in the Monte Alen National Park. As expected, the avian fauna is also high and a number of new records were encountered both for the site and the country. The high bird diversity fully supports the Birdlife classifications for the region and both Important and Endemic Bird Areas. Although the reptile and amphibian fauna also exhibits a certain level of diversity and endemism, the field work took place at the height of the rainy season, a period notoriously difficult for herpetological surveys and further sampling in the dry season will undoubtedly increase the species list considerably. During the basic field assessments for each biological group, the field teams also compiled information relating to management which has led to the preparation of a separate chapter regarding management issues within this report. Of particular concern is the high level of uncontrolled and indiscriminate hunting, including of protected species, within the boundaries of the Monte Alen National Park to supply, primarily, the thriving bushmeat market of Bata (see also Fa and Yuste, 2001). A study of the provenance of the shotgun cartridges found within the area also suggests that, with cartridges originating from as far away as Italy, well organised commercial hunting is clearly taking place in the area. Crop raiding by elephants, and the recent culling of two large males, suggests that mitigation measures are needed to deter elephants from entering farmland, rather than resorting to randomly killing lone individuals after the event. One of the main emphases of the Smithsonian Institutions' project in Central Africa is capacity building for local technicians. In this regard, training takes place both in formal workshops and during the implementation of field work. Working closely with INDEFOR during the Monte Mitra assessment we were able to provide close mentoring and supervision to their technicians in field survey methods, particularly those most concerned with the direct management of the National Park itself. The contribution of INDEFOR staff is genuinely reflected in the authorship of a number of the papers in this report. |
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