Most of Africa’s remaining rainforests are found in the Congo river basin on the Atlantic Ocean side of the continent. The Congo rainforest is famous for its gorillas, chimpanzees, and elephants as well as its native population of forest dwellers known as pygmies.

Where are rainforests located in Africa?

Most of Africa’s remaining rainforests are found in the Congo river basin on the Atlantic Ocean side of the continent. The Congo rainforest is famous for its gorillas, chimpanzees, and elephants as well as its native population of forest dwellers known as pygmies.

What is the geography of the rainforest?

Tropical rainforests are found near the equator, with high average temperatures and humidity, while temperate rainforests lie mostly in coastal, mountainous areas within the mid-latitudes. A rainforest is typically made up of four key layers: emergent, upper canopy, understory, and forest floor.

Can rainforests be found in Africa?

Around 2 million km² of Africa is covered by tropical rainforests. They are second only in extent to those in Amazonia, which cover around 6 million km². Rainforests are home to vast numbers of species.

What are the major rainforests of Africa?

The Congo Basin spans across six countries—Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. There are approximately 10, 000 species of tropical plants in the Congo Basin and 30 percent are unique to the region.

What is the climate of the rainforest in Africa?

All climate models agree that the African rainforest regions will warm, with a mean rate across models of 0.8–1.0°C per 1°C of global warming. Hence, the African rainforest realm is likely to warm by 3–4°C over this century under the most likely emissions scenarios.

What is the name of African rainforest?

The Congolian rainforests are a broad belt of lowland tropical moist broadleaf forests which extend across the basin of the Congo River and its tributaries in Central Africa….

Congolian rainforests
Realm Afrotropical
Biome Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests
Geography
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What are the main features of the rainforest?

The tropical rainforest biome has four main characteristics: very high annual rainfall, high average temperatures, nutrient-poor soil, and high levels of biodiversity (species richness). Rainfall: The word “rainforest” implies that these are the some of the world’s wettest ecosystems.

What are the plants of the tropical rainforest?

Ferns, lichens, mosses, orchids, and bromeliads are all epiphytes. The tropical rainforest is also home to nepenthes or pitcher plants. These are plants that grow in the soil. They have leaves that form a cup where moisture gathers.

Was Africa once a rainforest?

But 11,000 years ago, what we know today as the world’s largest hot desert would’ve been unrecognizable. The now-dessicated northern strip of Africa was once green and alive, pocked with lakes, rivers, grasslands and even forests.

What parts of Africa are tropical?

These countries are: Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Uganda, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

What are the characteristics of the African rainforest?

The tropical rainforest biome has four main characteristics: very high annual rainfall, high average temperatures, nutrient-poor soil, and high levels of biodiversity (species richness).

What is the climate in the African rainforest?

Mean temperatures in tropical rainforest regions are between 20 and 29 °C (68 and 84 °F), and in no month is the mean temperature below 18 °C (64 °F). Temperatures become critical with increasing altitude; in the wet tropics temperatures fall by about 0.5 °C (0.9 °F) for every 100 metres (328 feet) climbed.