Lower Guinean forests

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The Lower Guinean forests is region of coastal tropical moist broadleaf forest extending along the coast of the Gulf of Guinea from eastern Benin through Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Republic of the Congo, Cabinda, and Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The Dahomey Gap, a region of savanna and dry forest in Togo and Benin, divides the Lower Guinean forests from the Upper Guinean forests to the west, which extend from Togo to Guinea. To the north and northeast, the Lower Guinean forests transition to the drier inland Guinean forest-savanna mosaic and Northern Congolian forest-savanna mosaic. To the east, the Lower Guinean forests adjoin the vast Congolian forests of the Congo Basin, and to the southeast, the Lower Guinean forests are bounded by the Western Congolian forest-savanna mosaic.

The Lower Guinean forests share many biotic affinities with both the Upper Guinean forests and the Congolian forests, and are alternatively known as the Coastal Congolian forests by some authorities, including the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

[edit] Ecoregions

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) divides the Lower Guinean forests into a number of distinct ecoregions:

Nigerian lowland forests (Togo, Nigeria)
Niger Delta swamp forests (Nigeria)
Cross-Niger transition forests (Nigeria)
Cross-Sanaga-Bioko coastal forests (Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea)
Cameroonian Highlands forests (Nigeria, Cameroon)
Mount Cameroon and Bioko montane forests (Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea)
Sao Tome and Principe moist lowland forests (Sao Tome and Principe)
Atlantic Equatorial coastal forests (Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Republic of the Congo, Cabinda (Angola) and Democratic Republic of the Congo)

The WWF has designated two regions of the Lower Guinean forests as Global 200 priority regions for conservation. The WWF's Coastal Congolian forests region includes the Cross-Sanaga Bioko coastal forests, Sao Tome and Principe moist lowland forests, and Atlantic Equatorial coastal forests ecoregions. The Cameroon Highlands forests Global 200 region includes the Cameroonian Highlands forests and the Mount Cameroon and Bioko montane forests ecoregions.