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The Gola Forest in Sierra Leone: A Remnant Primary Tropical Rain-forest in Need of Conservation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 August 2009

N. H. Ayodele Cole
N. H. Ayodele Cole
Affiliation:
Professor of Botany, Botany Department, Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone, Freetown, Sierra Leone; currently Chief Environment Coordination Unit, UN Economic Commission for Africa, P.O. Box 3005, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
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The Gola Forest (North), located on the eastern border of Sierra Leone with Liberia, at 7°30′–7°45′N latitude and 11°0′ – 11°15′E longitude, is the farthest extension northwards and westwards of the Congo-West African closed forest formation type. Its inaccessibility had prevented its exploitation during historical times, and this has resulted in its preservation as primary forest. Evidence from the structure, species composition, and microclimate, of unexploited forest enclaves such as the study site, show that the Gola Forest is different from the common mature secondary forests situated elsewhere in the country.

Information

Type
Main Papers
Information
Environmental Conservation , Volume 7 , Issue 1 , Spring 1980 , pp. 33 - 40
Copyright
Copyright © Foundation for Environmental Conservation 1980

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References

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