Mikea Forest
| Mikea Forest slash and burn charcoal production | |
|---|---|
| Dominant tree species | Didierea madagascariensis |
| Indicator plants | Didiereaceae Euphorbia Adansonia Commiphora |
The Mikea Forest (or Forêt des Mikea) is a forested region of southwestern
spiny forest, which is dominant in southwestern Madagascar.[2] Its underlying geology is unconsolidated sand,[4] and the region contains several freshwater lakes.[5] The Forêt des Mikea is one of the largest remaining continuous forest blocks in western and southern Madagascar, but it is not protected and it is threatened by human development.[6]
This transitional terrain is one of the least protected of Madagascar's habitats.Suncus madagascariensis.[8] Macrotarsomys petteri and Microgale jenkinsae are unique to the forest and were only discovered in the 2000s.[6] The popular ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta) also occurs in Mikea Forest, though it seems to always have been present in very low densities. Since the habitat has started to disappear, the remaining populations appear to have become isolated.[9]
As of 2000, of the 27
Between the 1960s and the 2000s,
slash and burn agriculture for maize cultivation in the northern regions of the forest and charcoal production in the southern regions. As of 2000, recommendations had been made to establish a large protected area, to provide aid to improve agriculture, and to establish a network of community-based conservation areas.[11] In 2001, Madagascar National Parks, known then as ANGAP, was considering a new national park in the area.[13] By 2008, a national park encompassing 184,630 hectares (712.9 sq mi) in two parcels had been submitted to the Supreme Council for Nature Protection (a state entity that deals with natural resource management) and was in the process of being finalized.[14]
See also
References
- ^ Seddon, Butchart & Tabias 2000
- ^ a b Goodman & Soarimalala 2005, pp. 451–452
- ^ Nicoll 2005, p. 1436
- ^ a b Du Puy & Moat 2003, pp. 66–67
- ^ a b Fenn 2005, p. 1526
- ^ a b Goodman & Soarimalala 2005, p. 462
- ^ Du Puy & Moat 2003, p. 57
- ^ Goodman & Soarimalala 2005, p. 459
- ^ Gould 2006, p. 258
- ^ Hawkins & Goodman 2003, p. 1043
- ^ a b Hawkins & Seddon 2003, p. 1098
- ^ D'Cruze & Sable 2005, pp. 6–7
- ^ Nicoll 2005, p. 1437
- ^ Blanc-Pamard 2009, p. 9
Literature cited
- Journals & reports
- Blanc-Pamard, C. (2009). "The Mikea Forest Under Threat (southwest Madagascar): How public policy leads to conflicting territories" (PDF). Field Actions Science Report. 3. Institut Veolia Environnement: 1–12. (HTML)
- D'Cruze, N.C.; Sable, J.A. (2005). "The Reptiles of Southern Mikea Forest, Madagascar" (PDF). Herpetological Bulletin (3): 2–8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-08-23.
- Goodman, S. M.; Soarimalala, V. (2005). "A new species of Macrotarsomys (Rodentia: Muridae: Nesomyinae) from southwestern Madagascar". Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 118 (2): 450–464. S2CID 86070739.
- Seddon, N.; Butchart, S.; Tobias, J.; Yount, J. W.; Remi Ramanampamonjy, J.; Randrianizahana, H. (2000). "Conservation issues and priorities in the Mikea Forest of south-west Madagascar". Oryx. 34 (4): 287–304. .
- Books
- Goodman, S.M.; Benstead, J.P., eds. (2003). The Natural History of Madagascar. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-30306-3.
- Du Puy, D.J.; Moat, J. (2003). "Using Geological Substrate to Identify and Map Primary Vegetation Types in Madagascar and the Implications for Planning Biodiversity Conservation". pp. 51–74.
{{cite book}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - Hawkins, A.F.A.; Goodman, S.M. (2003). "Introduction to the Birds". pp. 1019–1044.
{{cite book}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - Hawkins, A.F.A.; Seddon, N. (2003). "Mesitornithidae, Mesites". pp. 1095–1098.
{{cite book}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - Nicoll, M.E. (2003). "Forests outside Protected Areas". pp. 1432–1437.
{{cite book}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - Fenn, M.D. (2003). "The Spiny Forest Ecoregion". pp. 1525–1530.
{{cite book}}: Missing or empty|title=(help)
- Du Puy, D.J.; Moat, J. (2003). "Using Geological Substrate to Identify and Map Primary Vegetation Types in Madagascar and the Implications for Planning Biodiversity Conservation". pp. 51–74.
- Gould, L.; Sauther, M.L., eds. (2006). Lemurs: Ecology and Adaptation. Springer. ISBN 978-0-387-34585-7.