Eastern Congolian swamp forests


The Eastern Congolian swamp forests are a fairly intact but underresearched ecoregion of the tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests biome. It is located within the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This is the eastern half of one of the largest areas of swamps in the world.

Setting

The swamp forest is flat, wet forest between in elevation on the left bank of the River Congo, and spreading across a swathe of the Congo Basin, including some of the Congo's largest tributaries and the Stanley Falls area near Kisangani.

Flora

The forest is a mixture of habitats including wetlands and swamps, with drier forest and savanna slightly higher and flooded seasonally by the Congo and its tributaries.

Fauna

The region has been insufficiently researched by zoologists but is known to be home to forest elephants , and several primates, including the rare bonobo.
The Congo is a natural barrier to movement of wildlife and many species only occur on this eastern side of the river, including many primates: the bonobo and also Angolan colobus, Wolf's mona monkey, golden-bellied mangabey, black mangabey, southern talapoin and the Dryas monkey.
Near-endemic mammals include Hutterer's brush-furred mouse, Allen's striped bat, and Muton's soft-furred mouse.
These rainforests are rich in birdlife including the Congo sunbird, African river martin and Congo martin.
Endemic amphibians and reptiles include a small frog, Chapin's chameleon, a wall lizard, the Zaire snake-eater, and a worm lizard.

Threats and conservation

The Congo River allows access to these forests with subsequent logging and poaching of wildlife, particularly of forest elephants.
Protected areas include the huge Salonga National Park, and the Réserve Naturelle Lomako Yokokala.