page_title: Guineo-Congolian region
section_title: Subdivisions
hierarchical_section_title: Guineo-Congolian region / Subdivisions
context_page_description: The Guineo-Congolian region is a biogeographical region in Africa straddling the Equator and stretching from the Atlantic Ocean through the Congo Basin to the Congo / Nile divide in Rwanda and Burundi. Formerly, this region was largely covered in rain forest, on both well-drained sites and in swamp forests, but little undisturbed primary forest now remains, having been replaced in many areas by savanna and secondary-growth forest.
context_section_description: Several forest types can be distinguished. Hygrophilous coastal evergreen forests occur in moist locations between Sierra Leone and Gabon in an intermittent coastal strip; these forests are often rich in legume family species which may regenerate freely and form pure stands. Mixed moist semi-evergreen forests occur extensively, especially in the Congo Basin, in somewhat drier locations. Drier peripheral semi-evergreen forest border the mixed moist forests to north and south and are subject to fire damage from adjoining savanna regions. Monospecific forests occur as patches in evergreen or semi-evergreen forests in the Congo Basin. Gallery forests and swamp forests occur where conditions are suitable but have more open canopies. Short forest and scrub forest occur on rocky hills and areas with thin soils.
caption: Gallery forest in the Simandou Range, Guinea
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