Mikea Forest
| Mikea Forest French: Forêt des Mikea |
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| Geography | |
| Location | Toliara Province, Madagascar |
| Area – maximum |
3,706 km2 (1,431 sq mi) 4,252 km2 (1,642 sq mi) in 1962 |
| Status | unprotected |
| Visitation | 5000–8000 per year 1993 |
| Ecology | |
| Disturbance |
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 Madagascar, between Manombo and Morombe. More specifically, it stretches from Route Nationale 9 to the west coast and from Mangoky south to the Manombo River. It lies at the transition between dry deciduous forest, which is more common further north in Madagascar, and spiny forest, which is dominant in southwestern Madagascar. Its underlying geology is unconsolidated sand, and the region contains several freshwater lakes. 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.
This transitional terrain is one of the least protected of Madagascar's habitats. This soil composition has resulted in a collection of plant and animal species, even distinct from adjacent vegetation on limestone. Small terrestrial mammals found here include the rodents Macrotarsomys bastardi, Macrotarsomys petteri, and the introduced black rat (Rattus rattus); the tenrecs Tenrec ecaudatus, Setifer setosus, Echinops telfairi, Geogale aurita, and Microgale jenkinsae; and the shrew Suncus madagascariensis.Macrotarsomys petteri and Microgale jenkinsae are unique to the forest and were only discovered in the 2000s. 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.
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Wikipedia