Diécké (6377)
Guinea, Africa
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2015
National site name: Diécké
Central coordinates: Latitude: 7.5000, Longitude: -8.9167
System: freshwater, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 400 to 595
Area of KBA (km2): 592.31849
Protected area coverage (%): 100.00
KBA classification: Global/Regional TBD
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: Diécké Forest Reserve is situated in the extreme south-east of Guinea, south of Nzérékoré and immediately north of the town of Diécké, close to the Liberian border. It is an area of lowland rainforest near the north-western limit of its distribution. Representative tree species include Parkia bicolor and Piptadeniastrum africanum. Although parts of the north-east of the reserve have been logged, much of the remainder is mature forest. The reserve also includes areas of swamp-forest dominated by Raphia palms, which makes access for commercial timber exploitation difficult or impossible in places. Annual rainfall is in the range 1,900–2,000 mm.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance because it meets one or more previously established criteria and thresholds for identifying sites of biodiversity importance (including Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas, Alliance for Zero Extinction sites, and Key Biodiversity Areas) KBA identified in the CEPF Ecosystem Profile of the Guinea Forests of West Africa Hotspot (2015). Taxonomy, nomenclature and threat status follow the 2013 IUCN Red List.
Additional biodiversity: See Box and Tables 2 and 3 for key species. A total of 141 species is currently known from Diécké, a figure which suggests that many more have yet to be discovered. There are also earlier records of a number of additional species, including Scotopelia ussheri and Lamprotornis cupreocauda, from ‘Nzérékoré’, only a short distance to the north, which may therefore yet be found in Diécké. Non-bird biodiversity: The frog Phryobatrachus tokba is known only from its type-locality, close to Diécké. Fauna of conservation concern include the crocodile Osteolaemis tetraspis (VU) and the mammals Cercopithecus diana (VU), Procolobus badius (LR/nt), Colobus polykomos (LR/nt), Cercocebus atys (LR/nt), Pan troglodytes (EN), Cephalophus dorsalis (LR/nt), C. jentincki (VU), C. niger (LR/nt), C. sylvicultor (LR/nt), C. zebra (VU), Neotragus pygmaeus (LR/nt), Hexaprotodon liberiensis (VU), Hyemoschus aquaticus (DD), Tragelaphus euryceros (LR/nt) and Hylochoerus meinertzhageni (VU).
Habitats
Land use: agriculture | forestry | nature conservation and research | water management
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Forest | 92 | |
| Unknown | 4 | |
| Artificial - Terrestrial | 2 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: The reserve was gazetted in 1945. Some 5,000 ha in the north-east of the reserve were logged in the 1960s. Farms were then established on this land under the ‘taungya’ system whereby farmers care for tree seedlings alongside their crops for a number of years before leaving the area to become reforested. The area was not, however, returned to forest. More recently, the influx of refugees from Liberia escaping the civil war has led to increased exploitation.