Cartographie des écosystèmes du Cameroun

Abstract

In the framework of the research on the biodiversity of Cameroon, it was found that on maps presenting the ecosystems of Cameroon, not all the six main ecosystems are represented, and the denomination of the ecosystem units is not that of ecosystems. The purpose of the present study was to develop a map of the ecosystems of Cameroon to accommodate these ecosystems to the nomenclature of the Convention on Biological Diversity. The material used consists of already published thematic maps of the biophysical characters of the environment. The analysis of the nomenclature of ecosystem typology made it possible to identify the six ecosystems in Cameroon. Then the layers of the thematic maps were superimposed to map ecosystems. The phytogeographic map is the model and the basis of the delimitation of the ecosystems. The result is a map of the six main ecosystems in Cameroon: the freshwater ecosystems distributed throughout the territory, including natural and artificial lakes, wetlands, and water courses; the semi-arid ecosystem spread over the Diamaré plain and part of the Benoué basin; the wooded tropical savanna ecosystem on the Benoué basin, the northern plain, the Adamawa plateau, and the western and the northern sections of the Cameroon highlands; the montane ecosystem which is like an archipelago spread over the mountains above 1200 m in the north and 1500 m in the south, distributed across the volcanic line of Cameroon; the dense humid tropical forest ecosystem that occupies the coastal plain and the southern plateau; and finally the marine and coastal ecosystem located along the coast and the continental shelf. The approximate area of occupation of each ecosystem has been calculated. In conclusion, this map responds to a gap in the documentation of biological diversity in the ecosystem classification, by taking into account all the natural environments. It is a tool for planning, sustainable management of biological resources, exercise of sovereignty over biodiversity, teaching, and research on biological resources.