CD001
Luki Forest Reserve


Country/territory: Congo, The Democratic Republic of the

IBA criteria met: A3 (2001)
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Area: 32,714 ha

IBA conservation status
Year of assessment (most recent) State (condition) Pressure (threat) Response (action)
2001 not assessed high low
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Site description (2001 baseline)
Luki is an area of lowland forest which forms part of the Mayombe forest block near the Atlantic coast in the extreme western part of the country. The reserve lies to the north of the town of Boma and is part of the Luki river basin. Habitats include gallery forest, secondary forest (mature forest with Terminalia superba and Xylopia spp.; young secondary with Musanga cecropioides, Xylopia aethiopica and Corynanthe paniculata), wooded savanna (Hyparrhenia spp. etc.), secondary bush and areas with vegetable farming. Slopes are often very steep, especially in the centre of the reserve. There are four settlements within the reserve and in its immediate environs. There is a rainy season from October to April and annual rainfall averages between 1,155 mm and 1,818 mm.

Key biodiversity
See Box and Table 3 for key species. There is no detailed information on the birds of Luki, but it may be expected to contain a substantial element of the Mayombe avifauna. This fauna comprises several subspecies which are absent or rare from the central basin, e.g. Francolinus l. lathami (schubotzi in north-eastern central basin), Ceratogymna fistulator sharpii (duboisi), Psalidoprocne n. nitens (centralis), Bleda n. notata (ugandae), Alethe diademata castanea (woosnami), Illadopsis f. fulvescens (ugandae), Macrosphenus f. flavicans (hypochondriacus) and Erythrocercus m. mccallii (congicus).

Non-bird biodiversity: Large mammals have become scarce because of heavy hunting pressure and some (e.g. monkeys) have almost disappeared. Some 1,034 plant taxa have been recorded; the Mayombe forest is floristically very different from the forests in the central basin.


Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Luki Forest Reserve. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/luki-forest-reserve-iba-congo-the-democratic-republic-of-the on 19/03/2024.