Current view: Text account
Site description (2001 baseline):
Site location and context
The site lies 35 km north-west of Toamasina and 4.5 km from Fontsimavo, being situated on a rocky foothill overlooking the coastal plain. It comprises a series of mountainous peaks with steep slopes. Small seasonal tributaries of the Ivoloina river cross the reserve, which is covered by low-altitude, dense, humid evergreen forest, typically with trees of
Dalbergia,
Ilex,
Tambourissa and
Canarium, and tree-ferns
Cyathea. Screw-pines
Pandanus, tree lianas and bamboo-lianas
Nastus are abundant. Secondary woodlands and thickets (in degraded areas of forest) cover 30–35% of the site, and are dominated by fast-growing species such as traveller’s palm
Ravenala, bushes of
Solanum and
Lantana, and wild ginger
Aframomum.
See Box and Tables 2 and 3 for key species. Seventy-seven species are known from the site, of which 51 are endemic to Madagascar. Four of the species are confined mainly to the north-eastern forests of Madagascar:
Coua serriana,
Brachypteracias squamigera,
Oriolia bernieri and
Euryceros prevostii. All species of
Coua characteristic of humid forest are present.
Non-bird biodiversity: Lemurs: Varecia variegata variegata (EN), Indri indri (EN), Propithecus diadema diadema (EN), Daubentonia madagascariensis (EN). Carnivore: Fossa fossana (VU).
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
The main threats are slash-and-burn cultivation (in particular for rice), poaching, collection of palm-hearts, and exploitation for construction wood, including hardwoods such as
Diospyros,
Ocotea and
Canthium.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Betampona Strict Nature Reserve (Madagascar). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/betampona-strict-nature-reserve-iba-madagascar on 23/12/2024.
