Data Zone
Country/territory: Congo, The Democratic Republic of the
IBA criteria met: A3 (2001)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here
Area: 32,714 hectares (327.14 km2)
| IBA conservation status | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year of assessment (most recent) | State (condition) | Pressure (threat) | Response (action) |
| 2001 | not assessed | high | low |
| For more information about IBA monitoring, please click here | |||
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 (Congo, The Democratic Republic of the). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/luki-forest-reserve-iba-congo-the-democratic-republic-of-the on 22/12/2024.