Site description (2001 baseline)
The site is located in the north-west Fouta Djalon, south-west of the town of Linsan, north-west of Lélouma and comprises principally the Nialama (Nyalama) Forest Reserve (10,000 ha), but also includes neighbouring parts of the valleys of the Ouésséguélé river and its affluent, the Koundou (Kuundu). The area includes bowé, cliffs and escarpments, hills, a low-lying plain of gently undulating terrain and lowland seasonal swamps. The site is a mosaic of sparse forest, denser gallery forest, open savanna woodland and grassland and patches of bamboo Oxytenanthera abyssinica. The dominant forest species are Parkia biglobosa and Pterocarpus erinaceus, while Afzelia africana and Elaeis guineensis are characteristic savanna species. Average annual rainfall is 1,145 mm. The precise limits of the site have yet to be determined.
Key biodiversity
See Box and Table 3 for key species. The area has yet to be thoroughly surveyed.
Non-bird biodiversity: A troop of at least 30 Pan troglodytes (EN) occurs within the forest reserve. The site is within the Fouta Djalon centre of plant endemism; some of the endemics may therefore occur.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Nialama (Guinea). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/nialama-iba-guinea on 23/12/2024.