Country

Sierra Leone: 4 ecoregions. Each with its climate now and toward 2050, and its conservation tier.

Sierra Leone belongs to the wet end of West Africa. The Western Guinean lowland forests, a tropical moist broadleaf system carrying the Nature Imperiled tier, form the country's heart, with the Guinean montane forests rising in the northeastern highlands, the Guinean forest-savanna opening out toward the north, and the Guinean mangroves fringing the estuaries. The climate character is humid tropical with a heavy rainy season, so gardens grow fast and lushly: moisture-loving tropical trees, shade layers, and plants that tolerate saturated soil do well, while true drought-adapted species are only at home toward the savanna edge. Because so little intact lowland forest remains region-wide, native forest trees planted on farms and in towns carry real conservation weight here.