The Eastern Congolian swamp forests occupy a broad arc of the central Congo Basin, lying on the left bank of the Congo River largely within the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The terrain is flat and waterlogged, supporting a mosaic of open water, permanent swamp forest, seasonally flooded forest, drier upland forest, and inundated savanna, with characteristic trees such as Guibourtia, Mitragyna, Symphonia globulifera, Uapaca heudelotii, and Alstonia congensis, and raffia palm stands in the wettest ground. The climate is wet equatorial, with average annual rainfall exceeding 2,000 millimeters and warm temperatures year-round. The wide Congo River acts as a major biogeographic barrier that separates primate communities between its banks, and the region's flagship is the Allen's swamp monkey; large blocks remain protected within Salonga National Park and other reserves. Together with the neighboring Western Congolian swamp forests, it forms one of the largest swamp forest complexes on Earth.
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 0.3°S, 20.5°E.
Climate snapshot for this ecoregion
°C
°F
Current zone range (2011–2040)
13b
Plotwright
CHELSA-derived typical winter month at this ecoregion's bbox grid.
Projected (2041–2070)
13b
Plotwright
Where the CHELSA models say the typical winter month is heading.
Average warming this ecoregion is on track for: +4.0°F by mid-century. SSP3-7.0 (current trajectory) · CHELSA v2.1 bio06 sampled across 10 of 10 points within this ecoregion's bounding box.
At a glance
Dominant biome
Tropical & Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests
Realm
Afrotropic
Approximate area
35,803 sq mi
Conservation tier
Nature Could Reach Half Protected (Dinerstein NNH 2)
About the tropical & subtropical moist broadleaf forests biome
Warm, wet, highly productive forests — including tropical rainforests — with closed canopies, near year-round growing seasons, and the richest terrestrial biodiversity on Earth. Low seasonality and high rainfall sustain dense, layered vegetation from canopy to forest floor.
Catalog plants suited to this ecoregion
No catalog plants intersect this ecoregion's zone range. As the catalog grows to cover this region's climate band, suggestions will surface here.
Collections for this ecoregion
No curated collection's plants all fit this ecoregion's zone range. We surface a collection only when every member would grow here — partial fits get filtered out rather than mislead. As the catalog and the curated set both grow, this section will fill in.
Related ecoregions
Other tropical & subtropical moist broadleaf forests ecoregions to explore: