{{Short description|Forest region in southwestern Madagascar}} {{Infobox forest | name = Mikea Forest<ref>{{Harvnb|Seddon|Butchart|Tobias|Yount|2000}}</ref> | native_name = Forêt des Mikea | native_lang = fr | native_name2 = | native_lang2 = | image = | image_caption = | map_image = Mikea Forest, Madagascar - map 01.svg | county = | region = Atsimo-Andrefana | country = Madagascar | elevation = | area = {{convert|3706|km2|abbr=on}} | max_area = {{convert|4252|km2|abbr=on}} | date_max_area = 1962 | status = unprotected | established = | visitation = 5000–8000 per year | visitation_year = 1993 | authority = | ecosystem = | classification_WWF = | disturbance = slash and burn<br>charcoal production | forest_cover = | species = ''Didierea madagascariensis'' | indicator_plants = Didiereaceae<br>Euphorbia<br>Adansonia<br>Commiphora | lesser_flora = | fauna = }}

The '''Mikea Forest''' (or '''Forêt des Mikea''') is a forested region of southwestern Madagascar, between Manombo and Morombe.<ref name=GS451-452>{{Harvnb|Goodman|Soarimalala|2005|pp=451–452}}</ref> More specifically, it stretches from Route Nationale 9 to the west coast and from Mangoky south to the Manombo River.<ref>{{Harvnb|Nicoll|2003|p=1436}}</ref> It lies at the transition between dry deciduous forest, which is more common further north in Madagascar, and spiny forest, which is dominant in southwestern Madagascar.<ref name=GS451-452/> Its underlying geology is unconsolidated sand,<ref name=2003DuPuy>{{Harvnb|Du Puy|Moat|2003|pp=66–67}}</ref> and the region contains several freshwater lakes.<ref name=2003Fenn>{{Harvnb|Fenn|2003|p=1526}}</ref> The Forêt des Mikea is one of the largest remaining continuous forest blocks in western and southern Madagascar, but it is not protected and it is threatened by human development.<ref name=GS462>{{Harvnb|Goodman|Soarimalala|2005|p=462}}</ref>

This transitional terrain is one of the least protected of Madagascar's habitats.<ref name=2003DuPuy/> This soil composition has resulted in a collection of plant and animal species, even distinct from adjacent vegetation on limestone.<ref>{{Harvnb|Du Puy|Moat|2003|p=57}}</ref> Small terrestrial mammals found here include the rodents ''Macrotarsomys bastardi'', ''Macrotarsomys petteri'', and the introduced black rat (''Rattus rattus''); the tenrecs ''Tenrec ecaudatus'', ''Setifer setosus'', ''Echinops telfairi'', ''Geogale aurita'', and ''Microgale jenkinsae''; and the shrew ''Suncus madagascariensis''.<ref>{{Harvnb|Goodman|Soarimalala|2005|p=459}}</ref> ''Macrotarsomys petteri'' and ''Microgale jenkinsae'' are unique to the forest and were only discovered in the 2000s.<ref name=GS462/> The popular ring-tailed lemur (''Lemur catta'') also occurs in Mikea Forest, though it seems to always have been present in very low densities. Since the habitat has started to disappear, the remaining populations appear to have become isolated.<ref name="2006Gould">{{Harvnb|Gould|2006|p=258}}</ref>

As of 2000, of the 27&nbsp;threatened species of bird in Madagascar, only two (''Monias benschi'' and ''Uratelornis chimaera'') were not found in protected areas, but both were fairly common within the unprotected forests of Mikea.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hawkins|Goodman|2003|p=1043}}</ref> ''Monias benschi'' had an estimated population of 115,000, while the ''Uratelornis chimaera'' population was estimated at fewer than 15,000.<ref name=2003Hawkins>{{Harvnb|Hawkins|Seddon|2003|p=1098}}</ref> A survey published in 2005 reported that 59&nbsp;species of reptile were identified near the eastern shore of Lake Ranobe in the southern Mikea Forest, five of which were vulnerable.<ref>{{Harvnb|D'Cruze|Sable|2005|pp=6–7}}</ref> Some of these species include ''Matoatoa brevipes'', ''Oplurus fierinensis'', ''Furcifer antimena'', ''Furcifer belalandaensis'', ''Phelsuma standingi'', and ''Pyxis arachnoides''. The flora includes the baobabs ''Adansonia za'' and ''A. rubrostipa''.<ref name=2003Fenn/>

Between the 1960s and the 2000s, forest cover had declined by 16% and deforestation was accelerating, having doubled in the last five years of that time period. The factors behind the deforestation at that time were slash and burn agriculture for maize cultivation in the northern regions of the forest and charcoal production in the southern regions. As of 2000, recommendations had been made to establish a large protected area, to provide aid to improve agriculture, and to establish a network of community-based conservation areas.<ref name=2003Hawkins/> In 2001, Madagascar National Parks, known then as ANGAP, was considering a new national park in the area.<ref>{{Harvnb|Nicoll|2003|p=1437}}</ref> By 2008, a national park encompassing {{convert|184,630|ha|sqmi}} in two parcels had been submitted to the Supreme Council for Nature Protection (a state entity that deals with natural resource management) and was in the process of being finalized.<ref name=FASR9>{{Harvnb|Blanc-Pamard|2009|p=9}}</ref>

==See also== *Anjanamba Cave

==References== {{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==Sources== ;Journals & reports {{Refbegin}} * {{cite journal | last = Blanc-Pamard | first = C. | title = The Mikea Forest Under Threat (southwest Madagascar): How public policy leads to conflicting territories | journal = Field Actions Science Report | volume = 3 | year = 2009 | pages = 1–12 | publisher = Institut Veolia Environnement | url = http://factsreports.revues.org/index341.html?file=1 | format = PDF}} ([http://factsreports.revues.org/index341.html HTML]) * {{cite journal | last1 = D'Cruze | first1 = N.C. | last2 = Sable | first2 = J.A. | title = The Reptiles of Southern Mikea Forest, Madagascar | journal = Herpetological Bulletin | year = 2005 | number = 3 | pages = 2–8 | url = http://frontier-publications.co.uk/reports/Madagascar/PeerReview/Forest/398D%27Cruzeetal_2005.pdf | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130823032310/http://frontier-publications.co.uk/reports/Madagascar/PeerReview/Forest/398D%27Cruzeetal_2005.pdf | archive-date = 2013-08-23 }} * {{Cite journal | last1 = Goodman | first1 = S. M. | last2 = Soarimalala | first2 = V. | doi = 10.2988/0006-324X(2005)118[450:ANSOMR]2.0.CO;2 | title = A new species of Macrotarsomys (Rodentia: Muridae: Nesomyinae) from southwestern Madagascar | journal = Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington | volume = 118 | issue = 2 | pages = 450–464 | year = 2005 | s2cid = 86070739 }} * {{Cite journal | last1 = Seddon | first1 = N. | last2 = Butchart | first2 = S. | last3 = Tobias | first3 = J. | last4 = Yount | first4 = J. W. | last5 = Remi Ramanampamonjy | first5 = J. | last6 = Randrianizahana | first6 = H. | doi = 10.1046/j.1365-3008.2000.00134.x | title = Conservation issues and priorities in the Mikea Forest of south-west Madagascar | journal = Oryx | volume = 34 | issue = 4 | pages = 287–304 | year = 2000 | doi-access = free }} {{Refend}}

;Books {{Refbegin}} * {{cite book | editor1-last = Goodman | editor1-first = S.M. | editor2-last = Benstead | editor2-first = J.P. | title = The Natural History of Madagascar | publisher = University of Chicago Press | year = 2003 | isbn = 0-226-30306-3}} ** {{harvc | last1 = Du Puy | first1 = D.J. |last2 = Moat | first2 = J. | contribution = Using Geological Substrate to Identify and Map Primary Vegetation Types in Madagascar and the Implications for Planning Biodiversity Conservation | pages = 51–74 | year = 2003 |in1=Goodman |in2=Benstead}} ** {{harvc | last1 = Fenn | first1 = M.D. | contribution = The Spiny Forest Ecoregion | pages = 1525–1530 | year = 2003 |in1=Goodman |in2=Benstead}} ** {{harvc | last1 = Hawkins | first1 = A.F.A. |last2 = Goodman | first2 = S.M. | contribution = Introduction to the Birds | pages = 1019–1044 | year = 2003 |in1=Goodman |in2=Benstead}} ** {{harvc | last1 = Hawkins | first1 = A.F.A. |last2 = Seddon | first2 = N. | contribution = Mesitornithidae, Mesites | pages = 1095–1098 | year = 2003 |in1=Goodman |in2=Benstead}} ** {{harvc | last1 = Nicoll | first1 = M.E. | contribution = Forests outside Protected Areas | pages = 1432–1437 | year = 2003 |in1=Goodman |in2=Benstead}}

* {{cite book | editor1-last = Gould|editor1-first = L.|editor2-last = Sauther|editor2-first = M.L.|title= Lemurs: Ecology and Adaptation|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=nsBtrhsMU5EC|publisher = Springer|year = 2006|isbn = 978-0-387-34585-7}} ** {{harvc | last = Gould | first = L.|chapter = Chapter 12: ''Lemur catta'' Ecology: What We Know and What We Need to Know | pages = 255–274 | year = 2006 |in1=Gould |in2=Sauther}} {{Refend}}

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Category:Geography of Madagascar Category:Forests of Madagascar Category:Forests of Atsimo-Andrefana