Pic d’Ivohibe

The Pic d’Ivohibe Special Reserve is underlain by Neoproterozoic paragneiss and schist. The Ivohibe massif is sharper, with no vast high plateaus. Soils include haplic Cambisols, haplic Acrisols and haplic Ferrasols. The reserve is dominated by a climate that is humid in the eastern part and increasingly dry towards the west. Its altitudinal gradient extends from 600 m to 2060 m on the peak.

The Pic d’Ivohibe Special Reserve belongs to the Eastern Ecoregion and the Central Ecoregion.

Main ecological features:

The Pic d’Ivohibe Special Reserve has several plant formations, including low-altitude dense evergreen rainforest, which is restricted to the eastern part at the foot of the massif. On the western slopes, forest cover is much sparser and limited to the gullies. Low-altitude evergreen rainforest has a canopy height of between 18 and 24 m. The transition between low- and medium-altitude evergreen rainforest occurs at around 900 m. In the higher elevations, particularly in the central and south-eastern parts, there are numerous rocky outcrops of varying orientation and slope, with rock vegetation differing between the wet eastern and dry western slopes. A few secondary formations (thickets, meadows and pastures) can be found at the foot of the eastern slope.

Endemic species

Lémuriens :

Propithecus edwardsi, Avahi peyrierasi, Eulemur rubriventer, Lepilemur cf microdon

       

Flore endémique :

Ocotea ivohibensis, Dypsis saintelucei, Diospyros ebenifera

Fauna

Lémuriens : Lemur catta, Eulemur rufifrons, Avahi peyrierasi

Rongeurs : Gymnuromys roberti, Brachyuromys betsileoensis

Flora

Palmiers : Dypsis saintelucei, Dypsis nodifera

Autres : Solanum ivohibe, Cyathea approximata, Ocotea ivohibensis, Impatiens ivohibensis, Diospyros ebenifera