Underground Explorers

The mountain forests of Mount Cameroon and Bioko belong to the volcanic chain that extends northwards along the border between Cameroon and Nigeria, and south-westwards to the islands of São Tomé, Príncipe, and Annobón, and extends to the heights of the island of Bioko Bioko (Equatorial Guinea). The western slope of Mount Cameroon is probably the most diverse and richest area of the mountain and is the only area in West and Central Africa where there is a pristine gradient vegetation of lowland evergreen tropical forest that starts at sea level, crosses montane forests, mountain meadows and alpine meadows near the summit. This link between ecosystems is the main source of the area's great biological diversity. Six main vegetation types have been identified on the mountain. Lowland rainforest (0-800 m above sea level), sub-mountain forest (800-1600 m above sea level), mountain forest (1600-1800 m above sea level), mountain thicket (1800-2400 m above sea level), mountain meadow (2000-3000 m above sea level), and sub-alpine meadow (3000-4100 m above sea level). The general objective of this project is to determine the diversity of mycorrhizal fungi associated with the diversity of the dominant floristic resources of Mount Cameroon. However, this study focuses on answering questions such as; Do the different forest ecosystems of the montane forests of Mount Cameroon and Bioko have the same types of mycorrhizal fungi? Does the floristic diversity of the soil types of each forest ecosystem determine the types of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi present? Do anthropogenic activities carried out in this area have an impact on the diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi? Our commitment to this project also involves local communities. In line with the sustainable development objectives, we will focus on: - Educating local communities about the use of CMAs and their importance in agricultural production through videos and explanations in local languages (SDG - 4 and SDG -2). - Show them the impact of their various anthropogenic activities on the life of soil mycorrhizal fungi, while highlighting their responsibility for biodiversity conservation (SDG -12). - Men and women from local communities will be educated together, without distinction and priority (SDG -5).