Atewa Range Forest Reserve Bryophytes dataset, Ghana

Atewa Forest is a biodiverse tropical forest in the Eastern Region of Ghana, highly threatened by illegal mining, farming and hunting activities, and by proposals for industrial-scale bauxite mining. Conservation bodies are active in trying to save the forest and promote its future as a national park. Very little is known about its bryophyte flora, and this short expedition was intended as a first step to remedy that situation. Survey work was targeted mainly at areas thought likely to be bryophyte-rich, notably swamp forest and upland evergreen forest. A total of 164 species were recorded, including about 58 new to Ghana and at least one new species. The importance of Atewa Forest for biodiversity in western Africa is reinforced. The survey was jointed conducted by a Nick Hodgetts the lead expert in Bryophytes from the UK, A Rocha Ghana and the Department of Plant and Environmental Biology of the University of Ghana.