About Ranomafana National Park
Ranomafana National Park (RNP) is located in the southeastern part of Madagascar (47° 18' - 47° 37' E and 21° 02' - 21° 25' S). RNP was inaugurated in 1991 with the two-fold purpose of conserving the unique biodiversity of the Ranomafana region and reducing the human pressures on the protected area.
The park lies approximately 90 kilometers west of the Indian Ocean on the east-facing escarpment of Madagascar's central high plateau. The park is 400 km southeast of the national capital of Antananarivo (an eight to ten hour car ride), and 60 km northeast (about a one and a half hour drive) of the provincial capital of Fianarantsoa. Altitudes in the park range from 500 to 1500 meters. Its 43,500 hectares are home to diverse flora and fauna.
Biological Richness
The biological richness of Ranomafana National Park is extremely high. Tree species richness on one-hectare plots at Ranomafana are intermediate between lower elevation rain forests in Colombia, South America (44 families 197 species; Gentry 1993), and lowland rain forests in Gabon, Africa (29 families, 99 species; Gentry 1993). Primate species richness is among the highest in the world, with 12 species in five families, all endemic. Land snail biodiversity is among the highest in the world (Emberton 1995). As in all of Madagascar, bird species richness is exceptionally low: Ranomafana has 110 species in contrast to Manu National Park in Peru with over 1000 bird species (Terborgh et al. 1990). This depauperate bird fauna contains a single understory seed disperser (Philepitta castanea), a single canopy seed disperser (Hypsipetes madagascariensis), and only four pollinators. The combination of high primate diversity with low avian diversity has raised questions about seed-dispersal and pollination in this forest. Research on these questions has shown that pollination and seed-dispersal at Ranomafana may be very different from rain forest sites in Asia, Africa, and South America.
Ranomafana contains a vast array of amazing frogs and reptiles. Please visit the web pages below to view images provided by Ranomafana researcher, Valerie Clark.
Soils at RNP are mostly red clay oxisols developed from parent rock with extremely low levels of nutrients - these soils are considered some of the most naturally infertile in the world (Johnson 1993).
Habitats
The Namorona River bisects the park and is fed by the many small streams that flow through the park and contribute to its rugged topography. This vast park contains lowland rain forests, cloud forests, marshes, high plateau forests, and sections that were selectively logged before the area was protected. Mount Maharira in the southern part of the park has an unusual and rare mountain top flora and fauna shared only with a site 130 km to the south (Andringtra).
Climate/Weather
RNP is located in the eastern moist forest climate and is hot and subtropical. November through March is considered to be the rainy season. Although the dry season extends from April to December, the North East and Central East regions have no months (or weeks) that are completely without rain. Reasonably dry months are May, September, October, and November. Torrential rain and cyclones can occur in January, February and March. Annual rainfall ranges from 1500 - 4000 mm of rain.
Maps, Trail Systems and Promotional Materials for RNP
There are four trail systems set up within the park, each encompassing an area from five to seven square kilometers. Three are located south of the Namorona River, and one in the high plateau, north of the Namorona River. The Talatakely Trail System (TTS) is located in selectively logged (in 1986-1987) low montane eastern rain forest and part of the area was a village of 10 families in 1947. The Vatoharanana Trail System (VTTS) is located in montane rain forest of minimum disturbance four km south of TTS. It is at 1200 m altitude. The Valohoaka Trail System (VLTT) is located eight km south of TTS (4 km from VTTS). It is undisturbed montane rain forest at 1200 m. The Vohiparara Trail System (VOHTS) is located on the high plateau just above the escarpment at 1500 m.
Maps
- Link to Ranomafana Maps provided by a joint effort among Brian Gerber (Virginia Tech), Belita Marine (Virginia Tech), Johny Randrianantenaina (Centre Valbio), and Dina Andrianoely (Centre Valbio).
- More RNP Maps created for ICTE by Amanuel Beyin. Note that some of these details need to be ground truthed.
- Original Trail Maps with Raw Data Copyright 1999-2003 by George Williams, or by George Williams & Chia Tan, or by George Williams & Debora Durham or by George Williams & Summer Arrigo-Nelson.
- Ranomafana tourist trail map provided by Madagascar National Parks.
Promotional Materials
An example of the incredible diversity at RNP.
