When BIOTA-West started in 2001, one of the focal study sites was the Comoé-NP. Research in the area has been carried out since 1990. In three observatories inside and outside the National Park and in six standardized sampling transects, the subprojects concerning remote sensing, climatology, botany and zoology were working closely together. For reasons of standardization and comparison, all three observatories are composed of ecosystems characteristic of the northern Guinean Zone: shrub & tree savanna, semi-deciduous forest islands, gallery forests, and temporal pools. The focal points of research were:
• Patterns, dynamics and functional aspects of biodiversity in the transitional zone from dry forests to humid savannas
• Assessment of anthropogenic impact (agriculture, logging and ethnobotanical use) on biodiversity patterns and dynamics in a weakly populated, traditional region of the northern Guinea Zone
• Assessing the effects of recent changes in land use on the biodiversity of vegetation by comparing plots inside an outside the protected area. |