Gallery or Riparian forests are type of forests that grow adjacent to rivers, streams or lakes. Example include the Amazon gallery forests that grow adjacent to the Amazon river. Locally here in Kenya we have Bura gallery forests, lower Tana river forests and Tana river nature reserve among many others. This forests play important role in ecology, example they act as wildlife corridors and are home to endemic and endangered flora and fauna. The endangered red colobus monkey(procolobus ruformitratus) is found in Lower Tana river gallery forests.
The forests also act as bio-filters by preventing sediments from reaching water bodies and trap chemicals from overland water flow contributing to down stream water quality .
Gallery forests stabilize stream banks by providing deep root systems which hold sol in place and provide a degree of roughness capable of slowing run off velocities and spread flow during storm surges.
Riparian forests today face a number of threats most of them being anthropogenic or human caused like vegetation cutting, burning, grazing, mining among others. Let us protect the gallery forests, they are an important component of the riverine ecosystem.
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