This Copernicus Sentinel-2 picture captures the meandering course of the Likouala-aux-Herbes river within the Republic of the Congo.
Zoom in to discover this picture at its full 10 m decision.
Likouala-aux-Herbes is a tributary of the Sangha river, which in flip is a tributary of Africa’s second longest river: the Congo, which additionally provides its title to the nation. Likouala-aux-Herbes flows for about 700 km by means of the Congolese Cuvette, an unlimited melancholy inside the Congo River basin. The area is roofed with everlasting swamp and marsh, dense forests and grassland, which additionally explains the origin of the river’s title, that means ‘grassy river’.
The assorted colors within the picture replicate this various ecosystem, with darkish inexperienced forests opening into flooded peatlands, showing in shades of brown and pink.
Close to the centre of the picture, we are able to see the place the smaller Batanga River flows into Likouala-aux-Herbes. Northwest of this confluence is Epena, a village of about 5000 folks and the district’s administrative capital, seen on the riverbank as a lighter, structured space inside the surrounding inexperienced vegetation.
West of Epena lies the Lac Télé/Likouala‑aux‑Herbes Group Reserve, a Ramsar wetland of worldwide significance, which is house to a wealth of biodiversity, together with a swamp forest, flooded and wooded savanna, floating prairie and wealthy wildlife.
The soil underneath the reserve incorporates main shops of peat, as in the entire Congo River basin, which is house to one of many world’s largest tropical peatlands. As peatlands act as carbon sinks, storing tonnes of carbon, their conservation is critically essential for the worldwide local weather. Any disturbance may in actual fact end result within the launch of saved carbon into the ambiance, consequently exacerbating world warming.
Though their significance is internationally recognised, peatlands are nonetheless underneath risk from deforestation, agriculture and different human actions. Satellite tv for pc photos can drastically help the efforts to protect these areas, serving to to look at the method of sustainable cultivation and to determine unlawful land use and deforestation.
