Pseudohydrosme gabunensis

Most of the collections of this species have been made in Libreville, at Sibang and at Mondah forest (now Raponda-Walker Arboretum). Libreville, the capital of Gabon, has been expanding and so the extent of this species’ forest habitat has been declining (Google Earth 2020). The collections at Sibang in particular, are in the centre of the built-up area where little very tree cover remains, aside from at Sibang Arboretum where this species has been collected (Google Earth 2020). Additionally, agricultural land is extensive around Libreville and as the city has expanded, the amount of agricultural land has also been increasing (Google Earth 2020). Mondah forest (now Raponda-Walker Arboretum), is situated between Cap Estérias and Libreville, putting it under strong pressure from urban expansion (Takouleu 2018). Since the creation of Mondah classified forest in 1934, it has been subjected to gradual downsizing over a period of 80 years and the forest has lost 40% of its original area (Walters et al. 2016). Although the area was recently increased (and renamed Raponda-Walker Arboretum), reversing the trend of continued downsizing, the forest is still only a fraction of its previous size, now occupying 6,747 ha, compared to 12,400 ha in 1934 (Walters et al. 2016). Indeed, the Mondah area is thought to be the site with the highest level of deforestation in Gabon and forest that was once part of Mondah has been lost to housing and agriculture as Libreville has expanded (Hansen et al. 2013, Walters et al. 2016, Google Earth 2020). The remaining forest has also been degraded by the increasing encroachment of human activities such as shifting agriculture, artisanal logging, sand extraction, and the creation of villages (Walters et al. 2016, Takouleu 2018). Additionally, Mondah classified forest was originally gazetted for timber production, and exploitation of timber has been occurring in the forest since the late 1800's (Walters et al. 2016). It is estimated that between 1960 and 2000, 55% of the forest was transformed into secondary forest (Walters et al. 2016).

This species has also been found at Komo, near Kango, where it was collected from “plantations of Moukou”. Since the species was collected here in 1912, oil palm plantations have been developed and the collection site is situated within an RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil) oil palm concession (Google Earth 2020, Global Forest Watch 2020). Additionally, the collection is situated near to a logging concession (Global Forest Watch 2020). There is limited information on the threats at the site c.15 km north east of Asok, however it is situated near to a logging concession (Global Forest Watch 2020). The precise locality of the collection site in western Republic of the Congo is unknown and so the specific threats here are uncertain. However, forests in the Republic of the Congo face threats including logging, mining, and urbanisation and development (WWF 2020).