Traditionally, people living in villages adjacent to the reserve have used the forest as a source of timber, firewood and medicinal plants, a place to gather plants, bush meat, honey and fruit for consumption and a source of live birds, amphibians, reptiles and invertebrates for international trade.

The dominant trees are Allanblackia stuhlmannii, Isoberlinia scheffleri, Macaranga capensis, Cephalosphaera usambarensis, Myrianthus holstii, Newtonia buchananii and Parinari excelsa.

The area of the Amani Nature Reserve is better studied than many other parts of the range with numerous endemic invertebrates dependent on the native moist forest cover including mites, spiders, freshwater crabs, dragonflies, beetles, butterflies, millipedes and molluscs.

[5] The elusive long-billed forest warbler (Artisornis moreaui) is known from the reserve and from one other locality, Mount Namuli in northern Mozambique, 1,000 km (600 mi) away.

As of 2017 the station receives few visitors and the thirty-four staff maintain the entomological collection continuing to add butterflies and other insects.