Central Range sub-alpine grasslands | |
---|---|
Ecology | |
Realm | Australasian realm |
Biome | montane grasslands and shrublands |
Borders | |
Geography | |
Area | 172,365 km2 (66,550 sq mi) |
Countries | |
Province | Papua |
Coordinates | 4°06′S138°08′E / 4.1°S 138.14°E |
Conservation | |
Conservation status | Relatively stable/intact [1] |
Protected | 40.25% [2] |
The Central Range sub-alpine grasslands is a montane grasslands and shrublands ecoregion on the island of New Guinea. The ecoregion covers the highest-elevation portions of the New Guinea Highlands, which extend along the spine of the island. The high elevations support rare tropical sub-alpine and alpine habitats, including many endemic plants and animals. [3] [4]
The ecoregion includes isolated areas above 3000 metres elevation in the Central Range, or Central Cordillera, of New Guinea, and some outliers in the mountains of the Huon Peninsula. The Central Range extends east and west across New Guinea, with the western portion of the range in Indonesia and the eastern portion in Papua New Guinea. High-elevation areas in the highlands include the Snow Mountains in Indonesia's Papua Province, the Star Mountains on the Indonesia–Papua New Guinea border, the Central and Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea, and the Owen Stanley Range in Southeastern Papua. [1]
Below 3000 metres elevation the sub-alpine grasslands transition to montane rain forests - the Central Range montane rain forests along most of the Central Range, the Southeastern Papuan rain forests in the southeast (Owen Stanley Range), and the Huon Peninsula montane rain forests on the Huon Peninsula.
Plant communities in the ecoregion include sub-alpine grasslands, shrublands, and heathlands, and alpine grasslands.
High mountain forests lie below the tree line, made up of conifers – species of Podocarpus, Dacrycarpus, Dacridium, Papuacedrus, Araucaria , and Libocedrus - and broadleaf trees in the myrtle family. The high mountain forests typically have a low, thin canopy and prominent understory. The tree line is approximately 3000 metres elevation, which is the upper boundary of the Central Range montane rain forests ecoregion, but in places forests extend up to 3900 metres. [1]
sub-alpine communities include shrubby heaths of Rhododendron, Vaccinium, Coprosma, Myrsine , and Saurauia at the forest edges, savannas of tree ferns ( Cyathea spp.) above grasses, bogs, and grasslands. Low shrublands and Deschampsia tussock grasslands occur immediately below the alpine zone. [1]
Alpine communities occur above 4000 metres, and are composed of compact herbs, including species of Ranuculus, Potentilla, Gentiana , and Epilobium , grasses including species of Poa and Deschampsia , ferns, mosses, and lichens. rosette and cushion herbs, low ferns, mosses, and lichens become more abundant at increasing elevations, and replace grasses above 4,300 metres elevation. Permanent ice and snow and bare rock are found at the highest elevations. [1]
Only ten mammals are native to the ecoregion. These include three marsupials (Doria's tree kangaroo, (Dendrolagus dorianus), black-tailed dasyure (Murexia melanurus), and a cuscus), four murid rodents (the western shrew mouse (Pseudohydromys occidentalis), glacier rat (Rattus richardsoni), and alpine woolly rat (Mallomys gunung), and one other), two microchiropteran bats, and the new guinea singing dog (canis familiaris). The western shrew mouse, glacier rat, and alpine wooly rat are endemic to the ecoregion. [1]
There are 84 native bird species in the ecoregion. Four species are strictly endemic – the Snow Mountain quail (Anurophasis monorthonyx), Snow Mountain robin (Petroica archboldi), Short-bearded honeyeater (Melidectes nouhuysi), and Long-bearded honeyeater (Melidectes princeps). [1]
Another 20 limited-range bird species inhabit the ecoregion and the adjacent lower-elevation montane forests. These limited-range species include the painted tiger parrot (Psittacella picta), Archbold's owlet-nightjar (Aegotheles archboldi), Alpine pipit (Anthus gutturalis), Papuan thornbill (Acanthiza murina), greater ground robin (Amalocichla sclateriana), Alpine robin (Petroica bivittata), blue-capped ifrita (Ifrita kowaldi), black sittella (Daphoenositta miranda), Lorentz's whistler (Pachycephala lorentzi), orange-cheeked honeyeater (Oreornis chrysogenys), Huon honeyeater (Melidectes foersteri), spangled honeyeater (Melipotes ater), sooty honeyeater (Melidectes fuscus), Belford's honeyeater (Melidectes belfordi), rufous-backed honeyeater (Ptiloprora guisei), black-backed honeyeater (Ptiloprora perstriata), mountain firetail (Oreostruthus fuliginosus), red satinbird (Cnemophilus sanguineus), MacGregor's bird of paradise (Macgregoria pulchra), brown sicklebill (Epimachus meyeri), Princess Stephanie's astrapia (Astrapia stephaniae), splendid astrapia (Astrapia splendidissima), ribbon-tailed astrapia (Astrapia mayeri), and Huon astrapia (Astrapia rothschildi). [1]
40.25% of the ecoregion is in protected areas. These include Lorentz National Park, Enarotali Nature Reserve, Pegunungan Wayland Nature Reserve, Pegunungan Jayawijaya Wildlife Reserve, Mount Wilhelm National Park, and YUS Conservation Area. [2]
The Global 200 is the list of ecoregions identified by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the global conservation organization, as priorities for conservation. According to WWF, an ecoregion is defined as a "relatively large unit of land or water containing a characteristic set of natural communities that share a large majority of their species dynamics, and environmental conditions". For example, based on their levels of endemism, Madagascar gets multiple listings, ancient Lake Baikal gets one, and the North American Great Lakes get none.
Montane grasslands and shrublands is a biome defined by the World Wildlife Fund. The biome includes high elevation grasslands and shrublands around the world. The term "montane" in the name of the biome refers to "high elevation", rather than the ecological term which denotes the region below treeline.
Lorentz National Park is a national park located in Central Papua, Indonesia, in the southwest of western New Guinea. With an area of 25,056 km2 (9,674 mi2), it is the largest national park in Southeast Asia. In 1999 Lorentz was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
The Foja Mountains are located just north of the Mamberamo river basin in Papua, Indonesia. The mountains rise to 2,193 metres (7,195 ft), and have 3,000 square kilometers of old growth tropical rainforest in the interior part of the range. The Foja forest tract covers 9,712 square kilometers and is the largest tropical forest without roads in the Asia Pacific region.
Huon Peninsula is a large rugged peninsula on the island of New Guinea in Morobe Province, eastern Papua New Guinea. It is named after French explorer Jean-Michel Huon de Kermadec. The peninsula is dominated by the steep Saruwaged and Finisterre and Cromwell Mountains. The nearest large town is the Morobe provincial capital Lae to the south, while settlements on the north coast include the former German town of Finschhafen, the district capital of Wasu, Malalamai and Saidor with its World War II era Saidor Airport.
The Cameroonian Highlands forests, also known as the Cameroon Highlands forests, are a montane tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion located on the range of mountains that runs inland from the Gulf of Guinea and forms the border between Cameroon and Nigeria. This is an area of forest and grassland which has become more populous as land is cleared for agriculture.
Melidectes is a genus of bird in the honeyeater family Meliphagidae. All six species are endemic to New Guinea. The generic name is derived from the Greek meli for honey and dektes for beggar or receiver.
The New Guinea Highlands, also known as the Central Range or Central Cordillera, is a long chain of mountain ranges on the island of New Guinea, including the island's tallest peak, Puncak Jaya, Indonesia, 16,024 ft (4,884 m), the highest mountain in Oceania. The range is home to many intermountain river valleys, many of which support thriving agricultural communities. The highlands run generally east-west the length of the island, which is divided politically between Indonesia in the west and Papua New Guinea in the east.
The Eastern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows is a montane grasslands and shrublands ecoregion of Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, and Nepal, which lies between the tree line and snow line in the eastern portion of the Himalaya Range.
The Central Range montane rain forests is a tropical moist forest ecoregion on the island of New Guinea. The ecoregion covers the Central Range of the New Guinea Highlands, which extends along the spine of the island. The montane rain forests of the ecoregion are distinct from the surrounding lowland forests, and are home to many endemic plants and animals.
The Huon Peninsula montane rain forests is a tropical moist forest ecoregion in New Guinea. The ecoregion covers the mountains of northeastern New Guinea's Huon Peninsula.
New Guinea, lying within the tropics and with extensive mountain areas, comprises a wide range of ecoregions. These include rainforests, grasslands and mangrove.
Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial factor in shaping plant community, biodiversity, metabolic processes and ecosystem dynamics for montane ecosystems. Dense montane forests are common at moderate elevations, due to moderate temperatures and high rainfall. At higher elevations, the climate is harsher, with lower temperatures and higher winds, preventing the growth of trees and causing the plant community to transition to montane grasslands and shrublands or alpine tundra. Due to the unique climate conditions of montane ecosystems, they contain increased numbers of endemic species. Montane ecosystems also exhibit variation in ecosystem services, which include carbon storage and water supply.
The Cromwell Mountains is a mountain range on the Huon Peninsula in north-eastern Papua New Guinea.
The Vogelkop–Aru lowland rain forests is a tropical moist forest ecoregion in Indonesia. The ecoregion covers the peninsular lowlands of western New Guinea, along with the Aru Islands and other nearby islands.
The Vogelkop montane rain forests is a tropical moist forest ecoregion in western New Guinea. The ecoregion covers the mountains of western New Guinea's Bird's Head and Bomberai peninsulas.
The Northern New Guinea montane rain forests is a tropical moist forest ecoregion in northern New Guinea. The ecoregion covers several separate mountain ranges lying north of New Guinea's Central Range and south of the Pacific Ocean.
The Southeastern Papuan rain forests is a tropical moist forest ecoregion in southeastern New Guinea. The ecoregion covers the mountainous center and coastal lowlands of the Papuan Peninsula.
The Tasmanian Central Highland forests is a temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion in Australia. It covers Tasmania's Central Highlands region.