New Caledonia dry forests

Last updated
New Caledonia dry forests
Savane niaoulis nouvelle caledonie.jpg
Melaleuca savanna near Malabou
Ecoregion AA0202.svg
Location of the New Caledonia dry forests
Ecology
Realm Australasian
Biome tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests
Borders New Caledonia rain forests
Geography
Area4,129 km2 (1,594 sq mi)
Country France
Overseas territory New Caledonia
Coordinates 21°30′S165°12′E / 21.5°S 165.2°E / -21.5; 165.2 Coordinates: 21°30′S165°12′E / 21.5°S 165.2°E / -21.5; 165.2
Conservation
Conservation status Critical/endangered [1]
Global 200 yes
Protected2,451 km² (59%) [2]

The New Caledonia dry forests is a tropical dry broadleaf forest ecoregion in New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France located in the South Pacific Ocean. The dry forests cover the western side of Grand Terre, New Caledonia's largest island. [3] [4] [5]

Contents

Geography

The New Caledonia dry forests cover an area of 4,129 km². Grand Terre extends northwest-southeast, and a long spine of mountains extend the length of the island. The dry forests lie in the drier rain shadow of mountains. The New Caledonia rain forests ecoregion covers the rest of the island, including the eastern slope and high mountains. [1]

Nouméa, New Caledonia's capital and largest city, is located on the coast in the southern portion of the ecoregion.

Flora

The natural vegetation of the ecoregion's lowlands is dense dry forest, also known as sclerophyll forest, with trees 5 to 15 meters high. The forests have a thick understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants, and numerous vines climb into the trees. Acacia spirorbis is a characteristic tree, and the introduced tree Leucaena leucocephala is often co-dominant. Other common trees include species of Canthium, Gardenia, Pittosporum, Dodonaea , and Premna . The cycad Cycas seemannii grows in stands on stabilized coastal dunes. The other conifers so characteristic of New Caledonia's rain forests don't occur in the dry forests. [1]

The dry forests are home to 407 woody plant species, 243 of which are endemic to New Caledonia and 60 endemic to the dry forests. Dry-forest endemic trees include Ixora margaretae and Terminalia cherrieri . [6]

Protected areas

Frequent fires and clearance for agriculture and cattle raising have reduced the dry forest to scattered patches which cover only 2% of the ecoregion's land area. [6] A 2017 assessment found that 2,451 km², or 59%, of the ecoregion is now in protected areas. Very little intact habitat remains outside the protected areas. [2] The largest protected area is Zone Côtière Ouest National Park (2552.68 km²), which covers the central portion of the ecoregion and extends east into the rain forests ecoregion. [7]

Related Research Articles

Vanuatu rain forests

The Vanuatu rain forests are tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests ecoregion which includes the islands of Vanuatu, as well as the Santa Cruz Islands group of the neighboring Solomon Islands. It is part of the Australasian realm, which includes neighboring New Caledonia and the Solomon Islands, as well as Australia, New Guinea, and New Zealand.

Solomon Islands rain forests

The Solomon Islands rain forests are a terrestrial ecoregion covering most of the Solomon Islands archipelago.

South Western Ghats moist deciduous forests

The South Western Ghats moist deciduous forests is a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion of southern India. It covers the southern portion of the Western Ghats range and the Nilgiri Hills between 250 and 1000 meters elevation in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu states.

New Caledonia rain forests

The New Caledonia rain forests are a terrestrial ecoregion, located in New Caledonia in the South Pacific. It is a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion, part of the Australasian realm.

Eastern Highlands moist deciduous forests

The Eastern Highlands moist deciduous forests, or East Deccan moist deciduous forests, is a tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests ecoregion in east-central India. The ecoregion covers an area of 341,100 square kilometers (131,700 sq mi), extending across portions of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, and Telangana states.

Lower Gangetic Plains moist deciduous forests

The Lower Gangetic Plains moist deciduous forests is a tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests ecoregion of Bangladesh and India. The ecoregion covers an area of 254,100 square kilometres (98,100 sq mi), comprising most of Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal, Bihar and Tripura, and extending into adjacent states of Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and a tiny part of Assam.

Trobriand Islands rain forests

The Trobriand Islands rain forests are a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion of southeastern Papua New Guinea.

Northern New Guinea lowland rain and freshwater swamp forests

The Northern New Guinea lowland rain and freshwater swamp forests is a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion of northern New Guinea.

Central Range montane rain forests

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.

Tenasserim–South Thailand semi-evergreen rain forests Ecoregion in Southeast Asia

The Tenasserim–South Thailand semi-evergreen rain forests are a tropical moist forest ecoregion in Southeast Asia. The ecoregion extends north–south along the Kra Isthmus. It includes lowland forests along the coasts, and montane forests in the Tenasserim Hills and Bilauktaung range, which form the mountainous spine of the isthmus.

Kayah–Karen montane rain forests Ecoregion in Southeast Asia

The Kayah–Karen montane rain forests is a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion in Myanmar and Thailand. The montane rain forests cover several connected mountain ranges, including the Dawna Range, Karen Hills, Thanon Thong Chai Range, Daen Lao Range, and Khun Tan Range.

Vogelkop montane rain forests

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.

New Britain–New Ireland montane rain forests

The New Britain-New Ireland montane rain forests is a tropical moist forest ecoregion in Papua New Guinea. The ecoregion includes the mountain rain forests on the islands of New Britain and New Ireland, which lie northeast of New Guinea.

Northern New Guinea montane rain forests

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.

Southeastern Papuan rain forests

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.

Southern New Guinea lowland rain forests

The Southern New Guinea lowland rain forests is a tropical moist forest ecoregion in southeastern New Guinea. The ecoregion covers portions of New Guinea's southern lowlands.

Fiji tropical moist forests

The Fiji tropical moist forests is a tropical moist forest ecoregion in Fiji and Wallis and Futuna. It covers the windward sides of Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, Fiji's largest islands, as well as the smaller Fijian islands and the three islands that make up Wallis and Futuna, an overseas territory of France.

Society Islands tropical moist forests

The Society Islands tropical moist forests is a tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests ecoregion in the Society Islands of French Polynesia.

Marianas tropical dry forests Tropical dry broadleaf forests ecoregion of the Mariana Islands

The Marianas tropical dry forests is a tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests ecoregion on the Marianas Islands in the western Pacific Ocean.

Yapen rain forests

The Yapen rain forests is a tropical moist forest ecoregion in Indonesia. The ecoregion covers the island of Yapen and smaller neighboring islands which lie north of New Guinea.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "New Caledonia dry forests". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund.
  2. 1 2 Dinerstein, Eric; Olson, David; et al. (June 2017). "An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm". BioScience. 67 (6): 534–545. doi: 10.1093/biosci/bix014 . PMC   5451287 . PMID   28608869.CS1 maint: date and year (link) Supplemental material 2 table S1b.
  3. ↑ "Map of Ecoregions 2017". Resolve. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  4. ↑ "New Caledonia dry forests". Digital Observatory for Protected Areas. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  5. ↑ "New Caledonia dry forests". The Encyclopedia of Earth. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  6. 1 2 "New Caledonia". Tropical dry forests of the Pacific. Accessed 5 September 2020. http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/geog/tdfpacific/new_caledonia.html
  7. ↑ UNEP-WCMC (2020). Protected Area Profile for New Caledonia from the World Database of Protected Areas, September 2020. Available at: www.protectedplanet.net
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.