New Caledonia rain forests
Encyclopedia
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 Australasia ecozone
.
to the east and the Isle of Pines
to the south of Grand Terre. The ecoregion covers an area of 14600 square kilometres (5,637.1 sq mi).
Grand Terre is a long island that runs approximately north-south, with a mountain range down the center with five peaks that exceed 1500 meters elevation. The Loyalty Islands and Ile des Pins are much lower.
New Caledonia lies astride the Tropic of Capricorn
, between 19º and 23º south latitude
, 1,200 km east of Australia and 1,500 km northeast of New Zealand.
The climate of the islands is tropical, and rainfall is highly seasonal, brought by trade winds that usually come from the east. Rainfall averages about 1,500 mm yearly on the Loyalty Islands, 2,000 mm at low elevations on eastern Grand Terre, and 2,000-4,000 mm at high elevations on Grand Terre. The western slopes of Grand Terre, which are in the rain shadow
of the central mountain range, are much drier, and are home to the New Caledonia dry forests ecoregion.
New Caledonia is an ancient fragment of Gondwana
, the southern supercontinent. It separated from Australia
85 million years ago, and remained attached to New Zealand
until 55 million years ago. It has been islolated from other land masses since then, although a number of plants and animals have been able to cross the straits separating New Caledonia from neighboring islands.
forests of Grand Terre are low shrub forests found on rocky soils derived from ultramafic rocks.
The predominant flora of New Caledonia rain forests is derived from the Antarctic flora
of ancient southern Gondwana. Like the Australian rainforests and the temperate forests of New Zealand, conifers of the southern hemisphere families Araucariaceae
and Podocarpaceae
are mixed with angiosperm trees, including the southern hemisphere genus Nothofagus
and trees and shrubs of families Myrtaceae
and Proteaceae
.
The lowland forests are a generally a mixed-species composition, interspersed with some single species stands. The predominant conifers are Araucaria
columnaris, A. bernieri, Agathis
lanceolata, A. ovata (Araucariaceae), and Dacrydium
araucarioides, Dacrycarpus
vieillardii and Falcatifolium
taxoides (Podocarpaceae). Predominant angiosperm trees include Montrouziera cauliflora, Calophyllum neocaledonicum, Dysoxylum spp., Neogullauminia cleopatra, and Hernandia cordigera, together with species of the Proteaceae
genera Kermadecia
, Macadamia
, and Sleumerodendron. Araucaria
, Callistemon, and Nothofagus predominate in the single-species stands.
The Montane rain forests are also mixed-species, predominantly the conifers Araucaria, Agathis, Podocarpus, Dacrydium, Libocedrus, and Acmopyle, and the angiosperms Metrosideros
, Weinmannia
, Quintinia, and Nothofagus
.
The Maquis forests hold a great variety of species, with many endemics
. The ultramafic rocks, which formed in the deep ocean, are rich in metals, including nickel
, magnesium
, chromium
, and manganese
, which are toxic to many plants. The predominant trees are stunted Araucarias.
. It is related to the cranes and it lives very hidden. It is also the heraldic bird of the island. Another endemic bird is the New Caledonian Rail
. This critically endangered bird could be extinct but many believe that it still persists. Both the New Caledonian Owlet-nightjar
and the New Caledonian Lorikeet
are believed to persist under similar circumstances. There are also another twenty or so endemic birds on the island, including the tool-using New Caledonian Crow
. See Endemic birds of New Caledonia
for more details. The seashells from New Caledonia are in great demand by collectors.
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
in the South Pacific
Oceania
Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...
. It is a tropical moist broadleaf forest
Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests
Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests , also known as tropical moist forests, are a tropical and subtropical forest biome....
ecoregion, part of the Australasia ecozone
Australasia ecozone
The Australasian zone is an ecological region that is coincident, but not synonymous , with the geographic region of Australasia...
.
Setting
The ecoregion covers the windward eastern side of Grand Terre, New Caledonia's mountainous main island, as well as the smaller Loyalty IslandsLoyalty Islands
The Loyalty Islands are an archipelago in the Pacific. They are part of the French territory of New Caledonia, whose mainland is away. They form the Loyalty Islands Province , one of the three provinces of New Caledonia...
to the east and the Isle of Pines
Isle of Pines, New Caledonia
The Isle of Pines is an island located in the Pacific Ocean, in the archipelago of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France. The island is part of the commune of L'Île-des-Pins, in the South Province of New Caledonia. The Isle of Pines is nicknamed l'île la plus proche du paradis...
to the south of Grand Terre. The ecoregion covers an area of 14600 square kilometres (5,637.1 sq mi).
Grand Terre is a long island that runs approximately north-south, with a mountain range down the center with five peaks that exceed 1500 meters elevation. The Loyalty Islands and Ile des Pins are much lower.
New Caledonia lies astride the Tropic of Capricorn
Tropic of Capricorn
The Tropic of Capricorn, or Southern tropic, marks the most southerly latitude on the Earth at which the Sun can be directly overhead. This event occurs at the December solstice, when the southern hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun to its maximum extent.Tropic of Capricorn is one of the five...
, between 19º and 23º south latitude
Latitude
In geography, the latitude of a location on the Earth is the angular distance of that location south or north of the Equator. The latitude is an angle, and is usually measured in degrees . The equator has a latitude of 0°, the North pole has a latitude of 90° north , and the South pole has a...
, 1,200 km east of Australia and 1,500 km northeast of New Zealand.
The climate of the islands is tropical, and rainfall is highly seasonal, brought by trade winds that usually come from the east. Rainfall averages about 1,500 mm yearly on the Loyalty Islands, 2,000 mm at low elevations on eastern Grand Terre, and 2,000-4,000 mm at high elevations on Grand Terre. The western slopes of Grand Terre, which are in the rain shadow
Rain shadow
A rain shadow is a dry area on the lee side of a mountainous area. The mountains block the passage of rain-producing weather systems, casting a "shadow" of dryness behind them. As shown by the diagram to the right, the warm moist air is "pulled" by the prevailing winds over a mountain...
of the central mountain range, are much drier, and are home to the New Caledonia dry forests ecoregion.
New Caledonia is an ancient fragment of Gondwana
Gondwana
In paleogeography, Gondwana , originally Gondwanaland, was the southernmost of two supercontinents that later became parts of the Pangaea supercontinent. It existed from approximately 510 to 180 million years ago . Gondwana is believed to have sutured between ca. 570 and 510 Mya,...
, the southern supercontinent. It separated from Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
85 million years ago, and remained attached to New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
until 55 million years ago. It has been islolated from other land masses since then, although a number of plants and animals have been able to cross the straits separating New Caledonia from neighboring islands.
Flora
The New Caledonia rain forests are made up of three predominant forest types. The lowland rain forests cover the Loyalty Islands, and the Iles des Pines and the lower elevations of Grand Terre. Montane forests cover the higher elevations of Grand Terre. The wet maquisMaquis shrubland
thumb|220px|Low Maquis in Corsica.220px|thumb|High macchia in Sardinia.Maquis or macchia is a shrubland biome in the Mediterranean region, typically consisting of densely growing evergreen shrubs such as holm oak, tree heath, strawberry tree, sage, juniper, buckthorn, spurge olive and myrtle...
forests of Grand Terre are low shrub forests found on rocky soils derived from ultramafic rocks.
The predominant flora of New Caledonia rain forests is derived from the Antarctic flora
Antarctic flora
The Antarctic flora is a distinct community of vascular plants which evolved millions of years ago on the supercontinent of Gondwana, and is now found on several separate areas of the Southern Hemisphere, including southern South America, southernmost Africa, New Zealand, Australia and New Caledonia...
of ancient southern Gondwana. Like the Australian rainforests and the temperate forests of New Zealand, conifers of the southern hemisphere families Araucariaceae
Araucariaceae
Araucariaceae, commonly referred to as araucarians, is a very ancient family of coniferous trees. It achieved its maximum diversity in the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, when it was distributed almost worldwide...
and Podocarpaceae
Podocarpaceae
Podocarpaceae is a large family of mainly Southern Hemisphere conifers, comprising about 156 species of evergreen trees and shrubs. It contains 19 genera if Phyllocladus is included and if Manoao and Sundacarpus are recognized....
are mixed with angiosperm trees, including the southern hemisphere genus Nothofagus
Nothofagus
Nothofagus, also known as the southern beeches, is a genus of 35 species of trees and shrubs native to the temperate oceanic to tropical Southern Hemisphere in southern South America and Australasia...
and trees and shrubs of families Myrtaceae
Myrtaceae
The Myrtaceae or Myrtle family are a family of dicotyledon plants, placed within the order Myrtales. Myrtle, clove, guava, feijoa, allspice, and eucalyptus belong here. All species are woody, with essential oils, and flower parts in multiples of four or five...
and Proteaceae
Proteaceae
Proteaceae is a family of flowering plants distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. The family comprises about 80 genera with about 1600 species. Together with the Platanaceae and Nelumbonaceae they make up the order Proteales. Well known genera include Protea, Banksia, Embothrium, Grevillea,...
.
The lowland forests are a generally a mixed-species composition, interspersed with some single species stands. The predominant conifers are Araucaria
Araucaria
Araucaria is a genus of evergreen coniferous trees in the family Araucariaceae. There are 19 extant species in the genus, with a highly disjunct distribution in New Caledonia , Norfolk Island, eastern Australia, New Guinea, Argentina, Chile, and southern Brazil.-Description:Araucaria are mainly...
columnaris, A. bernieri, Agathis
Agathis
The genus Agathis, commonly known as kauri or dammar, is a relatively small genus of 21 species of evergreen tree. The genus is part of the ancient Araucariaceae family of conifers, a group once widespread during the Jurassic period, but now largely restricted to the Southern Hemisphere except for...
lanceolata, A. ovata (Araucariaceae), and Dacrydium
Dacrydium
Dacrydium is a genus of conifers belonging to the podocarp family Podocarpaceae. Sixteen species of evergreen dioecious trees and shrubs are presently recognized. The genus was first described by Solander in 1786, and formerly included many more species, which were divided into sections A, B, and C...
araucarioides, Dacrycarpus
Dacrycarpus
Dacrycarpus is a genus of conifers belonging to the Podocarp family, Podocarpaceae. The genus includes nine species of dioecious evergreen trees and shrubs to 55-60 meters in height....
vieillardii and Falcatifolium
Falcatifolium
Falcatifolium is a genus of conifers belonging to the podocarp family Podocarpaceae. The genus includes evergreen dioecious shrubs and large trees of up to 36 meters. Five species are presently recognized...
taxoides (Podocarpaceae). Predominant angiosperm trees include Montrouziera cauliflora, Calophyllum neocaledonicum, Dysoxylum spp., Neogullauminia cleopatra, and Hernandia cordigera, together with species of the Proteaceae
Proteaceae
Proteaceae is a family of flowering plants distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. The family comprises about 80 genera with about 1600 species. Together with the Platanaceae and Nelumbonaceae they make up the order Proteales. Well known genera include Protea, Banksia, Embothrium, Grevillea,...
genera Kermadecia
Kermadecia
Kermadecia is a genus of flowering plants in family Proteaceae. The genus comprises four species, all endemic to New Caledonia as follows:*Kermadecia elliptica Brongn. & Gris*Kermadecia pronyensis Guillaumin...
, Macadamia
Macadamia
Macadamia is a genus of nine species of flowering plants in the family Proteaceae, with a disjunct distribution native to eastern Australia , New Caledonia and Sulawesi in Indonesia ....
, and Sleumerodendron. Araucaria
Araucaria
Araucaria is a genus of evergreen coniferous trees in the family Araucariaceae. There are 19 extant species in the genus, with a highly disjunct distribution in New Caledonia , Norfolk Island, eastern Australia, New Guinea, Argentina, Chile, and southern Brazil.-Description:Araucaria are mainly...
, Callistemon, and Nothofagus predominate in the single-species stands.
The Montane rain forests are also mixed-species, predominantly the conifers Araucaria, Agathis, Podocarpus, Dacrydium, Libocedrus, and Acmopyle, and the angiosperms Metrosideros
Metrosideros
Metrosideros is a genus of approximately 50 trees, shrubs, and vines native to the islands of the Pacific Ocean, from the Philippines to New Zealand and including the Bonin Islands, Polynesia, and Melanesia, with an anomalous outlier in South Africa. Most of the tree forms are small, but some are...
, Weinmannia
Weinmannia
Weinmannia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cunoniaceae. The genus includes approximately 150 species of canopy trees and shrubs, ranging across the montane tropics and temperate New Zealand and Chile....
, Quintinia, and Nothofagus
Nothofagus
Nothofagus, also known as the southern beeches, is a genus of 35 species of trees and shrubs native to the temperate oceanic to tropical Southern Hemisphere in southern South America and Australasia...
.
The Maquis forests hold a great variety of species, with many endemics
Endemic (ecology)
Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, all species of lemur are endemic to the...
. The ultramafic rocks, which formed in the deep ocean, are rich in metals, including nickel
Nickel
Nickel is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel belongs to the transition metals and is hard and ductile...
, magnesium
Magnesium
Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg, atomic number 12, and common oxidation number +2. It is an alkaline earth metal and the eighth most abundant element in the Earth's crust and ninth in the known universe as a whole...
, chromium
Chromium
Chromium is a chemical element which has the symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the first element in Group 6. It is a steely-gray, lustrous, hard metal that takes a high polish and has a high melting point. It is also odorless, tasteless, and malleable...
, and manganese
Manganese
Manganese is a chemical element, designated by the symbol Mn. It has the atomic number 25. It is found as a free element in nature , and in many minerals...
, which are toxic to many plants. The predominant trees are stunted Araucarias.
Fauna
New Caledonia has one of the most enigmatic birds of the world, the endangered KaguKagu
The Kagu or Cagou is a crested, long-legged, and bluish-grey bird endemic to the dense mountain forests of New Caledonia. It is the only surviving member of the genus Rhynochetos and the family Rhynochetidae, although a second species has been described from the fossil record...
. It is related to the cranes and it lives very hidden. It is also the heraldic bird of the island. Another endemic bird is the New Caledonian Rail
New Caledonian Rail
The New Caledonian Rail is a large and drab flightless rail that is found on the island of New Caledonia in the Pacific. It is a dull brown above, with grey underparts, and has a yellowish, downward-curving bill...
. This critically endangered bird could be extinct but many believe that it still persists. Both the New Caledonian Owlet-nightjar
New Caledonian Owlet-nightjar
The New Caledonian Owlet-nightjar Aegotheles savesi, also known as the Enigmatic Owlet-nightjar, is a large owlet-nightjar with vermiculated grey-brown and black plumage. It has a long, slightly rounded tail, short, rounded wings, and long, stout legs. Its voice is unknown but similar birds make...
and the New Caledonian Lorikeet
New Caledonian Lorikeet
The New Caledonian Lorikeet Charmosyna diadema is a potentially extinct lorikeet endemic to the Melanesian island of New Caledonia.-Description:...
are believed to persist under similar circumstances. There are also another twenty or so endemic birds on the island, including the tool-using New Caledonian Crow
New Caledonian Crow
The New Caledonian Crow is a tool-using species of crow endemic to New Caledonia and the Loyalty Islands. These crows are some of the only non-primate animals known to invent new tools by modifying existing ones, and then passing these innovations on to other individuals in the cultural group...
. See Endemic birds of New Caledonia
Endemic birds of New Caledonia
This article is one of a series providing information about endemism among birds in the World's various zoogeographic zones. For an overview of this subject see Endemism in birds.-Patterns of endemism:New Caledonia has a single endemic family, the Kagu....
for more details. The seashells from New Caledonia are in great demand by collectors.