The Biak-Numfoor rain forests cover a cluster of Indonesian islands in Papua Province, chiefly Biak, Supiori, and Numfoor along with smaller islands of the Padaido group, lying within Cenderawasih Bay north of Yapen and the New Guinea mainland. Original vegetation is lowland tropical wet evergreen forest, divided between alluvial forests on flatlands and river valleys and hill forests on the slopes, with multi-tiered canopies whose dominant emergents include Pometia pinnata and species of Ficus, Alstonia, and Terminalia. The climate is tropical, humid, and consistently wet, with temperatures varying little through the day or year. These islands hold the highest concentration of endemic birds of any single area in New Guinea, and the brilliantly patterned Biak emerald monitor lizard serves as the ecoregion's flagship species; large coastal stands of Calophyllum occur in northern Biak, and the lowland forests shelter an endemic palm, Manjekia maturbongsii. For gardeners, native ornamentals here include Calophyllum, Diospyros, Garcinia, and Myristica.
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 0.9°S, 135.9°E.
Climate snapshot for this ecoregion
°C
°F
Current zone range (2011–2040)
13b
Plotwright
CHELSA-derived typical winter month at this ecoregion's bbox grid.
Projected (2041–2070)
13b
Plotwright
Where the CHELSA models say the typical winter month is heading.
Average warming this ecoregion is on track for: +3.0°F by mid-century. SSP3-7.0 (current trajectory) · CHELSA v2.1 bio06 sampled across 10 of 10 points within this ecoregion's bounding box.
At a glance
Dominant biome
Tropical & Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests
Realm
Australasia
Approximate area
1,089 sq mi
Conservation tier
Nature Could Reach Half Protected (Dinerstein NNH 2)
About the tropical & subtropical moist broadleaf forests biome
Warm, wet, highly productive forests — including tropical rainforests — with closed canopies, near year-round growing seasons, and the richest terrestrial biodiversity on Earth. Low seasonality and high rainfall sustain dense, layered vegetation from canopy to forest floor.
Catalog plants suited to this ecoregion
No catalog plants intersect this ecoregion's zone range. As the catalog grows to cover this region's climate band, suggestions will surface here.
Collections for this ecoregion
No curated collection's plants all fit this ecoregion's zone range. We surface a collection only when every member would grow here — partial fits get filtered out rather than mislead. As the catalog and the curated set both grow, this section will fill in.
Related ecoregions
Other tropical & subtropical moist broadleaf forests ecoregions to explore: