The Huon Peninsula montane rain forests cloak the steep highlands of the Huon Peninsula in northeastern New Guinea, within the Madang and Morobe Provinces of Papua New Guinea, rising across the Finisterre, Saruwaged, and Cromwell and Rawlinson ranges. Above about 1,000 meters the slopes carry tropical montane evergreen forest where broadleaf trees predominate, with conifers appearing over 2,000 meters and becoming more abundant toward the higher peaks; characteristic woody genera include Nothofagus and Dacrydium, and the Cromwell Ranges hold the only extensive unlogged Dacrydium forests in the Southern Hemisphere. The climate is tropical wet, typical of this part of Melanesia. Long isolated from other highlands by the surrounding Ramu and Markham basin lowlands, the range has evolved a highly distinct flora and fauna, including several endemic birds such as the emperor bird-of-paradise and Huon astrapia, and the endangered Huon tree-kangaroo, the ecoregion's flagship species. For gardeners, the southern-beech Nothofagus and the southern-conifer Dacrydium native here are both genera grown ornamentally in mild, moist climates.
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 6.1°S, 146.7°E.
Climate snapshot for this ecoregion
°C
°F
Current zone range (2011–2040)
12a-13b
Plotwright
CHELSA-derived typical winter month at this ecoregion's bbox grid.
Projected (2041–2070)
12a-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
6,377 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
Computed from each plant's stated USDA zone range against this ecoregion's CHELSA-derived current zone range, with the CHELSA mid-century warming delta applied for the projection. Plants whose stated range falls outside both the current and projected zone end up dropped; the rest land in one of the three buckets below.
Climate-resilient picks · 4
These plants fit this ecoregion today AND remain in range under the mid-century SSP3-7.0 projection. Lead with these for a planting that holds up as the climate shifts.
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: