The New Britain-New Ireland lowland rain forests cover the lowlands below about 1,000 meters across the Bismarck Archipelago of Papua New Guinea, chiefly the long islands of New Britain and New Ireland along with New Hanover, the St. Matthias group, and nearby islands. The predominant habitat is tropical lowland rain forest, with characteristic canopy genera including Pometia, Octomeles, Alstonia, Campnosperma, and Canarium; limestone forests are dominated by Vitex cofassus, while freshwater swamp forests feature sago palm and screwpine. The climate is tropical and wet, with annual rainfall ranging from roughly 1,500 millimeters to more than 6,000 millimeters depending on location. This island setting has produced a distinctive fauna, including 47 mammal species (36 of them bats) and 19 endemic bird species, with the blue-eyed cockatoo serving as the ecoregion's flagship; it is assessed as critical or endangered, with only about three percent of its area in protected reserves.
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 5.5°S, 150.5°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: +2.8°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
13,540 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: