The New Caledonia dry forests cover the western side of Grand Terre, the main island of New Caledonia, a French territory in the South Pacific Ocean. They grow in the rain shadow of the island's central mountain range, where the drier climate favors dense, vine-laced sclerophyll (dry) forest with trees generally 5 to 15 meters tall and characteristic genera such as Acacia, Gardenia, Pittosporum, Dodonaea, and Premna. The flora is highly endemic, including the flagship tree Ixora margaretae, a small species festooned with large fuchsia blossoms along its trunk. The ecoregion is considered critically endangered: fire, clearing for agriculture and cattle, and invasive species have reduced the original forest to scattered patches covering only a small fraction of the land area, though a substantial share now lies within protected areas. For gardeners, this is a source region for ornamental tropical genera like Ixora, Gardenia, and Pittosporum that are widely grown elsewhere.
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 21.5°S, 165.3°E.
Climate snapshot for this ecoregion
°C
°F
Current zone range (2011–2040)
12b-13b
Plotwright
CHELSA-derived typical winter month at this ecoregion's bbox grid.
Projected (2041–2070)
12b-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 Dry Broadleaf Forests
Realm
Australasia
Approximate area
1,706 sq mi
Conservation tier
Half Protected (Dinerstein NNH 1)
About the tropical & subtropical dry broadleaf forests biome
Tropical forests that pass through a pronounced dry season, when many trees drop their leaves to conserve water. They hold high biodiversity but are among the most threatened tropical habitats, sensitive to fire and to clearing for agriculture.
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 dry broadleaf forests ecoregions to explore: