The New Caledonia rain forests cover the windward eastern side of Grande Terre, the mountainous main island of New Caledonia (a French territory in the South Pacific), along with the smaller Loyalty Islands to the east and the Isle of Pines to the south. These laurel-leaved evergreen hardwood forests reach up to 40 meters tall and preserve an ancient Gondwanan flora, mixing Southern Hemisphere conifers of the genera Araucaria, Agathis, Dacrydium, and Podocarpus with angiosperm trees including Nothofagus and members of the Myrtaceae and Proteaceae families, often growing on metal-rich ultramafic soils. The climate is tropical with highly seasonal rainfall delivered by easterly trade winds, ranging from about 1,500 millimeters yearly on the Loyalty Islands to 2,000-4,000 millimeters at higher elevations on Grande Terre. Endemism is extraordinary: of the 44 indigenous gymnosperm species, 43 are endemic, and the forests shelter flagship endemics such as the kagu, a crested ground bird known for its long dawn duets. Now classified as critical and endangered after a steep decline in forest cover, the ecoregion is also the native home of ornamental and horticultural genera familiar to gardeners, including Araucaria, Agathis, and Macadamia.
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 21.3°S, 165.6°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
5,622 sq mi
Conservation tier
Half Protected (Dinerstein NNH 1)
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: