The Norfolk Island subtropical forests ecoregion covers Norfolk Island, a small external territory of Australia perched on a submarine ridge in the Pacific between New Caledonia and New Zealand. Before settlement, mixed subtropical rainforest blanketed almost the entire island, with a canopy of Araucaria heterophylla, the Norfolk Island pine, together with the endemic palm Rhopalostylis baueri and tree ferns Cyathea brownii and Cyathea australis in moister, sheltered gullies. The climate is a maritime, humid subtropical one, and the flora shows strong affinities with that of New Caledonia and New Zealand. Of the island's native plants a high share are endemic, yet native forest now survives in only a single remnant tract of about 5 square kilometres around Mount Pitt, declared a national park in 1986, with grazing and more than 250 introduced plant species among the leading threats. For gardeners, the island's signature Norfolk Island pine is itself a widely grown ornamental conifer native to this ecoregion.
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 29.0°S, 168.0°E.
Climate snapshot for this ecoregion
°C
°F
Current zone range (2011–2040)
13a
Plotwright
CHELSA-derived typical winter month at this ecoregion's bbox grid.
Projected (2041–2070)
13a
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
16 sq mi
Conservation tier
Nature Could Recover (Dinerstein NNH 3)
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: