The Ogasawara subtropical moist forests cover the Ogasawara (Bonin) and Volcano (Iwo) Islands, a scattered chain of volcanic islands belonging to Japan that rise from the Pacific south of Honshu and have never been connected to a continent. Vegetation grades from closed mesic lowland forest dominated by Ardisia sieboldii, with Elaeocarpus and Pisonia umbellifera, into drier upland and rocky forests featuring the Bonin fan palm (Livistona) and Pandanus boninensis, and low Distylium-dominated scrub on exposed ridges that also carries Planchonella obovata. The climate is subtropical, with drier spells from January to March and from July to August. Long isolation has produced exceptional endemism: roughly 56 percent of the 441 native plant species and about 75 percent of the trees occur nowhere else, including the endemic plant genera Boninia and Dendrocacalia, and the islands carry UNESCO World Heritage status, though feral goats, pigs, cats, rats, and invasive Leucaena leucocephala threaten the native flora. For gardeners, the region's native Livistona fan palm and Pandanus are familiar subtropical ornamentals.
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 27.1°N, 142.2°E.
Climate snapshot for this ecoregion
°C
°F
Current zone range (2011–2040)
13a-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: +3.4°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
Oceania
Approximate area
37 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: