The Peninsular Malaysian rain forests are lowland tropical moist broadleaf forests of the Indomalayan realm, covering most of the southern Malay Peninsula in Malaysia and southern Thailand and extending to Singapore, the Riau Archipelago, the Lingga Islands, and the Anamba Islands. The forests are dominated by the dipterocarp family, with characteristic tree genera including Anisoptera, Dipterocarpus, Dryobalanops, Hopea, and Shorea, while towering emergents such as Koompassia excelsa (tualang) rise above the canopy. The climate is shaped by two monsoons, the northeastern monsoon from October to March and the southwestern monsoon from April to August, with temperatures ranging from about 25 to 32 degrees Celsius. The ecoregion shelters notable megafauna including the flagship Malayan tapir, tigers, Asian elephants, gaur, and clouded leopards, alongside more than 450 bird species such as hornbills, though the Sumatran rhinoceros has been lost from Peninsular Malaysia. A 2017 assessment found that roughly 16 percent of the ecoregion lies within protected areas, including Taman Negara National Park and Royal Belum State Park.
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 4.2°N, 102.1°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: +2.9°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
Indomalayan
Approximate area
48,462 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: