The Southern New Guinea freshwater swamp forests stretch across the low-lying southern coast of New Guinea, spanning Papua New Guinea and Indonesia's Papua and West Papua provinces, with the most extensive swamps lying in the Fly and Purari river basins and around the large Lake Murray. This is a waterlogged mosaic of swamp forest, grass swamp, swamp savanna, and swamp woodland, where the forested stands are dominated by Campnosperma, Terminalia, and Melaleuca, and the woodlands by sago palm (Metroxylon sagu) and Pandanus. The climate is humid and tropical, with the flat terrain and large rivers draining the Central Ranges producing permanent waterlogging or seasonal inundation during the rainy season. Despite mining-related pollution and agricultural conversion, over 80 percent of the ecoregion retains relatively intact vegetation, and its lakes and wetlands support large populations of water birds among 339 recorded bird species; the western crowned-pigeon serves as its flagship. For gardeners, the native Pandanus and the moisture-loving Melaleuca are familiar ornamental and landscape genera well suited to warm, wet sites.
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 6.9°S, 141.4°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: +3.0°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
38,591 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: