The Southern New Guinea lowland rain forests stretch across the lowlands and foothills south of New Guinea's Central Range, spanning Indonesia's Papua Province and the Gulf, Southern Highlands, and Western Provinces of Papua New Guinea. Broadleaf evergreen rain forest dominates, with alluvial forest on the plains and hill forest in the foothills, while limestone, peat swamp, and freshwater swamp forests develop where conditions allow; characteristic tree genera include Pometia, Octomeles, Ficus, and Alstonia. The climate is tropical wet, and the low relief combined with large rivers draining the highlands leaves much of the region inundated during the wet season. These vast lowland plains support a rich fauna that includes the southern cassowary, tree kangaroos, crowned pigeons, palm cockatoos, and birds-of-paradise, making this one of the largest remaining forested landscapes in Australasia. Much of the ecoregion still holds forest, but expanding palm oil plantations pose a growing threat to its habitats.
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 6.3°S, 140.4°E.
Climate snapshot for this ecoregion
°C
°F
Current zone range (2011–2040)
12b-13b
Plotwright
CHELSA-derived typical winter month at this ecoregion's bbox grid.
Projected (2041–2070)
12b-13b
Plotwright
Where the CHELSA models say the typical winter month is heading.
Average warming this ecoregion is on track for: +3.1°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
47,436 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
Computed from each plant's stated USDA zone range against this ecoregion's CHELSA-derived current zone range, with the CHELSA mid-century warming delta applied for the projection. Plants whose stated range falls outside both the current and projected zone end up dropped; the rest land in one of the three buckets below.
Climate-resilient picks · 4
These plants fit this ecoregion today AND remain in range under the mid-century SSP3-7.0 projection. Lead with these for a planting that holds up as the climate shifts.
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: