The Sumatran montane rain forests cloak the higher reaches of the Barisan Mountains, which run the length of southwestern Sumatra in Indonesia at elevations above roughly 1,000 meters. The forests grade with altitude: lower montane stands rich in oak relatives such as Lithocarpus, Quercus, and Castanea and laurel-family trees like Cinnamomum give way to upper montane forest of conifers, Myrtaceae, and Ericaceae including Rhododendron and Vaccinium, with stunted sub-alpine grasslands, heath, and bogs above. The climate is wet and tropical, though rainfall is strikingly uneven, exceeding 4,700 mm a year on the western slopes while the eastern side lies in a pronounced rain shadow. Isolation and varied forest types make it a center of endemism, home to endemic mammals and birds, several Rafflesia species, the Sumatran tiger, and refuge populations of the critically endangered Sumatran rhinoceros, with protected land including Gunung Leuser, Kerinci Seblat, and Bukit Barisan Selatan national parks. For gardeners, its cool upland flora includes familiar ornamental genera such as Rhododendron and Vaccinium native to these mountains.
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 2.4°N, 98.8°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: +2.8°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
Indomalayan
Approximate area
28,201 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: