Tristan Da Cunha-Gough Islands shrub and grasslands
Tristan Da Cunha-Gough Islands shrub and grasslands
RESOLVE 68
This remote ecoregion covers the Tristan da Cunha archipelago, including Tristan, Nightingale and Inaccessible Islands, together with Gough Island, a cluster of volcanic islands in the far South Atlantic that form part of the United Kingdom overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, roughly midway between Africa and South America. Vegetation is sharply zoned by altitude: coastal tussock grassland of Sporobolus mobberleyanus and Poa flabellata withstands constant salt spray, giving way between about 300 and 500 metres to fern bush dominated by the fern Histiopteris incisa, the tree fern Blechnum palmiforme, and the island Cape myrtle (Phylica arborea), with wet heath of Empetrum rubrum and Sphagnum peat bogs at higher, wetter elevations. The climate is cool-temperate and oceanic, with mean temperatures around 11 to 15 degrees Celsius and little seasonal change, though rainfall ranges from roughly 1,676 millimetres on Tristan to about 3,397 millimetres on Gough. The islands harbour over sixty endemic plant taxa and some of the world's most important seabird colonies, including the critically endangered Tristan albatross, and Gough and Inaccessible Islands are recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and managed as an IUCN Category I wildlife reserve. For gardeners in mild maritime climates, the native island Cape myrtle (Phylica arborea) stands out as a hardy evergreen shrub or small tree adapted to wind and salt.
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 37.1°S, 12.3°W.
Climate snapshot for this ecoregion
Climate snapshot not available at this resolution — this ecoregion sits outside our detailed climate coverage (typically Antarctic interior or far-ocean island chains).
At a glance
Dominant biome
Temperate Grasslands, Savannas & Shrublands
Realm
Afrotropic
Approximate area
65 sq mi
Conservation tier
Nature Imperiled (Dinerstein NNH 4)
About the temperate grasslands, savannas & shrublands biome
Temperate prairies, steppes, and pampas of grasses and forbs with few trees, under continental climates of hot summers and cold winters. Their deep, fertile soils have made them among the most extensively converted biomes for agriculture.
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 temperate grasslands, savannas & shrublands ecoregions to explore: