The Trobriand Islands rain forests cover a scattering of island groups off the southeastern coast of Papua New Guinea, in Milne Bay Province, spanning the Trobriand Islands, Woodlark Island, and the d'Entrecasteaux archipelago, whose principal islands are Goodenough, Fergusson, and Normanby. The habitat is lowland tropical rainforest, with stands rooted in limestone bedrock on the Trobriand and Woodlark groups and in volcanic and ultrabasic soils on the d'Entrecasteaux islands; characteristic canopy trees include Pometia, Octomeles, Alstonia, and Canarium. The climate is warm and moist tropical, typical of the surrounding New Guinea region. Long isolated from mainland New Guinea since the Late Pleistocene, the islands harbor a distinctive biota with endemic birds-of-paradise such as the curl-crested manucode and Goldie's bird-of-paradise, yet little of the ecoregion is formally protected and forests have been widely cleared for traditional agriculture. Gardeners in comparable warm, humid climates may recognize the native Canarium, source of edible canarium (galip) nuts.
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 9.5°S, 150.7°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
Australasia
Approximate area
1,620 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: