The Tuamotu tropical moist forests span the low coral atolls of French Polynesia's Tuamotu Archipelago and Gambier Islands, reaching east to the British Pitcairn Islands across some 1,800 km of the South Pacific. On the atolls and coastal lowlands the characteristic cover is a mixed broadleaf strand forest of salt-tolerant trees and shrubs such as Pandanus, Pisonia grandis, Scaevola, Guettarda, and Tournefortia, while uplifted limestone (makatea) carries taller, denser forest that includes the endemic palm Pritchardia. The climate is tropical to subtropical, with mean annual temperatures around 27°C in the northern Tuamotus easing to about 23°C in the Pitcairns and average annual rainfall of roughly 1,500 to 2,000 mm. Despite their remoteness these islands shelter several endemic land and seabirds, including the Polynesian pigeon and Tuamotu sandpiper, yet the ecoregion is classed as critical or endangered, with only about 5 percent under protection and rats and invasive plants the leading threats. For coastal and tropical gardeners, hardy native strand genera like Scaevola and the broad-leaved Pandanus point to the kinds of wind- and salt-resilient ornamentals at home in this setting.
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 16.2°S, 146.4°W.
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: +2.1°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
Oceania
Approximate area
366 sq mi
Conservation tier
Nature Imperiled (Dinerstein NNH 4)
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: