The Vanuatu rain forests blanket the volcanic and uplifted-limestone islands of the Pacific nation of Vanuatu along with the Santa Cruz Islands group of the neighboring Solomon Islands, placing the ecoregion firmly in the Australasian realm. Lowland and montane rain forest dominate, grading into seasonal scrub, coastal strand, and mangroves, with characteristic trees including the kauri Agathis, sandalwood Santalum, Calophyllum, Metrosideros, Syzygium, and southern conifers such as Podocarpus and Dacrydium. The climate is tropical and wet, though the windward southeastern slopes catch the most rain while leeward northwestern slopes pass through a distinct dry season from April to October. Long isolation has filtered the biota so that bats are the only native land mammals, alongside numerous endemic birds, and customary land tenure leaves only about four percent of the area within protected reserves. For gardeners in suitable warm climates, the region is the native home of horticulturally familiar genera such as Metrosideros and the fragrant sandalwoods (Santalum).
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 15.2°S, 166.9°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: +2.7°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
5,099 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: