The New Caledonia rain forests are a

terrestrial ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of l ...

, located in

New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

in the South Pacific. It is a

tropical moist broadleaf forest Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF), also known as tropical moist forest, is a subtropical and tropical forest habitat (ecology), habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Description TSMF is generally foun ...

ecoregion, part of the

Australasian realm The Australasian realm is a biogeographic realm that is coincident with, but not (by some definitions) the same as, the geographical region of Australasia. The realm includes Australia, the island of New Guinea (comprising Papua New Guinea and ...

Setting

The ecoregion covers the

windward Windward () and leeward () are terms used to describe the direction of the wind. Windward is ''upwind'' from the point of reference, i.e. towards the direction from which the wind is coming; leeward is ''downwind'' from the point of reference ...

eastern side of Grand Terre, New Caledonia's mountainous main island, as well as the smaller

Loyalty Islands The Loyalty Islands Province ( French ''Province des îles Loyauté'') is one of three administrative subdivisions of New Caledonia encompassing the Loyalty Island (french: Îles Loyauté) archipelago in the Pacific, which are located northeast of ...

to the east and the Isle of Pines to the south of Grand Terre. The ecoregion covers an area of . Grand Terre is a long island that runs approximately north–south, with a mountain range down the center with five peaks that exceed 1500 meters elevation. The Loyalty Islands and Ile des Pins are much lower. New Caledonia lies astride the

Tropic of Capricorn The Tropic of Capricorn (or the Southern Tropic) is the circle of latitude that contains the subsolar point at the December (or southern) solstice. It is thus the southernmost latitude where the Sun can be seen directly overhead. It also reac ...

, between 19° and 23° south

latitude In geography, latitude is a coordinate that specifies the north– south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from –90° at the south pole to 90° at the north pol ...

, 1,200 km east of Australia and 1,500 km northeast of New Zealand. The climate of the islands is

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

, and

rainfall Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water f ...

is highly seasonal, brought by

trade winds The trade winds or easterlies are the permanent east-to-west prevailing winds that flow in the Earth's equatorial region. The trade winds blow mainly from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisph ...

that usually come from the east. Rainfall averages about 1,500 mm yearly on the Loyalty Islands, 2,000 mm at low elevations on eastern Grand Terre, and 2,000-4,000 mm at high elevations on Grand Terre. The western slopes of Grand Terre, which are in the

rain shadow A rain shadow is an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region, on the side facing away from prevailing winds, known as its leeward side. Evaporated moisture from water bodies (such as oceans and large lakes) is carrie ...

of the central mountain range, are much drier, and are home to the

New Caledonia dry forests The New Caledonia dry forests is a tropical dry broadleaf forest ecoregion in New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France located in the South Pacific Ocean. The dry forests cover the western side of Grand Terre, New Caledonia's largest isl ...

ecoregion. New Caledonia is an ancient fragment of

Gondwana Gondwana () was a large landmass, often referred to as a supercontinent, that formed during the late Neoproterozoic (about 550 million years ago) and began to break up during the Jurassic period (about 180 million years ago). The final stages ...

, the southern supercontinent. It separated from

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

85 million years ago, and remained attached to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

until 55 million years ago. It has been isolated from other land masses since then, although a number of plants and animals have been able to cross the straits separating New Caledonia from neighboring islands. The forests are made up of laurel-leaved

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...

hardwood Hardwood is wood from dicot trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen. Hardwood (which comes from ...

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

s, reaching up to 40 m in height. Many of the

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the islands, and harbour and rich biota of

understorey In forestry and ecology, understory (American English), or understorey (Commonwealth English), also known as underbrush or undergrowth, includes plant life growing beneath the forest canopy without penetrating it to any great extent, but abov ...

plants,

invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

s, and

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

s and

bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most ...

s. New Caledonia's fauna and flora derive from ancestral species isolated in the region when it broke away from Gondwana many tens of millions of years ago. Not only endemic species have evolved here, but entire genera and even families are unique to the islands. More tropical

Gymnosperm The gymnosperms ( lit. revealed seeds) are a group of seed-producing plants that includes conifers, cycads, ''Ginkgo'', and gnetophytes, forming the clade Gymnospermae. The term ''gymnosperm'' comes from the composite word in el, γυμνό� ...

species are endemic to New Caledonia than to any similar region on Earth. Of the 44 indigenous species of gymnosperms, 43 are endemic, including the only known parasitic Gymnosperm (''

Parasitaxus usta ''Parasitaxus usta'' is a rare species of conifer of the family Podocarpaceae, and the sole species of the genus ''Parasitaxus''. It is a woody shrub up to 1.8 m found only in the remote, densely forested areas of New Caledonia, first discovered ...

'').Dossier, La flore de Nouvelle-Calédonie - Première partie
/ref> Again, of the 35 known species of ''

Araucaria ''Araucaria'' (; original pronunciation: .ɾawˈka. ɾja is a genus of evergreen Conifer, coniferous trees in the family Araucariaceae. There are 20 extant taxon, extant species in New Caledonia (where 14 species are endemism, ende ...

'', 13 are endemic to New Caledonia. By Leanne Logan, Geert Cole The world's largest extant species of

fern A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes except t ...

, '' Cyathea intermedia'', also is endemic to New Caledonia. It is very common on acid ground, and grows about one metre per year on the east coast, usually on fallow ground or in forest clearings. There also are other species of ''Cyathea'', notably '' Cyathea novae-caledoniae''.Dossier > La flore de Nouvelle-Calédonie - Deuxième partie
/ref> The islands soils derived largely from

ultramafic Ultramafic rocks (also referred to as ultrabasic rocks, although the terms are not wholly equivalent) are igneous and meta-igneous rocks with a very low silica content (less than 45%), generally >18% MgO, high FeO, low potassium, and are composed ...

rocks, and have been a refuge for many native flora species that have adapted to their composition a long time ago; such flora can survive on acid soils with unfavourable compositions of nutrient elements. On New Caledonia examples of such soils commonly have an excess of magnesium, plus unusually high concentrations of

phytotoxic Phytotoxins are substances that are poisonous or toxic to the growth of plants. Phytotoxic substances may result from human activity, as with herbicides, or they may be produced by plants, by microorganisms, or by naturally occurring chemical react ...

compounds of heavy metals such as nickel. Not many invader species can compete successfully with plants adapted to such challenging soils. New Caledonia also is one of five regions on the planet where species of ''

Nothofagus ''Nothofagus'', also known as the southern beeches, is a genus of 43 species of trees and shrubs native to the Southern Hemisphere in southern South America (Chile, Argentina) and Australasia (east and southeast Australia, New Zealand, New Gui ...

'' are indigenous; five species are known to occur here. ''

Cloud forest A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest (TMCF), is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, montane, moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud c ...

'' formerly covered much of the tropical mountain and coastal areas of the world. The

laurel forest Laurel forest, also called laurisilva or laurissilva, is a type of subtropical forest found in areas with high humidity and relatively stable, mild temperatures. The forest is characterized by broadleaf tree species with evergreen, glossy and elo ...

s are found in the islands of the Oceans, some tropical mountains and locally on favourable wet climate microenvironments of the coast and coastal mountains of the mainland, but the forests have been much reduced in extent by

logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars. Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...

, clearance for

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

and

grazing In agriculture, grazing is a method of animal husbandry whereby domestic livestock are allowed outdoors to roam around and consume wild vegetations in order to convert the otherwise indigestible (by human gut) cellulose within grass and other ...

, and the invasion of

exotic species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived there ...

. The decline of much of the endemic fauna and flora is largely due to deforestation to accommodate

agricultural expansion Agricultural expansion describes the growth of agricultural land (arable land, pastures, etc.) especially in the 20th and 21st centuries. The agricultural expansion is often explained as a direct consequence of the global increase in food and ene ...

. This is accompanied by displacement of native flora by invasive alien weeds and crop plants. The most famous ''

laurisilva Laurel forest, also called laurisilva or laurissilva, is a type of Subtropics, subtropical forest found in areas with high humidity and relatively stable, mild temperatures. The forest is characterized by broadleaf tree species with evergreen, glo ...

'' forests remain on Madeira, where they are found between 300 m and 1400 m altitude on the northern slope, and 700 m to 1600 m on the southern slope, and cover 149,5 km². The laurifolia appears in mountains of the coastal strip of New South Wales in

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

, and

. The laurel forests of Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand are home to species related to those in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

Macaronesia Macaronesia (Portuguese: ''Macaronésia,'' Spanish: ''Macaronesia'') is a collection of four volcanic archipelagos in the North Atlantic, off the coasts of Africa and Europe. Each archipelago is made up of a number of List of islands in the At ...

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

, South Japan, Jeju island in Korea, Taiwan, South China coast, North America coasts to Panama and the Valdivian laurel forests, including southern beech (''

'') through the connection of the

Antarctic flora Antarctic flora are a distinct community of vascular plants which evolved millions of years ago on the supercontinent of Gondwana. Presently, species of Antarctica flora reside on several now separated areas of the Southern Hemisphere, includin ...

. Other typical flora include

Winteraceae Winteraceae is a primitive family of tropical trees and shrubs including 93 species in five genera. It is of particular interest because it is such a primitive angiosperm family, distantly related to Magnoliaceae, though it has a much more s ...

Myrtaceae Myrtaceae, the myrtle family, is a family of dicotyledonous plants placed within the order Myrtales. Myrtle, pōhutukawa, bay rum tree, clove, guava, acca (feijoa), allspice, and eucalyptus are some notable members of this group. All speci ...

, southern sassafras (

Atherospermataceae The Atherospermataceae, commonly known as the southern sassafrases, are a family of broadleaf evergreen trees and shrubs. The family includes 14 species in seven genera. The atherosperms are today mostly distributed in the Southern Hemisphere, w ...

), conifers of

Araucariaceae Araucariaceae – also known as araucarians – is an extremely ancient family of coniferous trees. The family achieved its maximum diversity during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods and the early Cenozoic, when it was distributed almost worldw ...

Podocarpaceae Podocarpaceae is a large family of mainly Southern Hemisphere conifers, known in English as podocarps, comprising about 156 species of evergreen trees and shrubs.James E. Eckenwalder. 2009. ''Conifers of the World''. Portland, Oregon: Timber Pre ...

, and

Cupressaceae Cupressaceae is a conifer family, the cypress family, with worldwide distribution. The family includes 27–30 genera (17 monotypic), which include the junipers and redwoods, with about 130–140 species in total. They are monoecious, subdio ...

, and

tree fern The tree ferns are arborescent (tree-like) ferns that grow with a trunk elevating the fronds above ground level, making them trees. Many extant tree ferns are members of the order Cyatheales, to which belong the families Cyatheaceae (scaly tree ...

s. New Caledonia was an ancient fragment of the

supercontinent In geology, a supercontinent is the assembly of most or all of Earth's continent, continental blocks or cratons to form a single large landmass. However, some geologists use a different definition, "a grouping of formerly dispersed continents", ...

. Unlike many of the Pacific Islands, which are of relatively recent volcanic origin, New Caledonia is part of

Zealandia Zealandia (pronounced ), also known as (Māori) or Tasmantis, is an almost entirely submerged mass of continental crust that subsided after breaking away from Gondwanaland 83–79 million years ago.Gurnis, M., Hall, C.E., and Lavier, L.L., ...

, a fragment of the ancient

super-continent. Zealandia separated from Australia 60–85 million years ago, and the ridge linking New Caledonia to New Zealand has been deeply submerged for millions of years. This isolated New Caledonia from the rest of the world's landmasses, preserving a snapshot of Gondwanan forests. New Caledonia and New Zealand are separated by

continental drift Continental drift is the hypothesis that the Earth's continents have moved over geologic time relative to each other, thus appearing to have "drifted" across the ocean bed. The idea of continental drift has been subsumed into the science of pla ...

of Australia 85 million years ago. The islands still shelters an extraordinary diversity of

plants and animals of Gondwanan origin have spread to the southern continents later. The laurel forest of Australia,

('' Adenodaphne''), and New Zealand have a number of other related species of the Valdivian laurel forest, through the connection of the

of gymnosperms like the podocarpus and deciduous Nothofagus. New Caledonia lies at the northern end of the ancient continent

, while New Zealand rises at the plate boundary that bisects it. These land masses are two outposts of the

, including

s and

Podocarp Podocarpaceae is a large family of mainly Southern Hemisphere conifers, known in English as podocarps, comprising about 156 species of evergreen trees and shrubs.James E. Eckenwalder. 2009. ''Conifers of the World''. Portland, Oregon: Timber Pr ...

s. At

Curio Bay Curio Bay is a coastal embayment in the Southland District of New Zealand, best known as the site of a petrified forest some 180 million years old. It also hosts a yellow-eyed penguin colony, arguably the rarest of penguin species, with approxim ...

, logs of a

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

ized

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

closely related to modern

kauri ''Agathis'', commonly known as kauri or dammara, is a genus of 22 species of evergreen tree. The genus is part of the ancient conifer family Araucariaceae, a group once widespread during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, but now largely res ...

and Norfolk pine can be seen that grew on Zealandia about 180 million years ago during the

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The J ...

period, before it split from Gondwana. During glacial periods more of Zealandia becomes a

terrestrial Terrestrial refers to things related to land or the planet Earth. Terrestrial may also refer to: * Terrestrial animal, an animal that lives on land opposed to living in water, or sometimes an animal that lives on or near the ground, as opposed to ...

rather than a marine environment. Zealandia was originally thought to have no native land

mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...

fauna, but a recent discovery in 2006 of a fossil mammal jaw from the Miocene in the Otago region shows otherwise. New Guinea and Northern Australia ecoregion are closely related. Over time Australia and New Caledonia drifted north. New Caledonia protected by the ocean remained unchanged preserving their species and Australia became drier; the humid

from Gondwana retreated to the east coast and Tasmania, while the rest of Australia became dominated by ''

Acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus na ...

'', ''

Eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including '' Corymbia'', they are commonly known as euca ...

'', and ''

Casuarina ''Casuarina'' is a genus of 17 tree species in the family Casuarinaceae, native to Australia, the Indian subcontinent, southeast Asia, islands of the western Pacific Ocean, and eastern Africa. It was once treated as the sole genus in the fami ...

'', as well as xeric shrubs and grasses.

Human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...

s arrived in Australia 50–60,000 years ago, and used fire to reshape the vegetation of the continent; as a result, the Antarctic flora, also known as the ''rainforest flora'' in Australia, retreated to a few isolated areas composing less than 2% of Australia's land area.

Flora

The New Caledonia rain forests are made up of three predominant forest types. The lowland rain forests cover the Loyalty Islands, and the Iles des Pines and the lower elevations of Grand Terre. Montane forests cover the higher elevations of Grand Terre. The wet

maquis Maquis may refer to: Resistance groups * Maquis (World War II), predominantly rural guerrilla bands of the French Resistance * Spanish Maquis, guerrillas who fought against Francoist Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War * The network ...

forests of Grand Terre are low shrub forests found on rocky soils derived from

rocks. The predominant flora of New Caledonia rain forests is derived from the

of ancient southern Gondwana. Like the Australian rainforests and the temperate forests of New Zealand,

conifer Conifers are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single ...

s of the Southern Hemisphere families

and

are mixed with

angiosperm Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

trees, including the Southern Hemisphere genus ''

'' and trees and shrubs of families

and

Proteaceae The Proteaceae form a family of flowering plants predominantly distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. The family comprises 83 genera with about 1,660 known species. Together with the Platanaceae and Nelumbonaceae, they make up the order Pro ...

. The lowland forests are a generally a mixed-species composition, interspersed with some single species stands. The predominant conifers are ''

Araucaria columnaris ''Araucaria columnaris'', the coral reef araucaria, Cook pine (or Cook's pine), New Caledonia pine, Cook araucaria, or columnar araucaria, is a species of conifer in the family Araucariaceae. Distribution The tree is endemic to New Caledonia in ...

'', '' A. bernieri'', '' Agathis lanceolata'', '' A. ovata'' (Araucariaceae), and ''

Dacrydium araucarioides ''Dacrydium araucarioides'' is a species of conifer in the family Podocarpaceae. It is found only in New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Loca ...

'', ''

Dacrycarpus vieillardii ''Dacrycarpus vieillardii'' is a species of conifer in the family Podocarpaceae. It is found only in New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Loca ...

'' and ''

Falcatifolium taxoides ''Falcatifolium taxoides'' is a species of conifer in the family Podocarpaceae. It is found only in New Caledonia, and is the only known host of its non-photosynthetic, possibly parasitic relative, ''Parasitaxus usta''. Etymology ''Falcatifolium ...

'' (Podocarpaceae). Predominant angiosperm trees include ''

Montrouziera cauliflora ''Montrouziera cauliflora'', the giant Houp tree, is a species of flowering plant in the family Clusiaceae. It is found only in New Caledonia, and is one of the largest trees in the rainforests there. It is found in moist evergreen dense forest o ...

'', ''

Calophyllum ''Calophyllum'' is a genus of tropical flowering plants in the family Calophyllaceae. They are mainly distributed in Asia, with some species in Africa, the Americas, Australasia, and the Pacific Islands. History Members of the genus ''Calophyllu ...

neocaledonicum'', ''

Dysoxylum ''Dysoxylum'' is a flowering plant genus of trees and shrubs from the mahogany family, Meliaceae. Botanical science has recorded about eighty species in this genus, growing widely across the regions of Malesia, the western Pacific ocean, Austra ...

'' spp., '' Neoguillauminia cleopatra'', and ''

Hernandia ''Hernandia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Hernandiaceae. It was named after the Spanish botanist Francisco Hernández de Toledo. Species , ''Plants of the World Online'' accepted the following species: * ''Hernandia albiflora'' ...

cordigera'', together with species of the

genera ''

Kermadecia ''Kermadecia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Proteaceae. The genus comprises five species, all endemic to New Caledonia. Its closest relatives are '' Sleumerodendron'' (New Caledonia) and '' Turrillia'' (Fiji, Vanuatu Vanuatu ...

Macadamia ''Macadamia'' is a genus of four species of trees in the flowering plant family Proteaceae. They are indigenous to Australia, native to northeastern New South Wales and central and southeastern Queensland specifically. Two species of the genus ...

,'' and ''

Sleumerodendron ''Sleumerodendron'' is a monotypic genus of plant in the family Proteaceae. The sole species is ''Sleumerodendron austrocaledonicum''. This species is endemic to New Caledonia. It is closely related to ''Turrillia'' (Vanuatu, Fiji) and ''Kermade ...

''. ''

'', ''

Callistemon ''Callistemon'' is a genus of shrubs in the family Myrtaceae, first described as a genus in 1814. The entire genus is endemic to Australia but widely cultivated in many other regions and naturalised in scattered locations. Their status as a se ...

'', and ''Nothofagus'' predominate in the single-species stands. The Montane rain forests are also mixed-species, predominantly the conifers ''Araucaria'', ''Agathis'', ''Podocarpus'', ''Dacrydium'', ''Libocedrus'', and ''Acmopyle'', and the angiosperms ''

Metrosideros ''Metrosideros'' is a genus of approximately 60 trees, shrubs, and vines mostly found in the Pacific region in the family Myrtaceae. Most of the tree forms are small, but some are exceptionally large, the New Zealand species in particular. The n ...

'', ''

Weinmannia ''Weinmannia'' is a genus of trees and shrubs in the family Cunoniaceae. It is the largest genus of the family with about 150 species. It is also the most widespread genus, occurring in Central and South America including the Caribbean, Madagasc ...

'', ''

Quintinia ''Quintinia'' is a genus of about 25 evergreen trees and shrubs native to the Philippines, New Guinea, New Zealand, New Caledonia, Vanuatu and Australia. Plants have alternate leaves. White or lilac flowers form at the end of stalks or on leaf ax ...

'', and ''

''. There are

Rutaceae The Rutaceae is a family, commonly known as the rueRUTACEAE
in BoDD – Botanical Derm ...

in New Caledonia as Citrus macroptera Montr. Melodinus insulae-pinorum Boiteau, Melodinus phylliraeoides Labill. The Maquis forests hold a great variety of species, with many

endemics Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

. The ultramafic rocks, which formed in the deep ocean, are rich in metals, including

nickel Nickel is a chemical element with symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive but large pieces are slow to ...

magnesium Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 of the periodic ta ...

chromium Chromium is a chemical element with the symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the first element in group 6. It is a steely-grey, lustrous, hard, and brittle transition metal. Chromium metal is valued for its high corrosion resistance and hardne ...

, and

manganese Manganese is a chemical element with the symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese is a transition metal with a multifaceted array of industrial alloy use ...

, which are toxic to many plants. The predominant trees are stunted Araucarias.

Fauna

New Caledonia has one of the most enigmatic birds of the world, the endangered

kagu The kagu or cagou (''Rhynochetos jubatus'') is a crested, long-legged, and bluish-grey bird endemic to the dense mountain forests of New Caledonia. It is the only surviving member of the genus ''Rhynochetos'' and the family Rhynochetidae, alt ...

. It is related to the cranes and it lives very hidden. It is also the heraldic bird of the island. Another endemic bird is the

New Caledonian rail The New Caledonian rail (''Cabalus lafresnayanus'') is a large and drab flightless rail that is found on the island of New Caledonia in the Pacific. It is a dull brown above, with grey underparts, and has a yellowish, downward-curving bill. No ...

. This critically endangered bird could be extinct but many believe that it still persists. Both the

New Caledonian owlet-nightjar The New Caledonian owlet-nightjar (''Aegotheles savesi''), also known as the enigmatic owlet-nightjar, is a large owlet-nightjar Owlet-nightjars are small crepuscular birds related to the nightjars and frogmouths. Most are native to New Guinea ...

and the

New Caledonian lorikeet The New Caledonian lorikeet (''Vini diadema'') is a potentially extinct lorikeet endemic to the Melanesian island of New Caledonia. Taxonomy The New Caledonian lorikeet was formerly assigned to the genus ''Charmosyna''. It was moved to the ge ...

are believed to persist under similar circumstances. There are also another twenty or so endemic birds on the island, including the tool-using

New Caledonian crow The New Caledonian crow (''Corvus moneduloides'') is a medium-sized member of the family Corvidae, native to New Caledonia. The bird is often referred to as the 'qua-qua' due to its distinctive call. It eats a wide range of food, including man ...

. See Endemic birds of New Caledonia for more details. The seashells from New Caledonia are in great demand by collectors.

Conservation

A 2017 assessment found that 7,872 km², or 56%, of the ecoregion is in

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

s.Eric Dinerstein, David Olson, et al. (2017). An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm, BioScience, Volume 67, Issue 6, June 2017, Pages 534–545; Supplemental material 2 table S1b

/ref> Protected areas include Parc de la Côte Oubliée (1222.59 km²), Blue River Provincial Park (220.72 km²), Parc de la Haute Dumbéa (91.71 km²), and Parc des Grandes Fougères (45.45 km²). Parc de la Zone Côtière Ouest (2552.68 km²) is partly in the

ecoregion."New Caledonia". ''Protected Planet''. Accessed 23 May 2020
/ref>

External links

References

{{Reflist Flannery, Tim (1994). ''The Future Eaters''. Grove Press,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. Australasian ecoregions Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests Ecoregions of New Caledonia

Setting

Flora

Fauna

Conservation

See also

External links

References