The Northern New Guinea lowland rain and freshwater swamp forests is a
tropical moist broadleaf forest 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 ...
of northern
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...
.
Setting
The Northern New Guinea lowland rain and freshwater swamp forests extend across the northern lowlands of the island of New Guinea, lying between the
New Guinea Central Range to the south and the
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...
to the north. It extends from the eastern shore of
Cenderawasih Bay
Cenderawasih Bay ( id, Teluk Cenderawasih, "Bird of Paradise Bay"), also known as Sarera Bay ( id, Teluk Sarera) and formerly Geelvink Bay ( nl, Geelvinkbaai), is a large bay in northern Province of Papua, Central Papua and West Papua, New Guin ...
in
Indonesia's Papua Province east to
Morobe Province
Morobe Province is a province on the northern coast of Papua New Guinea. The provincial capital and largest city is Lae. The province covers 33,705 km2, with a population of 674,810 (2011 census), and since the division of Southern Highlands ...
of
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
.
Several east-west mountain ranges, including the
Van Rees Mountains,
Foja Mountains,
Torricelli Mountains, and
Finisterre Mountains, rise from the lowlands; these ranges are home to the distinct
Northern New Guinea montane rain forests ecoregion.
The ecoregion is drained by several of New Guinea's large rivers, including the
Mamberamo
The Mamberamo (''Indonesian: Sungai Mamberamo'') is the second longest river on the island of New Guinea, after Sepik River (1,146 km) and third largest in Oceania by discharge (5,500 m3/s) volume after Fly River (7,500 m3/s) and Sepik (7,000 m3/ ...
,
Sepik
The Sepik () is the longest river on the island of New Guinea, and the second largest in Oceania by discharge volume after the Fly River. The majority of the river flows through the Papua New Guinea (PNG) provinces of Sandaun (formerly West Se ...
, and
Ramu
The Ramu River is a major river in northern Papua New Guinea. The headwaters of the river are formed in the Kratke Range from where it then travels about northwest to the Bismarck Sea.
Along the Ramu's course, it receives numerous tributaries ...
, and
Markham.
Flora
The plant communities of the ecoregion are diverse. Lowland evergreen rain forest is the most extensive, and includes alluvial forests in the plains, and hill forests in the foothills of the adjacent mountains.
There are extensive freshwater swamp forests in the coastal lowlands and in the
Lakes Plains region between the Van Rees-Foja mountains and the Central Range. The swamp forest habitats are diverse, and include grass swamps, swamp savannas, and swamp woodlands and forests dominated by ''
Melaleuca'',
sago palm
Sago palm is a common name for several plants which are used to produce a starchy food known as sago. Sago palms may be "true palms" in the family Arecaceae, or cycads with a palm-like appearance. Sago produced from cycads must be detoxified before ...
(''Metroxylon sagu''), ''
Pandanus'', ''
Campnosperma
''Campnosperma'' is a genus of rainforest trees in the Cashew Family (Anacardiaceae). They are found in the East Indies, south Asia and the Seychelles.
Species
, the ''Plants of the World Online'' accepts 14 species:
* '' Campnosperma auriculatu ...
'', and/or ''
Terminalia''.
Fauna
The ecoregion corresponds to the Northern Papuan lowlands Endemic Bird Area. Limited-range and endemic species include the
red-breasted paradise kingfisher (''Tanysiptera nympha''),
brown lory (''Chalcopsitta duivenbodei''),
Edwards's fig parrot
Edwards's fig parrot (''Psittaculirostris edwardsii''), also known as the scarlet-cheeked fig parrot, is a species of parrot in the family Psittaculidae found in humid lowland forests in north-eastern New Guinea. The adult male is predominantly ...
(''Psittaculirostris edwardsii''),
Salvadori's fig parrot
Salvadori's fig parrot (''Psittaculirostris salvadorii'') is a species of parrot in the family Psittaculidae endemic to the northern part of the Papua province in Indonesia.
Its name is in honour of Italian zoologist and ornithologist Tommaso ...
(''Psittaculirostris salvadorii''),
Brass's friarbird (''Philemon brassi''),
white-bellied whistler (''Pachycephala leucogastra''),
brown-headed crow (''Corvus fuscicapillus''),
pale-billed sicklebill (''Drepanornis bruijnii''), and
banded yellow robin (''Gennaeodryas placens'').
Conservation and threats
A 2017 assessment found that 15,323 km², or 11%, of the ecoregion is in protected areas.
[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> The largest is Mamberamo Foja Wildlife Reserve Mamberamo Foja Wildlife Reserve is a large protected area on New Guinea, in Indonesia's Papua Province. It covers an area of 16,610 km², and extends along the Mamberamo River and its tributaries from the foothills of the Central Range to the Pacif ...
, which extends along the Mamberamo River and its tributaries the Tariku and Taritatu from the foothills of the Central Range to the sea, including the Foja Mountains.
External links
*
*
Northern Papuan lowlands endemic bird area (BirdLife International)
References
{{reflist
Australasian ecoregions
Ecoregions of Indonesia
Ecoregions of New Guinea
Ecoregions of Papua New Guinea
*
Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests