The North Island temperate forests, also known as the Northland temperate forests, is a

temperate broadleaf and mixed forests Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest is a temperate climate terrestrial habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature, with broadleaf tree ecoregions, and with conifer and broadleaf tree mixed coniferous forest ecoregions. These fo ...

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 ...

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 ...

’s

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

Geography

The ecoregion has an area of , which covers most of the

. The ecoregion extends from sea level to high volcanic peaks. The northern portion of the island, including the

Northland Peninsula The Northland Peninsula, called the North Auckland Peninsula in earlier times, is in the far north of the North Island of New Zealand. It is joined to the rest of the island by the Auckland isthmus, a narrow piece of land between the Waitematā H ...

Coromandel Peninsula The Coromandel Peninsula ( mi, Te Tara-O-Te-Ika-A-Māui) on the North Island of New Zealand extends north from the western end of the Bay of Plenty, forming a natural barrier protecting the Hauraki Gulf and the Firth of Thames in the we ...

, and the lowland region around

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

, are part of the separate Northland temperate kauri forests ecoregion. The

North Island Volcanic Plateau The North Island Volcanic Plateau (often called the Central Plateau and occasionally the Waimarino Plateau) is a volcanic plateau covering much of central North Island of New Zealand with volcanoes, lava plateaus, and crater lakes. It contains t ...

occupies the center of the island.

Lake Taupō Lake Taupō (also spelled Taupo; mi, Taupō-nui-a-Tia or ) is a large crater lake in New Zealand's North Island, located in the caldera of the Taupō Volcano. The lake is the namesake of the town of Taupō, which sits on a bay in the lake's nor ...

, New Zealand's largest lake, sits in a volcanic

caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber is ...

formed during a violent eruption 2000 years ago. The volcanic peaks of

Mount Tongariro Mount Tongariro (; ) is a compound volcano in the Taupō Volcanic Zone of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located to the southwest of Lake Taupō, and is the northernmost of the three active volcanoes that dominate the landscape of the ...

(1,978 m),

Mount Ngauruhoe Mount Ngāuruhoe (also spelled Ngauruhoe; Māori: ''Ngāuruhoe'') is a volcanic cone in New Zealand. It is the youngest vent in the Tongariro stratovolcano complex on the Central Plateau of the North Island and first erupted about 2,500 ye ...

(2,291 m), and

Mount Ruapehu Mount Ruapehu (; ) is an active stratovolcano at the southern end of the Taupō Volcanic Zone and North Island volcanic plateau in New Zealand. It is northeast of Ohakune and southwest of the southern shore of Lake Taupō, within the Tongari ...

(2,797 m) lie south of Lake Taupō. Much of the plateau is covered lava fields, volcanic mudflows (

lahar A lahar (, from jv, ꦮ꧀ꦭꦲꦂ) is a violent type of mudflow or debris flow composed of a slurry of pyroclastic material, rocky debris and water. The material flows down from a volcano, typically along a river valley. Lahars are extreme ...

s), and deposits of volcanic ash.

Mount Taranaki Mount Taranaki (), also known as Mount Egmont, is a dormant stratovolcano in the Taranaki region on the west coast of New Zealand's North Island. It is the second highest point in the North Island, after Mount Ruapehu. The mountain has a secon ...

(2,518 m) is an active volcano, which lies on the west of the volcanic plateau near the island's west coast. A belt of folded mountains, which includes the

Tararua Range The Tararua Range, often referred to as the Tararua Ranges or Tararua, is one of several mountain ranges in the North Island of New Zealand. The Tararua Range runs northeast–southwest for from near Palmerston North to the upper reaches of ...

and the

Kaimanawa Range The Kaimanawa Range of mountains (often known as the ''Kaimanawas'') is located in the central North Island of New Zealand. They extend for 50 kilometres in a northeast/southwest direction through largely uninhabited country to the south of Lake T ...

, runs parallel to the east coast from

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

at the southern tip of the island to

East Cape East Cape is the easternmost point of the main islands of New Zealand. It is located at the northern end of the Gisborne District of New Zealand's North Island. It can also refer to the broader Gisborne cape. East Cape was originally named "C ...

in the northeast. These mountains are predominantly of sedimentary

greywacke Greywacke or graywacke (German ''grauwacke'', signifying a grey, earthy rock) is a variety of sandstone generally characterized by its hardness, dark color, and poorly sorted angular grains of quartz, feldspar, and small rock fragments or lit ...

, in contrast to the

igneous rock Igneous rock (derived from the Latin word ''ignis'' meaning fire), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main The three types of rocks, rock types, the others being Sedimentary rock, sedimentary and metamorphic rock, metamorphic. Igneous rock ...

s of the volcanic plateau. There are coastal lowlands along the eastern, western, and northern shores of the island.

Flora

In the lowland forests, emergent

podocarps 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 ...

rimu ''Dacrydium cupressinum'', commonly known as rimu, is a large evergreen coniferous tree endemic to the forests of New Zealand. It is a member of the southern conifer group, the podocarps. The Māori name ''rimu'' comes from the Polynesian ...

(''Dacrydium cupressinum'') and

mataī ''Prumnopitys taxifolia'', the mataī ( mi, mataī) or black pine, is an endemic (ecology), endemic New Zealand coniferous tree that grows on the North Island and South Island. It also occurs on Stewart Island/Rakiura (47 °S) but is uncommon ...

(''Prumnopitys taxifolia'') rise above a canopy of evergreen broadleaf trees that includes

kamahi ''Weinmannia racemosa'', commonly called kāmahi, is an evergreen small shrub to medium-sized tree of the family Cunoniaceae. It is the most abundant forest tree in New Zealand, occurring in lowland, montane, and subalpine forests and shrublan ...

(''Pterophylla racemosa'') and tawa (''Beilschmiedia tawa''). Middle-elevation forests on the volcanic plateau are dominated by podocarps, including rimu, miro (''Prumnopitys ferruginea''), mataī,

totara ''Podocarpus totara'' (; from the Maori-language ; the spelling "totara" is also common in English) is a species of podocarp tree endemic to New Zealand. It grows throughout the North Island and northeastern South Island in lowland, montane and ...

(''Podocarpus totara'') and

kahikatea ''Dacrycarpus dacrydioides'', commonly known as kahikatea (from Māori) and white pine, is a coniferous tree endemic to New Zealand. A podocarp, it is New Zealand's tallest tree, gaining heights of 60 m and a life span of 600 years. It was firs ...

(''Dacrycarpus dacrydioides''). Middle elevation forests on Mount Taranaki include Hall's totara (''Podocarpus laetus'') and kaikawaka (''Libocedrus bidwillii''). Higher-elevation plant communities include

southern beech ''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 ...

(''Nothofagus'') forests and tussock grasslands. Shrublands of leatherwoods, including '' Olearia colensoi'' and '' Brachyglottis rotundifolia'' are common at the treeline, with tough leaves that resist water loss from the mountain winds. Alpine communities, principally tussock grasslands, occur above the treeline.

Fauna

The ecoregion is home to several threatened native species, including the

North Island brown kiwi The North Island brown kiwi (''Apteryx mantelli''; ''Apteryx australis'' or ''Apteryx bulleri'' as before 2000, still used in some sources) is a species of kiwi that is widespread in the northern two-thirds of the North Island of New Zealand and ...

(''Apteryx mantelli''), lesser short-tailed bat (''Mystacina tuberculata''), and

North Island kōkako The North Island kōkako (''Callaeas wilsoni'') is an endangered forest bird which is endemic to the North Island of New Zealand. It is grey in colour, with a small black mask. It has blue wattles (although this colour develops with age: in the ...

(''Callaeas wilsoni''). Native reptiles include Whitaker's skink (''Cyclodina whitakeri''), forest gecko (''Mokopirirakau granulatus''), and

Wellington green gecko The Wellington green gecko (''Naultinus punctatus'') is a species of gecko found only in the southern half of the North Island of New Zealand. It was previously considered a subspecies of the Auckland green gecko, and together called the common ...

(''Naultinus punctatus'').

Conservation and threats

Most of the ecoregion's original forest is gone. In the lowlands it has mostly been replaced by agriculture, and on the plateau by pastureland and extensive plantations of exotic timber trees, principally

radiata pine ''Pinus radiata'' ( syn. ''Pinus insignis''), the Monterey pine, insignis pine or radiata pine, is a species of pine native to the Central Coast of California and Mexico (Guadalupe Island and Cedros island). It is an evergreen conifer in the fa ...

(''Pinus radiata'') introduced from

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

in the 19th century. Prior to human settlement of New Zealand, birds were the largest land animals, and the only land mammals were bats. The ecoregion was home to several species of flightless

moa Moa are extinct giant flightless birds native to New Zealand. The term has also come to be used for chicken in many Polynesian cultures and is found in the names of many chicken recipes, such as Kale moa and Moa Samoa. Moa or MOA may also refe ...

Haast's eagle Haast's eagle (''Hieraaetus moorei'') is an extinct species of eagle that once lived in the South Island of New Zealand, commonly accepted to be the pouakai of Māori legend.New Zealand swan (''Cygnus sumnerensis'') and the North Island goose (''Cnemiornis gracilis''). The

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

arrived around 1280, and are the first known humans to inhabit New Zealand. The early settlers hunted many of the large birds, including the moas, native swan, and native goose, to extinction. They brought with them the

Polynesian rat The Polynesian rat, Pacific rat or little rat (''Rattus exulans''), known to the Māori as ''kiore'', is the third most widespread species of rat in the world behind the brown rat and black rat. The Polynesian rat originated in Southeast Asia, a ...

(''Rattus exulans''). Europeans settled in the 19th century, and brought with them the

black rat The black rat (''Rattus rattus''), also known as the roof rat, ship rat, or house rat, is a common long-tailed rodent of the stereotypical rat genus ''Rattus'', in the subfamily Murinae. It likely originated in the Indian subcontinent, but is n ...

(''Rattus rattus''),

domestic cat The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members o ...

(''Felis catus''),

Norway rat The brown rat (''Rattus norvegicus''), also known as the common rat, street rat, sewer rat, wharf rat, Hanover rat, Norway rat, Norwegian rat and Parisian rat, is a widespread species of common rat. One of the largest muroids, it is a brown o ...

(''Rattus norvegicus''), and

stoat The stoat (''Mustela erminea''), also known as the Eurasian ermine, Beringian ermine and ermine, is a mustelid native to Eurasia and the northern portions of North America. Because of its wide circumpolar distribution, it is listed as Least Conc ...

(''Mustela erminea''). These introduced predators took a heavy toll on the native birds and insects, some of which survive only or mainly on offshore islands free from exotic predators. Introduced

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...

s and

Common brushtail possum The common brushtail possum (''Trichosurus vulpecula'', from the Greek for "furry tailed" and the Latin for "little fox", previously in the genus ''Phalangista'') is a nocturnal, semiarboreal marsupial of the family Phalangeridae, native to Austr ...

s (''Trichosurus vulpecula'') heavily browse the lowland forests, and possums have decimated kamahi and rata in lowland forests and kaikawaka and Hall’s totara in the southern ranges.

Protected areas

A 2017 assessment found that 16,274 km², or 19%, of the ecoregion is in protected areas. 48% of the unprotected area is still forested. Protected areas include

Tongariro National Park Tongariro National Park (; ) is the oldest national park in New Zealand,Department of Conservation"Tongariro National Park: Features", retrieved 21 April 2013 located in the central North Island. It has been acknowledged by UNESCO as a World H ...

(788.53 km²) on the volcanic plateau,

Egmont National Park Egmont National Park () is located south of New Plymouth, close to the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The park covers Mount Taranaki and its slopes. The park was first created in 1881 as a forest reserve and went on to become ...

(341.49 km²) which protects Mount Taranaki,

Whanganui National Park The Whanganui National Park is a national park located in the North Island of New Zealand. Established in 1986, it covers an area of 742 km2 bordering the Whanganui River. It incorporates areas of Crown land, former state forest and a numb ...

on the western side of the plateau,

Te Urewera Te Urewera is an area of mostly forested, sparsely populated rugged hill country in the North Island of New Zealand, a large part of which is within a protected area designated in 2014, that was formerly Te Urewera National Park. Te Urewera is t ...

(2090.72 km²) in the eastern highlands, and Tararua Forest Conservation Park (1149.21 km²) in the south.UNEP-WCMC (2020). Protected Area Profile for New Zealand from the World Database of Protected Areas, September 2020. Available at: www.protectedplanet.net

External links

References

{{reflist Ecoregions of New Zealand Forests of New Zealand Australasian ecoregions Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests