The Richmond temperate forests is an

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 ...

covering the northern part of

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 ...

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

Location and description

This area includes the mountain valleys of the Kaikoura Ranges with its high peak at the 2880-metre Mount Tapuaenuku, while to the south lies the beech-covered Spencer Range, and to the north and east lies open land running down to the

Marlborough Sounds The Marlborough Sounds are an extensive network of sea-drowned valleys at the northern end of the South Island of New Zealand. The Marlborough Sounds were created by a combination of land subsidence and rising sea levels. According to Māori m ...

at the tip of the island. The wide valleys of the Wairau and Awatere rivers divide the region. The climate is characterised by a hot summer and a cold, dry winter.

Flora

The native flora of this north country is

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 ...

beech forest with red beech (''

Nothofagus fusca ''Nothofagus fusca'', commonly known as red beech (Māori: tawhai raunui) is a species of southern beech, endemic to New Zealand, where it occurs on both the North Island and South Island. Generally it is found on lower hills and inland valley fl ...

'') and silver beech ('' N. menziesii'') in the lower, warmer, more fertile areas and hard beech ('' N. truncata'') in the more exposed areas. Notable plants include the

sedge The Cyperaceae are a family of graminoid (grass-like), monocotyledonous flowering plants known as sedges. The family is large, with some 5,500 known species described in about 90 genera, the largest being the "true sedges" genus ''Carex'' wit ...

'' Carex uncifolia''.

Fauna

The black-eyed gecko ('' Hoplodactylus kahutarae''), New Zealand’s only alpine gecko is endemic to the north of South island, which is also home to the vulnerable scree skint ('' Oligosoma waimatense'') and four species of

giant weta In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: '' gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 fro ...

including Kaikoura giant weta ('' Deinacrida parva'') and the Kaikoura Ranges weta (''

Deinacrida elegans ''Deinacrida elegans'' is a species of wētā in family Anostostomatidae. It is Endemism, endemic to New Zealand. Description ''Deinacrida elegans'' is a species of wētā, one of New Zealand’s largest terrestrial invertebrates. The genus ...

''). The islands in the Marlborough Sounds have more endemic species of their own.

Threats and preservation

There are a number of protected areas along the Marlborough Sounds (on the islands in particular) and inland in the

Nelson Lakes National Park Nelson Lakes National Park is in the South Island of New Zealand, at the northern end of the Southern Alps. It was formed after the passing of the National Parks Act in 1952. It was created in 1956 (one of four created in the 1950s). The park co ...

and

Mount Richmond Forest Park Mount Richmond Forest Park is a forest park in New Zealand, administered by the Department of Conservation. Established in 1977, the forest park is located between Nelson and Marlborough and consists of of conservation estate. Around 80% of the ...

References

{{reflist Ecoregions of New Zealand Forests of New Zealand Geography of the Tasman District Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests Australasian ecoregions Geography of Canterbury, New Zealand Marlborough Region