The Tasmanian 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 ...

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 ...

. The ecoregion occupies the eastern portion of the island of

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

, which lies south of the Australian mainland.

Geography

The ecoregion occupies the eastern portion of Tasmania, as well as islands in the

Bass Strait Bass Strait () is a strait separating the island state of Tasmania from the Australian mainland (more specifically the coast of Victoria, with the exception of the land border across Boundary Islet). The strait provides the most direct waterwa ...

separating Tasmania from Australia – the

Furneaux Group The Furneaux Group is a group of approximately 100 islands located at the eastern end of Bass Strait, between Victoria and Tasmania, Australia. The islands were named after British navigator Tobias Furneaux, who sighted the eastern side of th ...

of islands off Tasmania's northeast coast, and

King Island King Island, Kings Island or King's Island may refer to: Australia * King Island (Queensland) * King Island, at Wellington Point, Queensland * King Island (Tasmania) ** King Island Council, the local government area that contains the Tasmanian is ...

northwest of Tasmania.

Climate

The ecoregion has a temperate climate. It is located on the drier eastern side of Tasmania, and average annual rainfall varies from . Rainfall is variable from year to year and month to month, with no pronounced seasonal minimum. Rain generally falls in light showers, with the heaviest rainfall during the spring or autumn.

Flora

Plant communities in the ecoregion include dry sclerophyll eucalypt forest, wet sclerophyll eucalypt forest, ''Allocasuarina-Callitris'' woodland, rainforest, grassland, and heath. Fire shaped the plant communities in eastern Tasmania. For thousands of years, the

Aboriginal Tasmanians The Aboriginal Tasmanians (Palawa kani: ''Palawa'' or ''Pakana'') are the Aboriginal people of the Australian island of Tasmania, located south of the mainland. For much of the 20th century, the Tasmanian Aboriginal people were widely, and ...

deliberately set regular fires, which transformed much of the landscape into open savanna and woodland of fire-adapted plants dominated by species of ''

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 ...

''. Settlers from Europe started arriving in the 18th century, and mostly displaced the Aboriginal Tasmanians. These settlers ceased the regular burning of the landscape, and many of the open savannas and woodlands grew into shrubby forests. European settlers also altered the landscape by grazing livestock, logging forests for timber, and establishing forestry plantations of exotic trees. The dry eucalypt forests have an open canopy. Peppermint eucalypts, including ''

Eucalyptus amygdalina ''Eucalyptus amygdalina'', commonly known as black peppermint, is a species of flowering plant that is endemic to Tasmania. It is a small to medium-sized tree with rough bark on park of the trunk, smooth grey to brown bark above, lance-shaped to ...

, Eucalyptus pulchella'', and ''

Eucalyptus viminalis ''Eucalyptus viminalis'', commonly known as the manna gum, white gum or ribbon gum, is a species of small to very tall tree that is Endemism, endemic to south-eastern Australia. It has smooth bark, sometimes with rough bark near the base, lance-s ...

'', are the predominant trees, growing more than 5 meters in height. There is an understorey of xerophytic shrubs and small trees, including species of ''

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 ...

Allocasuarina ''Allocasuarina'' is a genus of trees in the flowering plant family Casuarinaceae. They are endemic to Australia, occurring primarily in the south. Like the closely related genus ''Casuarina'', they are commonly called sheoaks or she-oaks. Wi ...

'', and ''

Exocarpos ''Exocarpos'' is a genus of flowering shrubs and small trees in the sandalwood family, Santalaceae. They are found throughout Southeast Asia, Australia and the Pacific Islands. They are semi-parasitic, requiring the roots of a host tree, a tr ...

''. Wet eucalypt forest is found on the higher slopes of

Ben Lomond Ben Lomond (Scottish Gaelic: Beinn Laomainn, 'Beacon Mountain'), , is a mountain in the Scottish Highlands. Situated on the eastern shore of Loch Lomond, it is the most southerly of the Munros. Ben Lomond lies within the Ben Lomond National Me ...

and the wetter areas of King Island. ''

Eucalyptus globulus ''Eucalyptus globulus'', commonly known as southern blue gum or blue gum, is a species of tall, evergreen tree endemic to southeastern Australia. This ''Eucalyptus'' species has mostly smooth bark, juvenile leaves that are whitish and waxy on ...

, Eucalyptus brookeriana'', and ''

Eucalyptus regnans ''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 eucal ...

'' are the predominant trees. There are also patches of rainforest in areas sheltered from fire, and alpine vegetation on mountain peaks. Low, dry ''Allocasuarina-Callitris'' woodlands are found on the Furneaux Group and along the east coast of Tasmania. These woodlands are sensitive to fire disturbance. ''

Allocasuarina verticillata ''Allocasuarina verticillata'', commonly known as drooping she-oak or drooping sheoak, is a nitrogen fixing native tree of southeastern Australia. Originally collected in Tasmania and described as ''Casuarina verticillata'' by French naturalist ...

'' is predominant, sometimes forming monospecific stands, and sometimes forming woodlands with ''Callitris'' or with ''Eucalyptus viminalis'' and ''E. globulus''. ''

Callitris oblonga ''Callitris oblonga'', also known as the South Esk pine, pygmy cypress pine, pigmy cypress pine, river pine, or Tasmanian cypress pine,Eckenwalder, J.E. 2009. ''Conifers of the World: The Complete Reference''. Timber Press is a species of conife ...

'' is low shrubby tree found in Tasmania's dry woodlands. ''

Callitris rhomboidea ''Callitris rhomboidea'', commonly known as the Oyster Bay pine, Tasmanian cypress pine, Port Jackson pine, Illawarra Mountain pine, or dune cypress pine, is a species of conifer in the family Cupressaceae. It is native to Australia, occurring i ...

'' grows in fire-protected sites on Tasmania and the Furneaux Group, where it can grow up to 30 metres high. Prior to European settlement, Bass Strait islands were mostly covered with dry sclerophyll woodland, wet and dry forests, and heath. Wet sclerophyll forests with some rainforest species were found in wetter areas of King Island, but these forests have mostly been destroyed. ''Allocasuarina-Callitris'' woodlands occurred in drier areas of the Furneaux Group. Many of the smaller islands are now covered in tussock grasslands of ''

Poa poiformis ''Poa poiformis'', commonly known as coast tussock-grass or blue tussock-grass, is a densely tufted, erect, perennial tussock grass, with distinctive blue-green leaves, that grows to about 1 m in height. Its inflorescences are arranged in a ...

Fauna

Tasmania and the Bass Strait islands were connected to Australia during the ice ages when sea levels were lower, and shared a marsupial mammal fauna. The largest carnivores were the

thylacine The thylacine ( , or , also ) (''Thylacinus cynocephalus'') is an extinct carnivorous marsupial that was native to the Australian mainland and the islands of Tasmania and New Guinea. The last known live animal was captured in 1930 in Tasman ...

(''Thylacinus cynocephalus''), which was hunted to extinction by the early 20th century, and the

Tasmanian devil The Tasmanian devil (''Sarcophilus harrisii'') (palawa kani: purinina) is a carnivorous marsupial of the family Dasyuridae. Until recently, it was only found on the island state of Tasmania, but it has been reintroduced to New South Wales in ...

(''Sarcophilus harrisii''). Both the thylacine and the Tasmanian devil were once widespread on mainland Australia, but went extinct there prior to European colonization. The

dingo The dingo (''Canis familiaris'', ''Canis familiaris dingo'', ''Canis dingo'', or ''Canis lupus dingo'') is an ancient (Basal (phylogenetics), basal) lineage of dog found in Australia (continent), Australia. Its taxonomic classification is de ...

(''Canis lupus dingo''), brought to Australia by Aboriginals, and may have out-competed the marsupial predators there, but dingoes were never introduced to Tasmania. Larger herbivores include the

red-necked wallaby The red-necked wallaby or Bennett's wallaby (''Notamacropus rufogriseus'') is a medium-sized macropod marsupial (wallaby), common in the more temperate and fertile parts of eastern Australia, including Tasmania. Red-necked wallabies have been i ...

(''Macropus rufogriseus''), eastern grey kangaroo (''Macropus giganteus''), the Tasmanian subspecies of

common wombat The common wombat (''Vombatus ursinus''), also known as the coarse-haired wombat or bare-nosed wombat, is a marsupial, one of three extant species of wombats and the only one in the genus ''Vombatus''. The common wombat grows to an average of lo ...

(''Vombatus ursinus tasmaniensis''), and the Flinders Island wombat (''V. u. ursinus''). The

short-beaked echidna The short-beaked echidna (''Tachyglossus aculeatus''), also called the short-nosed echidna, is one of four living species of echidna and the only member of the genus ''Tachyglossus''. It is covered in fur and spines and has a distinctive snou ...

(''Tachyglossus aculeatus'') prefers sclerophyll forests and heaths. The

platypus The platypus (''Ornithorhynchus anatinus''), sometimes referred to as the duck-billed platypus, is a semiaquatic, egg-laying mammal Endemic (ecology), endemic to Eastern states of Australia, eastern Australia, including Tasmania. The platypu ...

(''Ornithorhynchus anatimus'') lives in freshwater habitats across Tasmania and on King Island. Other mammals include the

long-nosed potoroo The long-nosed potoroo (''Potorous tridactylus'') is a small, hopping, gerbil-like mammal native to forests and shrubland of southeastern Australia and Tasmania. A member of the rat-kangaroo family (Potoroidae), it lives alone and digs at night f ...

(''Potorous tridactylus''), Tasmanian bettong (''Bettongia gaimardi''),

Tasmanian pygmy possum The Tasmanian pygmy possum (''Cercartetus lepidus''), also known as the little pygmy possum or tiny pygmy possum, is the world's smallest Phalangeriformes, possum. It was first described by Oldfield Thomas in 1888, after he identified that a mus ...

(''Cercartetus lepidus''),

eastern barred bandicoot The eastern barred bandicoot (''Perameles gunnii'') is a nocturnal, rabbit-sized marsupial endemic to southeastern Australia, being native to the island of Tasmania and mainland Victoria. It is one of three surviving bandicoot species in the ge ...

(''Perameles gunnii''),

tiger quoll The tiger quoll (''Dasyurus maculatus''), also known as the spotted-tail quoll, the spotted quoll, the spotted-tail dasyure, native cat or the tiger cat, is a carnivorous marsupial of the quoll genus ''Dasyurus'' native to Australia. With males ...

(''Dasyurus maculatus''), and

eastern quoll The eastern quoll (''Dasyurus viverrinus'', formerly known as the eastern native cat) is a medium-sized carnivorous marsupial (dasyurid), and one of six extant species of quolls. Endemic to Australia, they occur on the island state of Tasmania, ...

(''D. viverrinus''). Many native birds are limited to Tasmania and the Bass Strait islands, including the

forty-spotted pardalote The forty-spotted pardalote (''Pardalotus quadragintus'') is one of Australia's rarest birds and by far the rarest pardalote, being confined to a few colonies in the south-east corner of Tasmania, mainly on Maria Island and Bruny Island. Desc ...

(''Pardalotus quadragintus''),

Tasmanian native hen The Tasmanian nativehen (''Tribonyx mortierii'') (palawa kani: piyura) (alternate spellings: Tasmanian native-hen or Tasmanian native hen) is a flightless rail and one of twelve species of birds endemic to the Australian island of Tasmania. Alth ...

(''Gallinula mortierii''),

black-headed honeyeater The black-headed honeyeater (''Melithreptus affinis'') is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is one of two members of the genus '' Melithreptus'' endemic to Tasmania. Its natural habitats are temperate forest and Mediterranean-typ ...

(''Melithreptus affinis''),

yellow wattlebird The yellow wattlebird (''Anthochaera paradoxa'') is a species of bird in the honeyeater family Meliphagidae. Other names include the long wattlebird or Tasmanian wattlebird. Taxonomy French zoologist François Marie Daudin described the yellow w ...

(''Anthochaera paradoxa''),

green rosella The green rosella or Tasmanian rosella (''Platycercus caledonicus'') is a species of parrot native to Tasmania and Bass Strait islands. It was described by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1788, and named on the mistaken ass ...

(''Platycercus caledonicus''),

Tasmanian scrubwren The Tasmanian scrubwren or brown scrubwren (''Sericornis humilis'') is a bird species endemic to the temperate forests of Tasmania and nearby King Island. It lives in the understory of rainforest, woodland, dry forest, swamps and coastal scrubla ...

(''Sericornis humilis''), and yellow-throated honeyeater (''Nesoptilotis flavicollis''). The swift parrot (''Lathamus discolor'') breeds in Tasmania and ranges into southeastern Australia. The two native subspecies of

emu The emu () (''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is the second-tallest living bird after its ratite relative the ostrich. It is endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and the only extant member of the genus ''Dromaius''. The emu' ...

, Tasmanian emu (''Dromaius novaehollandiae diemenensis'') and

King Island emu The King Island emu (''Dromaius novaehollandiae minor'') is an extinct subspecies of emu that was endemic to King Island, in the Bass Strait between mainland Australia and Tasmania. Its closest relative may be the extinct Tasmanian emu (''D. n ...

(''Dromaius novaehollandiae minor''), were hunted to extinction. There are about ten native species of lizards, including the mountain dragon (''Rankinia diemensis'') and the endemic Rawlinson's window-eyed skink (''Pseudemoia rawlinsoni''). The two endemic amphibians are the

Tasmanian tree frog The Tasmanian tree frog (''Litoria burrowsi''), also known as king tree frog, is a species of tree frog that is found on the west coast of Tasmania, Australia. It was first found by Myrtle Burrows in 1941, at Cradle Mountain and handed over to Sco ...

(''Litoria burrowsi'') and Tasmanian froglet (''Crinia tasmaniensis'').

Protected areas

Protected areas include

Ben Lomond National Park Ben Lomond is a mountain in the north-east of Tasmania, Australia. The mountain is composed of a central massif with an extensive plateau above and high outlier peaks projecting from the mountain. The highest feature on the plateau is t ...

(181.9 km²),

Mount William National Park Mount William is a national park, mountain, and locality in Tasmania (Australia), 234 km northeast of Hobart. Established in 1973 as an 8,640 hectares large national park, it has been expanded multiple times, reaching 13,806 ha in 1980 and ...

(184.39 km²),

Douglas-Apsley National Park Douglas-Apsley is a national park and a locality on the east coast of Tasmania, Australia, 149 km northeast of Hobart, and a few kilometres north of Bicheno. It is one of Tasmania's newer National Parks, having been declared on 27 Decembe ...

(160.8 km²),

Freycinet National Park Freycinet National Park is a national park on the east coast of Tasmania, Australia, 125 km northeast of Hobart. It occupies a large part of the Freycinet Peninsula, named after French navigator Louis de Freycinet, and Schouten Island. Foun ...

(169 km²),

Maria Island National Park Maria Island National Park occupies the whole of Maria Island off the east coast of Tasmania, Australia, 69 km (straight-line distance) northeast of Hobart or about 90 kilometres by road to Triabunna followed by a ferry ride. The island ha ...

(115 km²), Lavinia State Reserve (78.8 km²), Lime Bay State Reserve (15.1 km²), Logan Lagoon Conservation Area (48.7 km²), Mount Barrow State Reserve (15.8 km²), St. Patricks Head State Reserve (13.2 km²), and

Moulting Lagoon Game Reserve Moulting Lagoon Important Bird Area is a composite wetland site in eastern Tasmania, Australia. It comprises two adjacent and hydrologically continuous wetlands – Moulting Lagoon and the Apsley Marshes – at the head of Great Oyster Bay, ...

(48 km²). Moulting Lagoon (45.2 km²) and Logan Lagoon (22.6 km²) are also Ramsar wetlands of international importance.

References

{{reflist Ecoregions of Tasmania Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests Natural history of Tasmania