montane grasslands and shrublands
Montane grasslands and shrublands are a biome defined by the World Wildlife Fund. The biome includes high elevation grasslands and shrublands around the world. The term "montane" in the name of the biome refers to "high elevation", rather than t ...
ecoregion
An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecological and geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and c ...
on the island of
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...
. The ecoregion covers the highest-elevation portions of the
New Guinea Highlands
The New Guinea Highlands, also known as the Central Range or Central Cordillera, is a long chain of mountain ranges on the island of New Guinea, including the island's highest peak, Puncak Jaya, Indonesia, , the highest mountain in Oceania. The r ...
, which extend along the spine of the island. The high elevations support rare tropical sub-alpine and alpine habitats, including many endemic plants and animals.
Geography
The ecoregion includes isolated areas above 3000 metres elevation in the Central Range, or Central Cordillera, of New Guinea, and some outliers in the mountains of the
Huon Peninsula
Huon Peninsula is a large rugged peninsula on the island of New Guinea in Morobe Province, eastern Papua New Guinea. It is named after French explorer Jean-Michel Huon de Kermadec. The peninsula is dominated by the steep Saruwaged and Finist ...
. The Central Range extends east and west across New Guinea, with the western portion of the range in
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
and the eastern portion in
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...
. High-elevation areas in the highlands include the
Snow Mountains
The Sudirman Range, also known as the Snow Mountains,"Sudirman Mountains (Snow Mountains)". Papua Insects Foundation. Accessed 5 August 2021/ref> Dugunduguoo, or Nassau Range is a mountain range in Central Papua province, Indonesia. It is named a ...
in Indonesia's Papua Province, the
Star Mountains
The Star Mountains ( Dutch ( colonial)'': Sterrengebergte''; Indonesian'': Pegunungan Bintang'') are a mountain range in eastern end of Highland Papua, Indonesia and the western Papua New Guinea, stretching from the eastern end of Indonesia t ...
on the Indonesia–Papua New Guinea border, the Central and Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea, and the
Owen Stanley Range
The Owen Stanley Range is the south-eastern part of the central mountain-chain in Papua New Guinea. Its highest point is Mount Victoria at , while its most prominent peak is Mount Suckling.
History
Owen Stanley Range was seen in 1849 by Captai ...
in Southeastern Papua.
Below 3000 metres elevation, the sub-alpine grasslands transition to montane rain forests - the
Central Range montane rain forests
The Central Range montane rain forests is a tropical moist forest ecoregion on the island of New Guinea. The ecoregion covers the Central Range of the New Guinea Highlands, which extends along the spine of the island. The montane rain forests of ...
along most of the Central Range, the
Southeastern Papuan rain forests
The Southeastern Papuan rain forests is a tropical moist forest ecoregion in southeastern New Guinea. The ecoregion covers the mountainous center and coastal lowlands of the Papuan Peninsula.
Geography
The mountains that run the length of the pe ...
in the southeast (Owen Stanley Range), and the
Huon Peninsula montane rain forests
The Huon Peninsula montane rain forests is a tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical moist forest ecoregion in New Guinea. The ecoregion covers the mountains of northeastern New Guinea's Huon Peninsula.
Geography
The ecoregion ...
on the Huon Peninsula.
Flora
Plant communities in the ecoregion include sub-alpine grasslands, shrublands, heathlands, and alpine grasslands.
High mountain forests lie below the tree line, made up of conifers – species of ''
Podocarpus
''Podocarpus'' () is a genus of conifers, the most numerous and widely distributed of the podocarp family, the Podocarpaceae. ''Podocarpus'' species are evergreen shrubs or trees, usually from tall, known to reach at times. The cones have ...
,
Dacrycarpus
''Dacrycarpus'' is a genus of conifers belonging to the Family (biology), family Podocarpaceae.Christopher N. Page. 1990. "Podocarpaceae" pages 332-346. In: Klaus Kubitzki (general editor); Karl U. Kramer and Peter S. Green (volume editors) ''The ...
Papuacedrus
''Papuacedrus papuana'' is a species in the conifer family Cupressaceae, the sole species in the genus ''Papuacedrus''. Some botanists do not consider this species as forming a distinct genus, but include it in the related genus '' Libocedrus''. ...
,
Araucaria
''Araucaria'' (; original pronunciation: .ɾawˈka. ɾja is a genus of evergreen coniferous trees in the family Araucariaceae. While today they are largely confined to the Southern Hemisphere, during the Jurassic and Cretaceous they were glo ...
'', and ''
Libocedrus
''Libocedrus'' is a genus of five species of coniferous trees in the cypress family Cupressaceae, native to New Zealand and New Caledonia. The genus is closely related to the South American genera '' Pilgerodendron'' and '' Austrocedrus'', and th ...
'' - and broadleaf trees in the
myrtle family
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 ...
. The high mountain forests typically have a low, thin canopy and prominent understory. The tree line is approximately 3000 metres in elevation, which is the upper boundary of the
Central Range montane rain forests
The Central Range montane rain forests is a tropical moist forest ecoregion on the island of New Guinea. The ecoregion covers the Central Range of the New Guinea Highlands, which extends along the spine of the island. The montane rain forests of ...
ecoregion, but in places, forests extend up to 3900 metres.
Sub-alpine communities include shrubby heaths of ''
Rhododendron
''Rhododendron'' (; : ''rhododendra'') is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the Ericaceae, heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are native to eastern Asia and the Himalayan ...
,
Vaccinium
''Vaccinium'' is a common and widespread genus of shrubs or dwarf shrubs in the heath family (Ericaceae). The fruits of many species are eaten by humans and some are of commercial importance, including the cranberry, blueberry, bilberry (wh ...
,
Coprosma
''Coprosma'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It is found in New Zealand, Hawaiian Islands, Borneo, Java, New Guinea, islands of the Pacific Ocean to Australia and the Juan Fernández Islands.
Description
The name ''Copros ...
,
Myrsine
''Myrsine'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Primulaceae. It was formerly placed in the family Myrsinaceae before this was merged into the Primulaceae. It is found nearly worldwide, primarily in tropical and subtropical areas. It co ...
'', and ''
Saurauia
''Saurauia'' is a genus of plants in the family Actinidiaceae. It comprises about over 300 species distributed in the tropics and subtropics of Asia and South and Central America. Genetic evidence and the cell biology of the group support monophy ...
'' at the forest edges, savannas of tree ferns (''
Cyathea
''Cyathea'' is a genus of tree ferns, the type genus of the fern order Cyatheales.
The genus name ''Cyathea'' is derived from the Greek ''kyatheion'', meaning "little cup", and refers to the cup-shaped sori on the underside of the fronds.
...
'' spp.) above grasses, bogs, and grasslands. Low shrublands and ''
Deschampsia
''Deschampsia'' is a genus of plants in the grass family Poaceae, commonly known as hair grass or tussock grass. The genus is widespread across many countries.Ranunculus
''Ranunculus'' is a large genus of about 1750 species of flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae. Members of the genus are known as buttercups, spearworts and water crowfoots.
The genus is distributed worldwide, primarily in temperate an ...
,
Potentilla
''Potentilla'' is a genus containing over 500 species of Annual plant, annual, Biennial plant, biennial and Perennial plant, perennial herbaceous plant, herbaceous flowering plants in the rose family (biology), family, Rosaceae.
Potentillas m ...
,
Gentiana
''Gentiana'' () is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the gentian family (Gentianaceae), the tribe Gentianeae, and the monophyletic subtribe Gentianinae. With over 300 species, it is considered a large genus. Gentians are notable for their ...
'', and ''
Epilobium
''Epilobium'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Onagraceae, containing about 197 species. The genus has a worldwide distribution. It is most prevalent in the subarctic, temperate and subantarctic regions, whereas in the subtropics and ...
''; grasses, including species of ''
Poa
''Poa'' is a genus of about 570 species of Poaceae, grasses, native to the temperate regions of both hemispheres. Common names include meadow-grass (mainly in Europe and Asia), bluegrass (mainly in North America), tussock (some New Zealand spe ...
'' and ''
Deschampsia
''Deschampsia'' is a genus of plants in the grass family Poaceae, commonly known as hair grass or tussock grass. The genus is widespread across many countries.Rosette plants and cushion herbs, low ferns, mosses, and lichens become more abundant at increasing elevations and replace grasses above 4,300 metres elevation. Permanent ice, snow, and bare rock are found at the highest elevations.
Fauna
Only ten mammals are native to the ecoregion. These include three marsupials ( Doria's tree kangaroo, (''Dendrolagus dorianus''), a black-tailed dasyure (''Murexia melanurus''), and a
cuscus
Cuscus ( or ) is the common name generally given to the species within the four genera of Australasian possum of the family Phalangeridae with the most tropical distribution:
* '' Ailurops''
* '' Phalanger''
* '' Spilocuscus''
* '' Strigocu ...
), four
murid rodents
The Muridae, or murids, are either the largest or second-largest family of rodents and of mammals, containing approximately 870 species, including many species of mice, rats, and gerbils found naturally throughout Eurasia, Africa, and Australia.
...
(the
western shrew mouse
The western shrew mouse (''Pseudohydromys occidentalis'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found in West Papua, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an ...
(''Pseudohydromys occidentalis''),
glacier rat
The glacier rat (''Rattus richardsoni'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is endemic to the New Guinea Highlands near Puncak Trikora (=Mt. Wilhelmina) and Puncak Jaya (=Carstensz Pyramid), West Papua, Indonesia. Its altitudinal ...
(''Rattus richardsoni''), and
alpine woolly rat
The alpine woolly rat (''Mallomys gunung'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae.
It is found only in West Papua, Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the ...
(''Mallomys gunung''), and one other), two Microchiropteran bats, and the
New Guinea singing dog
The New Guinea singing dog or New Guinea Highland dog (''Canis lupus hallstromi'') is an ancient ( basal) lineage of dog found in the New Guinea Highlands, on the island of New Guinea. Once considered to be a separate species in its own right, ...
(''Canis familiaris)''. The western shrew mouse, glacier rat, and alpine wooly rat are
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...
to the ecoregion.
There are 84 native bird species in the ecoregion. Four species are strictly endemic – the
Snow Mountain quail
The Snow Mountain quail (''Synoicus monorthonyx''), is a roughly 28-cm-long (11 in), dark brown quail of alpine grasslands. It was formerly considered the only member of the genus ''Anurophasis'', but phylogenetic analysis places it as the ...
(''Anurophasis monorthonyx''), Snow Mountain robin (''Petroica archboldi''),
Short-bearded honeyeater
The short-bearded honeyeater (''Melionyx nouhuysi'') is a species of bird in the honeyeater family Meliphagidae. It is found mainly in West Papua. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.
This species was formerly ...
(''Melidectes nouhuysi''), and
Long-bearded honeyeater
The long-bearded honeyeater (''Melionyx princeps''), is a bird in the honeyeater family Meliphagidae.
This species was formerly placed in the genus ''Melidectes''. It was moved to the resurrected genus ''Melionyx'' based on the results of a mole ...
(''Melidectes princeps'').
Another 20 limited-range bird species inhabit the ecoregion and the adjacent lower-elevation montane forests. These limited-range species include the
painted tiger parrot
The painted tiger parrot (''Psittacella picta'') is a species of parrot in the family Psittaculidae.
It is mainly found in Papua New Guinea.
Description
The painted tiger parrot has green wings and tail, red cap, yellow eye, red rump and tiger ...
greater ground robin
The greater ground robin (''Amalocichla sclateriana'') is a species of bird in the family Petroicidae. It is found in New Guinea.
Taxonomy and systematics
There are two recognised subspecies of the greater ground robin:
* ''A. s. sclateriana ...
black sittella
The black sittella (''Daphoenositta miranda'') is one of two species of birds in the family Neosittidae.
It is found in endemic to New Guinea, where it is found in the highlands.
References
* del Hoyo, J.; Elliot, A. & Christie D. (editors) ...
spangled honeyeater
The spangled honeyeater (''Melipotes ater'') is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae.
It is Endemism, endemic to the Huon Peninsula (Papua New Guinea).
Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.
References ...
(''Melipotes ater''),
sooty honeyeater
The sooty honeyeater (''Melionyx fuscus'') is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is found in the New Guinea Highlands. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forest.
This species was formerly placed in the ge ...
mountain firetail
The mountain firetail (''Oreostruthus fuliginosus'') is a common species of estrildid finch found in New Guinea. It has an estimated global extent of occurrence of . It is the only species in the genus ''Oreostruthus''.
It is commonly found in u ...
brown sicklebill
The brown sicklebill (''Epimachus meyeri'') is a species of bird-of-paradise that is found in the mountain forests of New Guinea.
Its appearance resembles the closely related and larger black sicklebill. In areas where these two large sicklebills ...
(''Epimachus meyeri''),
Princess Stephanie's astrapia
Stephanie's astrapia (''Astrapia stephaniae''), also known as Princess Stephanie's astrapia, is a species of bird-of-paradise of the family Paradisaeidae, native to the Bird's Tail Peninsula (Papua New Guinea). This species was first described ...
(''Astrapia stephaniae''),
splendid astrapia
The splendid astrapia (''Astrapia splendidissima'') is a species of ''Astrapia'' of the birds-of-paradise family, Bird-of-paradise, Paradisaeidae.
It lives mainly in the mountain forests of Papua New Guinea. Male birds are known for their bright ...
(''Astrapia splendidissima''),
ribbon-tailed astrapia
The ribbon-tailed astrapia, also known as Shaw Mayer's astrapia (''Astrapia mayeri''), is a species of bird-of-paradise.
The ribbon-tailed astrapia is distributed and endemic to subalpine forests in western part of the central highlands of Papua ...
(''Astrapia mayeri''), and
Huon astrapia
The Huon astrapia (''Astrapia rothschildi''), also known as Rothschild's astrapia, Huon bird-of-paradise, or Lord Rothschild's bird-of-paradise, is a species of bird-of-paradise belonging to the genus '' Astrapia''. Like most of its congeners, '' ...
(''Astrapia rothschildi'').
Protected areas
40.25% of the ecoregion is in protected areas. These include
Lorentz National Park
Lorentz National Park is an Indonesian national park located in the provinces of Central Papua, Highland Papua and South Papua, in the southwest of western New Guinea. With an area of 25,056 km2 (9,674 mi2), it is the largest national p ...
,
Enarotali Nature Reserve
Enarotali Nature Reserve is a protected area in Central Papua Province of Western (Indonesian) New Guinea. It has an area of 3000 km2.
The reserve is in New Guinea's Central Highlands. The western portion of the reserve covers the eastern end o ...
YUS Conservation Area
YUS Conservation Area is a protected area on the Huon Peninsula, Morobe Province of Papua New Guinea. It was established in 2009 as Papua New Guinea's first conservation area, and named after the Yopno, Uruwa and Som rivers that flow through it. T ...
.
See also
*
List of highest mountains of New Guinea
This list of highest mountains of New Guinea shows all mountains on the island of New Guinea that are at least high and have a topographic prominence of or more. These 50 peaks are also the highest mountains of Australasia and the Australia ( ...