The Richmond temperate forests is an

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 ...

covering the northern part of

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

Location and description

This area includes the mountain valleys of the

Kaikōura Ranges The Kaikōura Ranges are two parallel ranges of mountains located in the Canterbury Region in the northeast of the South Island of New Zealand. The two ranges are visible from a great distance, including from the southern coast of the North Isla ...

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 (Māori language, te reo Māori: ''Te Tauihu-o-te-Waka'') are an extensive network of ria, sea-drowned valleys at the northern end of the South Island of New Zealand. The Marlborough Sounds were created by a combination ...

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, found across southern South America (Chile, Argentina) and east and southeast Australia, New Zealand, New Guin ...

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, occurring on both the North and South Island. It is generally found on lower hills and inland valley floors where s ...

'') 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 wikt:sedge, sedges. The family (biology), family is large; botanists have species description, described some 5,500 known species in about 90 ...

'' 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 humanoid appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 from ...

including Kaikoura giant weta ('' Deinacrida parva'') and the Kaikoura Ranges weta ('' Deinacrida elegans''). 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 created in 1956 (one of four created in the 1950s). The park contains beech forests, multiple lakes, snow-covered mountains and v ...

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 t ...

References

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