The Samoan tropical moist forests are a tropical moist broadleaf forest

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 ...

in the

Samoan Islands The Samoan Islands () are an archipelago covering in the central Pacific Ocean, South Pacific, forming part of Polynesia and of the wider region of Oceania. Political geography, Administratively, the archipelago comprises all of the Samoa, Indep ...

of the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

. Approximately 30% of Samoa's biodiversity is

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 ...

, found only in Samoa, with new species still being discovered including two new butterflies in 2009 and freshwater fish new to science. The country has more native species of ferns and butterflies than

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 ...

, a country 85 times larger.

Geography

The Samoan Islands are in the central Pacific Ocean. They are volcanic in origin. The islands have a total area of . The largest islands in the group are Savai'i and

Upolu Upolu is an island in Samoa, formed by a massive basaltic shield volcano which rises from the seafloor of the western Pacific Ocean. The island is long and in area, making it the second largest of the Samoan Islands by area. With approximate ...

. The islands are politically divided between

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

, an independent country; and

American Samoa American Samoa is an Territories of the United States, unincorporated and unorganized territory of the United States located in the Polynesia region of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. Centered on , it is southeast of the island count ...

, an unincorporated territory of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The islands are located south of the equator, and have a humid tropical climate. Rainfall exceeds annually.

Flora

Plant communities include lowland rain forest, which is the most extensive, with montane forests and cloud forests at higher elevations. There are smaller areas of montane scrub, pandanus scrub, littoral (seashore) scrub, montane swamp forest, and summit scrub. Lowland rainforest was once the largest plant community on the islands, although over 80% of it has been converted. Characteristic trees are '' Diospyros samoensis, Diospyros foliosa,

Calophyllum inophyllum ''Calophyllum inophyllum'' is a large evergreen plant, commonly called tamanu, oil-nut, mastwood, beach calophyllum or beautyleaf. It is native to the Old World Tropics, from Africa through Asia to Australia and Polynesia. Due to its importance a ...

, Didymocheton alliaceus, Didymocheton gaudichaudianus, Pometia pinnata, Planchonella torricellensis, Myristica fatua'', and species of '' Syzygium''. '' Fagraea berteroana, Glochidion ramiflorum, Lepidocupania brackenridgei'', and ''

Morinda citrifolia ''Morinda citrifolia'' is a fruit-bearing tree in the coffee family, Rubiaceae, native to Southeast Asia and Australasia, which was spread across the Pacific by Polynesian sailors. The species is now cultivated throughout the tropics and widel ...

'' grow on rocky lowland lava flows. Montane rain forest grows on lower mountain slopes, which have a cooler and wetter climate than the lowlands. '' Didymocheton huntii'' is the dominant canopy tree, with '' Pterophylla samoensis, Canarium harveyi, Rhus taitensis'', and species of '' Syzygium'' and '' Astronidium''. ''Morinda citrifolia, Metrosideros vitiensis'', and ''Pterophylla samoensis'' grow on upland lava flows. Cloud forest forms on higher mountain slopes with almost continuous cloud cover and high rainfall above 650 meters elevation. Typical cloud forest trees are '' Polyscias pleiosperma, Pterophylla samoensis, Didymocheton huntii'', and '' Coprosma savaiiensis''. Tree ferns ('' Cyathea'' spp.), the fern '' Dicranopteris linearis'', and the climber '' Freycinetia storckii'' grow in the forest understory. Low scrubby plants, including the Samoan endemics '' Vaccinium whitmeei, Spiraeanthemum samoense'', and '' Coprosma strigulosa'', grow on the highest-elevation lava flows. The Central Savai'i Rainforest, comprising an area of on the island of Savai'i in the Samoan Islands, is the largest continuous patch of rainforest in

Polynesia Polynesia ( , ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of more than 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are called Polynesians. They have many things in ...

. The area contains more than 100 volcanic craters including recent lava flows. The rainforest spans the inland region of the island, and includes montane forest and cloud forest which contain most of

native species, many of which are threatened or near extinction. The endemic shrub '' Metrosideros gregoryi'' is known only from Matavanu crater on Savai'i.Pillon, Yohan (2018). A new species of Metrosideros (Myrtaceae) from Vanuatu and notes on the genus. ''Phytotaxa'' Vol. 347 No. 2: 13 April 2018: 197–200. DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.347.2.10 Littoral or coastal strand plant communities include trees and shrubs like '' Scaevola taccada,

Pandanus tectorius ''Pandanus tectorius'' is a species of ''Pandanus'' (screwpine) that is native to Malesia, Papuasia, eastern Australia, and the Pacific Islands. It grows in the coastal lowlands typically near the edge of the ocean. Common names in English inclu ...

, Barringtonia asiatica, Calophyllum inophyllum, Pisonia grandis'', and

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (biology), family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, ...

palm (''Cocos nucifera'') which are widespread along seacoasts in the

Indo-Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...

region.

Fauna

Endemic birds include the rare and unusual tooth-billed pigeon (''Didinculus strigirostris''), known locally as manumea and Samoa's national bird, and other birds such as the maomao honeyeater (''Gymnomyza samoensis''). The Samoan white-eye (''Zosterops samoensis'') and Samoan moorhen (''Gallinula pacifica'') are both endemic to Savai'i. The Samoan moorhen was last recorded in 1873 with possible sightings in 1984 at the upland forests and at Mount Silisili in 2003.

Conservation

Most of Samoa's land is under customary ownership, about 81% of which is governed at the local level by '' matai'', the chiefly heads of families. Conservation projects therefore take place in partnership with ''matai'', such as the lowland rainforest preserve in Falealupo village, at the western tip of Savai'i and Tafua village on the south east coast. Some of the islands' plants are used for food, fiber, and traditional Samoan medicine (see

Samoan plant names Below are some Samoan plant names in alphabetical order in the Samoan language and their corresponding descriptions in English language, English. Many are used in traditional medicines in the Samoa Islands comprising Samoa and American Samoa. Se ...

). In 1994,

ratified the international and legally binding treaty, the

Convention on Biological Diversity The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), known informally as the Biodiversity Convention, is a multilateral treaty. The Convention has three main goals: the conservation of biological diversity (or biodiversity); the sustainable use of its ...

to develop national strategies for conservation and sustainable use of

biological diversity Biodiversity is the variability of life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distributed evenly on Eart ...

. By 2010 protected areas in the country covered 5% of land. Protected areas include Cornwall National Park (24.94 km²), Lata National Park (49.92 km²), and Mauga o Salafai National Park (59.73 km²) on Savai'i, Lake Lanotoo National Park (4.7 km²) and O Le Pupu-Puʿe National Park (50.19 km²) on Upolu,"Samoa". ''Protected Planet''. Accessed 27 May 2020

/ref> and the

National Park of American Samoa The National Park of American Samoa is a national park of the United States located in the territory of American Samoa, distributed across three islands: Tutuila, Ofu, and Taʻū. The park preserves and protects coral reefs, tropical rainfores ...

Tutuila Tutuila is the largest and most populous island of American Samoa and is part of the archipelago of the Samoan Islands. It is the third largest island in the Samoan Islands chain of the Central Pacific. It is located roughly northeast of Brisba ...

, Ofu, and Ta‘ū.

Gallery

File:Savaii3.JPG, NASA satellite photo of Savai'i island. File:Top of Falealupo rainforest.JPG, View across the top of low-lying rainforest in Falealupo. File:Hypolimnas bolina in Japan.jpg, '' Hypolimnas bolina'' butterfly. File:Canopy Falealupo Rainforest, Savaii.JPG, Forest canopy in Falealupo.

External links

Samoan tropical moist forests (World Wildlife Fund)

References

{{Clear Biota of Samoa Nature conservation in Samoa Environment of Samoa Environment of American Samoa . . * * Oceanian ecoregions Samoan Islands Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests Ecoregions of American Samoa Endemic Bird Areas