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 ...

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 ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. The ecoregion occupies the eastern portion of the island of

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

, 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 Mainland Australia, Australian mainland (more specifically the coast of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, with the exception of the land border across Boundary Islet). The ...

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 ...

of islands off Tasmania's northeast coast, and King Island 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. At the time of European contact, Aboriginal Tasmanians were divided into a numb ...

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 more than 700 species of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae. Most species of ''Eucalyptus'' are trees, often Mallee (habit), mallees, and a few are shrubs. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalyp ...

''. 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 endemic to south-eastern Australia. It has smooth bark, sometimes with rough bark near the base, lance-shaped to c ...

'', 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 wattles or acacias, is a genus of about of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa, South America, and Austral ...

Allocasuarina ''Allocasuarina'', commonly known as sheoak or she-oak, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Casuarinaceae and is endemic to Australia. Plants in the genus ''Allocasuarina'' are trees or shrubs with soft, pendulous, green branchlets, th ...

'', and ''

Exocarpos ''Exocarpos'' is a genus of Flowering plant, 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 plant, parasitic, requiring ...

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

Ben Lomond Ben Lomond (, ), , 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 Memorial Park and the Loch Lomond and The Trossach ...

and the wetter areas of King Island. ''

Eucalyptus globulus ''Eucalyptus globulus'', commonly known as southern blue gum or blue gum, is a species of flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae. It is a tall, evergreen tree Endemism, endemic to southeastern Australia. This ''Eucalyptus'' species has most ...

, Eucalyptus brookeriana'', and ''

Eucalyptus regnans ''Eucalyptus regnans'', known variously as mountain ash (in Victoria), giant ash or swamp gum (in Tasmania), or stringy gum, is a species of very tall forest tree that is native to the Australia states of Tasmania and Victoria. It is a straigh ...

'' 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 sheoak, is a species of flowering plant in the family Casuarinaceae and is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It is a small dioecious tree that has drooping branchlets up to long, the l ...

'' is predominant, sometimes forming monospecific stands, and sometimes forming woodlands with ''Callitris'' or with ''Eucalyptus viminalis'' and ''E. globulus''. '' Callitris oblonga'' 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 (; binomial name ''Thylacinus cynocephalus''), also commonly known as the Tasmanian tiger or Tasmanian wolf, was a carnivorous marsupial that was native to the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland and the islands of Tasmani ...

(''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. It was formerly present across mainland Australia, but became extinct there around 3,500 years ago; it is now con ...

(''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 (either included in the species ''Canis familiaris'', or considered one of the following independent taxa: ''Canis familiaris dingo'', ''Canis dingo'', or ''Canis lupus dingo'') is an ancient (basal (phylogenetics), basal) lineage ...

(''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 The eastern grey kangaroo (''Macropus giganteus'': gigantic large-foot; also great grey kangaroo or forester kangaroo) is a marsupial found in the eastern third of Australia, with a population of several million. Although a large ''M. giganteus ...

(''Macropus giganteus''), the Tasmanian subspecies of

common wombat The common wombat (''Vombatus ursinus''), also known as the bare-nosed wombat, is a marsupial, one of three extant species of wombats and the only one in the genus ''Vombatus''. It has three subspecies: ''Vombatus ursinus hirsutus'', found on the ...

(''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'', from Ancient Greek (), meaning "fast", and (), meaning ...

(''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 to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. The platypus is the sole living representative or monotypi ...

(''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 mammal native to forests and shrubland of southeastern Australia and Tasmania. A member of the potoroo and bettong family (Potoroidae), it lives alone and digs at night for fun ...

(''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 possum. It was first described by Oldfield Thomas in 1888, after he identified that a museum specimen label ...

(''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 (Australia), Victoria. It is one of three surviving bandi ...

(''Perameles gunnii''),

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

(''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) (alternative spellings: Tasmanian native-hen or Tasmanian native hen) is a flightless rail and one of twelve species of birds endemic to Australia’s island state of Tasmani ...

(''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'' Endemism, endemic to Tasmania. Its natural habitats are temperate forest and Mediterra ...

(''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 ...

(''Anthochaera paradoxa''), green rosella (''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 The yellow-throated honeyeater (''Nesoptilotis flavicollis'') is a species of passerine bird in the honeyeater family Meliphagidae. It is similar in behaviour and appearance to the white-eared honeyeater and is endemic to Australia, Australia's i ...

(''Nesoptilotis flavicollis''). The

swift parrot The swift parrot (''Lathamus discolor''), also known by the palawa kani name swift waylitja, is a species of broad-tailed parrot, found only in southeastern Australia. The species breeds in Tasmania during the summer and migrates north to south ...

(''Lathamus discolor'') breeds in Tasmania and ranges into southeastern Australia. The two native subspecies of

emu The emu (; ''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is a species of flightless bird endemism, endemic to Australia, where it is the Tallest extant birds, tallest native bird. It is the only extant taxon, extant member of the genus ''Dromaius'' and the ...

Tasmanian emu The Tasmanian emu (''Dromaius novaehollandiae diemenensis'') is an extinct subspecies of emu. It was found in Tasmania, where it had become isolated during the Late Pleistocene. As opposed to the other insular emu taxa, the King Island emu and th ...

(''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, Tasmania, King Island, in the Bass Strait between mainland Australia and Tasmania. Its closest relative may be the also ex ...

(''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 The Tasmanian froglet (''Crinia tasmaniensis'') is a species of ground-dwelling frog that occurs only in Tasmania, Australia. Description This is a fairly small species of frog, up to about 30 mm. It is variable, but is generally brown (d ...

(''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 ...

(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 (160.8 km²),

Freycinet National Park Freycinet National Park is a national park on the east coast of Tasmania, Australia, northeast of Hobart. It occupies a large part of the Freycinet Peninsula, named after French navigator Louis de Freycinet, and Schouten Island. Founded in 1916 ...

(169 km²), Maria Island National Park (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 (48 km²). Moulting Lagoon (45.2 km²) and Logan Lagoon (22.6 km²) are also Ramsar wetlands of international importance.

References

External links

{{commons-inline, , Tasmanian temperate forests Ecoregions of Tasmania Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests Natural history of Tasmania