Weitin River valley, New Ireland, Papua New Guinea Photograph by Jim Mori   Papua New Guinea, in the western Pacific Ocean Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests   4,700 square miles (12,100 square kilometers) -- about the size of Connectictut Critical/Endangered

· Shelter in the Mountains
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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Shelter in the Mountains

If you hiked up to the mountains of this island ecoregion, you would notice that the landscape looks very similar to the lowlands÷at first. Gradually, however, you would find the trees becoming shorter, leaves becoming smaller and thicker, and tree crowns becoming smaller (Mueller-Dombois and Fosberg 1998). The air would become more humid as the temperature dropped. You would witness an incredible diversity of plants and animals living in these forests.

Special Features

The montane forests of New Britain and New Ireland, the dominant islands in the chain known as the Bismarck archipelago, resemble the lowland ecoregion in that both ecoregions contain a rich array of species. A key difference of the upper reaches, however, is its extreme karst topography. Karst is irregular limestone in which erosion has created pit marks, fissures, sinkholes, and caves. In these forests, the karst topography is rugged and relatively inaccessible, providing natural protection from the timber industry. The montane forests capture freshwater provided by clouds, continually supplying it to streams. This helps maintain water resources for the year-round.

	The peregrine falcon÷which pesticides once threatened almost to the point of extinction in North America÷is one of the top predator species of this ecoregion.

Wild Side

As in the lowland areas, the dominant mammal species at higher elevations are bats. Endangered species include the New Guinea pademelon, which looks similar to a kangaroo, and the Bismarck trumpet-eared bat. The ecoregion also is home to 30 bird species endemic to the region, with three species, the New Britain goshawk, the Bismarck honeyeater, and the Bismarck thicketbird, found nowhere else in the world. It is likely that these mysterious forests contain birds not yet discovered or described.

Cause for Concern

The ecoregion is largely intact, probably because of its steep slopes and small trees. Logging operations are a threat to the region. Logging also increases the spread of non-native species in an area.

For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report.