Cradle Mountain, Australia Photograph by WWF/Michele Depraz   Tasmania, south of Australia Temperate Broadleaf and Mixed Forests   7,200 square miles (18,700 square kilometers) -- about the size of New Jersey Vulnerable

· Snow Down Under
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
More Photos

Snow Down Under

In hilly central Tasmania, the climate is harsher and colder than in the surrounding low-lying areas. Snow, high winds, ice, and cold winter temperatures are standard here. From the dry eucalyptus forests of the lower altitudes, to the higher altitudes where forests mix with wet tussock grasslands, bogs, and shrubby habitats, this ecoregion has a variety of habitats to offer.

Special Features

Tasmania has a significant share of Australia’s alpine and subalpine habitat. In most high-altitude communities, the trees drop out at a certain elevation, called the "tree line." The Tasmanian Central Highland Forests ecoregion is unique because there is no clearly defined tree line. A conifer forest of pencil pines continues up to 4,600 feet (1,400 m), where the pines eventually grow only as small shrubs because of the harsh winds. Snow is present only for short periods, so there aren’t extensive meadows here as there are in the high Australian Alps or New Zealand’s Southern Alps. Instead, woody vegetation can be found wherever the soil is well drained and aerated. A number of endemic alpine and subalpine plants are found here, with endemism increasing as one moves west.

	The male duck-billed platypus has hollow venomous spurs on the hind legs. Scientists think that they use these in the mating season to fight off other males.

Wild Side

Delicate Ptunarra brown butterflies flutter through native grasslands here and nowhere else in the world. But their populations are increasingly fragmented by habitat loss. A bird endemic to Tasmania, the black currawong, flits about the forest, while a Tasmanian wedge-tailed eagle soars overhead. A number of skinks can be found here in the subalpine vegetation, including the black-and-brown mountain skink and the southern and northern snow skinks. These skinks all give birth to live young, an adaptation to the cold weather. By keeping her young inside her body, the female skink can better control the incubation temperature. Two species of monotremes (mammals that lay eggs) live in the ecoregion: The duck-billed platypus, is distributed throughout Tasmania, wherever there is water and the echidna, a small, spiny insect-eater can be found wherever there are ants to eat. The endemic Tasmanian devil is also widespread, living from the coast up to the mountains. This fierce marsupial resembles a stocky dog and eats almost anything, from carrion to sea squirts. Another stocky marsupial, the wombat, can be found all over Tasmania, including in these alpine areas.

Cause for Concern

Grazing by livestock and increased tourism are threats to this area. The ecoregion is also vulnerable to problems caused by global climate change.

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