Wineglass Bay, Freycinet National Park, Tasmania Photograph by Peter Sundstrom   Tasmania, south of Australia Temperate Broadleaf and Mixed Forests   7,000 square miles (18,200 square kilometers) -- about half the size of Hawaii Critical/Endangered

· Forests of Eucalyptus
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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Forests of Eucalyptus

Made up of eucalyptus trees, the Tasmanian Temperate Forests ecoregion covers northeastern Tasmania and the islands of the Bass Strait. The vegetation here varies depending on soil type and rainfall distribution, with open forest growing in dry areas and closed forest in wet habitat. Eucalyptus trees can grow as tall as 98 to 164 feet (30 to 50 m). In areas with high soil fertility and moisture, such as valleys, the forest canopy is dense and the understory is thick with bracken ferns. When conditions are less favorable, growth is thinner. Peppermint eucalyptus trees are well adapted to these dry conditions.

Special Features

Fire is an important ecological factor in the eucalyptus forest. Fires tend to occur in the summer and fall after the trees have dropped their leaves, and dry forests burn more often than moist or closed forests. Heavy litter, flammable oils in the leaves, and open crowns (foliage area) all promote large fires. While eucalyptus trees burn frequently, they tend to regenerate quickly as a result of several adaptations. For example, capsules protect their seeds from the heat of fire, but the seeds are shed at an accelerated rate after the fire.

	The wombat’s main defense against predators is the unusually thick skin on its rump. When cornered, the wombat will dive into a burrow or hollow log, exposing only its tough rump to the predator.

Wild Side

Colorful swift parrots breed in dry open forests before returning to mainland Australia for the winter. A small bird called the forty-spotted pardalote is declining because of the loss of its white gum forest habitat. It is now found only in this ecoregion, on small islands off the east coast of Tasmania, and in the Bass Strait. This ecoregion is home to the largest populations of echidna, or spiny anteater, on Tasmania. The echidna is a monotreme, meaning it is a mammal that lays eggs. At night, a marsupial called the Tasmanian bettong sets off in search of fungi to munch. Carnivorous marsupials such as the spotted-tail quoll, the eastern quoll, and the Tasmanian devil are also active at night. The thylacine, or Tasmanian tiger, would have been larger than these other marsupial carnivores, but this dog-like creature was hunted to extinction in the 1930s by the Europeans. Today, common wombats and eastern gray kangaroos thrive in these temperate forests.

Cause for Concern

Eucalyptus trees are harvested for log, paper, pulp, and wood chip exports. The forest re-growth that occurs after clear-cutting is not suitable habitat for many species. Agricultural development and the clearing of land are also concerns, as is the introduction of invasive weeds and animals.

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