Lake Matheson, New Zealand Photograph by Susanne Peck   Western part of New Zealand's South Island Temperate Broadleaf and Mixed Forests   2,000 square miles (5,300 square kilometers) -- about the size of Delaware Relatively Stable/Intact

· Glaciers and Beaches
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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Glaciers and Beaches

Lining the western coast of the South Island, this narrow strip of forest runs between the Southern Alps and the Tasman Sea. Rainfall increases as you move in from the coast. At the foot of the mountains, more than 16 feet (5,000 mm) of rain are spread out over only 190 days. A mixture of vegetation grows here, including podocarps (a type of conifer) and beech trees. Thick rainforest is divided by mountain gorges with sheer, heavily forested slopes. Large glaciers can be found high in the mountains, fed by snowfields at even higher altitudes. At the southern end of this ecoregion, beech forests mix with dune lakes and dry sand-dune ridges covered with hardwood rimu and kakikatea. Over time, the large Haast River has deposited enormous amounts of sediment, forming the parallel sand dunes seen in this region.

Special Features

In the lowlands by the shore, the climate is fairly mild, and the forests are dotted with numerous lakes and wetlands, making this area prime habitat for aquatic birds. This ecoregion contains the only breeding site of the kotuku, or white heron, in New Zealand. Small flax plants surround the water and give way to huge kakikatea trees, which are draped with epiphytes (plants that grow on other plants) and ferns. Against this green vegetation, the white herons are strikingly visible. Other aquatic birds found here include the southern crested grebe, the New Zealand scaup (a dark-bodied freshwater duck), and the native pukeko, or purple swamphen. The pukeko has long red legs and toes, a black body with a deep blue chest, and a bright orange bill. Iridescent blue-and-green New Zealand kingfishers use their large bills to catch invertebrates and fish in these wetlands.

	Westland National Park covers a cross-section of the South Island, from the sea and lowland forests up to the glaciers and high peaks of the Southern Alps.

Wild Side

The Westland Temperate Forests are filled with New Zealand’s native bird species, with the largest populations found within Westland National Park. The park contains the only population of Okarito brown kiwi, which was identified as a distinct species only during the last decade. It can be distinguished from its close relative, the North Island brown kiwi, by its slightly grayish feathers. But like all kiwis, it is round and flightless, with a long, sensitive beak equipped with nostrils on the end. Other birds found here include the tiny rifleman (New Zealand’s smallest bird), New Zealand pigeon or kereru, and bellbird, so named because of its melodious song. New Zealand has few insects to pollinate flowering trees. Instead forest birds such as bellbirds and tuis serve as pollinators. New Zealand pigeons also play an important role in forest regeneration by feeding on the fruits of many shrubs and trees and then dispersing their seeds.

Cause for Concern

Land here is cleared for farming and used for grazing livestock. Possums, red deer, and other introduced herbivores damage the native vegetation, while introduced predators such as stoats prey on native species.

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