New Guinea Highlands
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The New Guinea Highlands, also known as the Central Range or Central Cordillera, are a chain of mountain ranges and intermountain valleys on the island of New Guinea which run generally east-west the length of the island.
Notable ranges include the Owen Stanley Range in the southeast, whose highest peak is Mount Victoria at 4,038 meters (13,248 feet); the Albert Victor Mountains; the Sir Arthur Gordon Range; the Bismarck Range, whose highest peak is Mount Wilhelm at 4,509 meters (14,793 feet); the Star Range on the Papua New Guinea–Indonesia border; and the Maoke Mountains or Snow Range in the west, where perpetual snow was found by H. A. Lorentz in 1909 at 14,635 ft, and whose highest peaks are Puncak Jaya (Mt. Carstensz) at 4,884 m (16,023 feet) and Puncak Trikora (Mt. Wilhelmina) at 4,750 meters (15,580 feet).
Contents |
[edit] Ecology
The New Guinea Highlands are home to plant and animal communities distinct from the surrounding lowlands, from tropical montane forests to alpine grasslands.
[edit] Montane rain forests
The montane rain forests consist of three broad vegetation zones, distinguished by elevation.[1]
The lower montane forests extend from 1000 to 1500 meters elevation. They are dominated by broadleaf evergreen trees, including Castanopsis acuminatissima, Lithocarpus spp., elaeocarps, and laurels. Coniferous Araucarias may form thick stands.
The upper montane forests, which extend from 1500 to 2500 meters elevation, are dominated by moss-covered Nothofagus
The high mountain forest extends from 2,500 to 3,000 meters elevation. Conifers (Podocarpus, Dacrycarpus, Dacrydium, Papuacedrus, Araucaria, and Libocedrus) and broadleaf trees of the Myrtle family (Myrtaceae) form a thin canopy, with a prominent understory.
[edit] Sub-alpine and alpine shrublands and grasslands
Above 3000 meters elevation, the high mountain forest yields to sub-alpine shrublands, including tree-fern (Cyathea) savannas, bogs, grasslands, and shrubby heaths of Rhododendron, Vaccinium, Coprosma, Rapanea, and Saurauia.
The alpine habitat above 4,000 meters consists of compact rosette and cushion herbs, such as Ranunculus, Potentilla, Gentiana, and Epilobium, grasses (Poa and Deschampsia), bryophytes, and lichens.[2]
