Included here is New Guinea, the Aru Islands, Misool Island, Salawati, Weigeo, the Schouten Islands, the Trobriand Isands, Murua Island, the D’Entrecasteaux Islands and the Louisaide Archipeligo.

Papuan Casuarina Limestone Forest

These are mainly broad-leaved forests with an upper story dominated by the near endemic Casuarina papuana (Casuarinaceae). They commonly occur on limestone or ultrabasic rocks from almost sea-level well into the lower montane zones, but Casuarina papuana has a wide ecological tolerance and is not confined to any particular rock type. It also tends to be a pioneer species often colonizing areas destroyed by fire. On the other hand, it does not live for very long, and more mixed forests eventually take over. This is also supported by the fact the Casuarina papuana does not regenerate under dense shade.

References

Conn, B. J. 1995. Handbook of the Flora of Papua New Guinea. Vol. III. Melbourne University Press.

Henty, E.E. (ed). 1981. Handbook of the flora of Papua New Guinea. Vol. II. Melbourne University Press.

Oatham, M. & Beehler, B. M. 1998. Richness, taxonomic composition, and species patchiness in three lowland forest plots in Papua New Guinea. In: Forest Biodiversity Research, Monitoring and Modeling. Eds. F. Dallmeier and J. A. Comiskey. Man and the Biosphere Series, Volume 40. The Parthenon Publishing Group.

Paijmans, K. (ed). 1976. New Guinea Vegetation. Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation in association with the Australian National University Press, Canberra.

Polak, M. 2000. The botanical diversity in the Ayawasi area, Iran Jaya, Indonesia. Biodiversity and Conservation, 9: 1345-1375.

Proctor, J. 2003. Vegetation and soil and plant chemistry on ultramafic rocks in the tropical Far East. Perspective in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics, 6: 105-124.

Steenis, C. G. G. J. van. 1957. Outline of the vegetation types in Indonesia and some adjacent regions. Proceedings of the Pacific Scientific Congress, 8: 61-97.

Womersley. J. S. (ed). 1978. Handbook of the flora of Papua New Guinea. Vol. I. Melbourne University Press.