Included here are the Maluku Islands (formerly the Moluccas) including Ambon, Buru, Seram and Halmahera, and the Banda Islands.

Maluku Montane Forests and Summit Formations

On Seram these forests are mainly dominated by Castanopsis buruana and Lithocarpus celebicus. They range in altitude from about 400 to 1400 m, and examples can be found on Gunung Kobipoto and Gunang Binaiya. Other trees typically include Agathis dammara, Coelostegia griffithii and Fagraea blumei. Lower montane zones of Gunung Binaiya are characterised by a large and distinctive species of Syzygium (possibly S. aqueum), while conifers such as Dacrycarpus imbricatus, Phyllocladus hypophyllus, Trimenia papuana and species of Podocarpus characterise the upper montane zones. Dacrycarpus imbricatus can reach heights of up to 35 m and have basal trunk diameters of over 1 m. At altitudes above 2400 m the forests become open and shrubby with species of Rhamnus, Rhododendron and Vaccinium together with the endemic tree ferns Cyathea binayana and C. pukuana (Cyatheaceae). These often form distinctive groves richly covered in epiphytic ferns. Small stands of so-called tree-fern savannas can extend up to the summit zones of Binaiya together with low stands of Vaccinium woodland. At the highest altitudes, from 2700-3000 m, these give way to mountain grasslands characterised by a number of endemic herbs such as Euphrasia ceramensis (Orobanchaceae), Pterostylis papuanum var. ceramensis (Orchidaceae) and Viola binayensis (Violaceae).

References

Edwards, I. D., Macdonald, A. A. & Proctor, J. (eds). 1993. Natural History of Seram, Maluka, Indonesia. Raleigh International. Intercep Ltd, Andover.

Edwards, I. D., Payton, R. W., Proctor, J. & Riswan, S. 1990. Altitudinal zonation of the rain forests in Manusela National Park, Seram, Maluku, Indonesia. In: The Plant Diversity of Malesia. Proceedings of the Flora Malesiana Symposium commemorating Professor Dr. C. G. G. J. van Steenis Leiden, August 1989. Eds. P. Baas, K. Kalkman and R. Geesink. Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Hugh-Jones, T. 1995. Habitats. In: Halmahera ’94. A University of Bristol Expedition to Indonesia in conjunction with Pattimura University, Ambon, The Biological Sciences Club, Jakarta and Sub-Balai Konervasi Sumber Daya Alam, Maluku. Report prepared for The Indonesian Institute for Sciences (LIPI) and The Directorate General for Forestry Protection and Nature Conservation (PHPA).

Monk, K. A., De Fretes, Y. & Reksodiharjo-Lilley, G. 1997. The Ecology of Nusa Tenggara and Maluku. The Ecology of Indonesia Series. Oxford University Press.

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.