New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a tiny area in the South Pacific, 1200 km from Australia. It has 5 endemic plant species including the world’s only parasitic conifer. Nickel mining, deforestation and invasive species are the main reasons only 5% of the forest is left.
About the Area
New Caledonia represents a fragment of the ancient supercontinent Gondwana.
Isolated for millions of years, the New Caledonian dry forests are among the most unique on Earth, with more than 2,500 of their known 3,400 native plant species found nowhere else. These original species of plants and animals have evolved to provide an extraordinary range of biodiversity. But this diversity is severely threatened; less than 2% of the ecoregion’s dry forests now remain.
The main island is Grand terre which has an extremely diverse soil substrate, with ultramafic rock forming about one-third of the island. The island is also very diverse topographically and climatically. Average annual rainfall is about 2,000 mm – 4,000 mm.
The plant formations here vary according to the intensity of the hydrous stress that the vegetation undergoes during the dry season, the proximity of the coastline, and very probably the type of geological substratum.
Recently, a presumed extinct species of parchment bark tree was rediscovered.
Local Species
The New Caledonia Dry Forests ecoregion contain 379 native plant species, 59 of which are found only in the dry forests. There are 5 near-endemic mammals and 23 near-endemic bird species.
This forest’s deciduous trees are dense but not too tall, only 9-12 m (30-40 ft). The dry forests also have a thick, unstratified under story of shrubs and grasses. 59 endemic plants are hanging on in the last remnants of forest, such as the yellow-flowered Pittosporum pancheri, the fragrant Gardenia urvillei, and the thin-leaved Codiaeum peltatum. A variety of wild rice, Oryza neocalidonea, adapted to dry conditions; and the rare plant, Captaincookia margaretae – is found in the New Caledonian dry and moist forests.
Threats
Tropical dry forests are the most threatened tropical forest type worldwide, and the dry forests of New Caledonia are no exception. Intentionally ignited fires, trampling by cattle and the introduction of alien species such as fire ants pose the greatest threats to the few remaining patches of dry forest.
Clearing for expansion of pastures, uncontrolled burning and herbivory are also threats to the ecoregion. New Caledonia is a prosperous French territory. However, the French government has paid scant attention to the conservation of biodiversity in New Caledonia
WWF’s work
WWF’s Global Forest Programme is working to conserve the world’s forests for the benefit of the whole planet. WWF believes that there is a vital need to reverse the loss and degradation of forests by restoring forests and their ecological role and function.
WWF is assisting authorities on the French Pacific Ocean territory of New Caledonia to fight fires that have threatened the island’s endangered forests and wildlife. WWF-New Caledonia launched a widespread public appeal, together with local partners (ASNNC, CIE, Endemia, Symioses, SCO, and others), for local citizens to join the effort to fight a particularly devastating fire affecting one of the island’s important watersheds.
WWF’s New Caledonia Tropical Ecoregion Programme, established in 2001, aims to protect priority areas and species; encourage natural regeneration of the dry forests, create protected areas; stop land clearing for agriculture; increase public awareness of dry forest; and control and limit forest fires.
New Caledonia
An Ancient and Diverse Island Flora
New Caldeonia, an archipelago halfway between Australia and Fiji, is an extraordinary place. While it has all the features you might expect from tropical islands – white sands, blue lagoons, and graceful palms – New Caledonia is also home to some very unusual plants. Most striking is the abundance of conifers belonging the ancient plant family Araucariaceae, including the trees featured in the header, Cook pines, or Araucaria columnaris, which grow in the coral-derived soils along the coast. Trees in the Araucariaceae family are often called “living fossils” because they so resemble their ancestors the Arauchariads, trees that forested the Earth during the dinosaur age (200 to 65 million years ago).
Ancient plant families are more heavily represented on New Caledonia than their more modern counterparts. For instance, the islands are home to a disproportionate number of gymnosperms, a group that includes the conifers mentioned above. Gymnosperms were the dominant seed plants before the advent of flowering plants (angiosperms). But their angiosperms are also fascinating, among them is Amborella trichopoda,which the the sole member of the oldest living flowering plant lineage, Amborelleaceae. The understory of the humid forests of New Caledonia is the only place Amborella trichopoda is found in the wild.
The advent of flowers is one of the most pivotal events in our planet’s history. Flowers first appeared around 130 million years ago, making them evolutionary late-comers. But the velocity of their diversification and spread to nearly every ecological niche has puzzled scientists for over 150 years. In fact, Charles Darwin called the sudden appearance and proliferation of flowering plants an “abominable mystery.” To advance our understanding of flowering plant evolution, the Amborella Genome Project has sequenced and mapped the plant’s genome, using material from plants grown by horticulturalists at the Atlanta Botanical Garden. They have had succeeded in growing and propagating Amborella trichopoda from both cuttings and seed, and consequently were able to supply the Amborella Genome Project with plant material for their work.
Regarded as a biodiversity hot spot, New Caledonia is home to 3,332 plant species (recorded so far), 2551 of which are endemic (meaning they are native to New Caledonia only). That makes for roughly a 77% rate of endemism. New Caledonia is the third highest ranked island group for endemism, after Hawaii (82%) and New Zealand (82%). The factors contributing to such a rich variety of plant life include the diversity of climate, elevation, and soil found on New Caledonia. The biogeography of the island chain has been shaped by a complex and fascinating geological history, and scientists are still making discoveries about the origins of life on this isolated archipelago.
Several plants from New Caledonia are included in the Atlanta Botanical Garden’s collection, many of which are rare and critically endangered. The Garden’s living collection of tropical conifers from New Caledonia is particularly rich. In these webpages you can find profiles of plant species from the collection and learn about their ecosystemic homes.
Unfortunately habitat for New Caledonia’s flora is shrinking. Fire, logging, conversion to agriculture, invasive exotic plant and animal species, and the effects of nickel mining have degraded and destroyed much of New Caledonia’s natural habitat. As a result, an estimated 25% of the islands’ native plant species are at risk, and at least five species are now extinct. The Atlanta Botanical Garden‘s living collection of New Caledonian plants thus serves as a kind of insurance policy against the unfortunately likely event that more species will be imperiled and even go extinct.
The People
The islands of New Caledonia were settled by Melanesians around 3000 BC. Until September 4, 1774, when Captain James Cook landed on the main island, no European had visited or even known of the archipelago’s existence. While Cook claimed the islands for England, the nineteenth-century scuffle for colonial control left New Caledonia in the hands of the French, where it remains today as an overseas territory.
The Kanak, as the island’s indigenous peoples are known collectively, make up more than two-fifths of the population, while Europeans (referred to as “caldoche”) constitute about one-third. The rest of the people of the islands are Polynesians, Tahitians, and the descendants of Indonesian and Vietnamese migrant workers. New Caledonians converse in French, and the Kanak also speak one or more of the 28 Melanesian languages used on the archipelago.
The Kanak have experienced relocation, enslavement and the exploitation of their lands. They have fought for independence and for the survival of their cultures and traditions. For the Kanak, plants, animals, and other natural elements figure prominently in their cultural practices, histories, and self-understanding as individuals, clans, and families. Wherever possible the plants profiles include Kanak plant knowledge and lore.
New Caledonia