New Guinea’s montane rainforest
Tropical New Guinea is the second largest island in the world – it covers an area ten times larger than the Czech Republic. Mountains the height of the European Alps run along its centre, mostly covered by ever-green rainforests.
Photo: Petr Hamerník, Prague zoo
The New-Guinean montane rainforest is a completely different environment to the lowland forest. There are hardly any giant trees with root buttresses, so typical of the lowlands; instead, due to the high air humidity, mosses, lichens and ferns thrive here, growing profusely over the tree trunks and branches.
The predominant tree species in New Guinea’s montane rainforests are ancient remnants of the southern supercontinent Gondwana: araucaria (also known as monkey puzzle trees), Podocarpus and southern beech. At lower altitudes, creeping bamboos and palm-like pandans are a significant part of the undergrowth.
It is the forests of the lower parts of New Guinea’s mountains that are home to Pesquet’s Parrot, whose red feathers traditionally adorn the locals. Apart from it, there are about 350 other bird species inhabiting the mountains – of which over 50 don’t live anywhere else in the world.
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