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 Swamp Forest

The forests of permanent swamps are generally open and have a varied range of heights. Much of them are composed of a mixture of trees such as Alstonia scholaris, Bischofia javanica and the endemic Terminalia canaliculata (Combretaceae). Other areas can be described as pandan swamp, in which Pandanus species predominate; sago palm (Metroxylon sagu) swamp, which may include the endemic Aceratium sinuatum (Elaeocarpaceae); Campnopermum swamp, in which Campnospermum brevipetiolata often dominates; Terminalia swamp, in which Terminalia brassii is the main species and finally Melaleuca swamp usually dominated by Melaleuca cajuputi. Other endemic trees of these forests include Aglaia lepidopetalum (Meliaceae), Calophyllum suberosum (Hypericaceae), Cupaniopsis bilocularis (Sapindaceae), Dacrydium cornwalliana (Podocarpaceae), Dysoxylum brevipaniculum (Meliaceae), Elaeocarpus branderhorstii (Elaeocarpaceae), Gomphandra pallida, Pseudobotrys dorae, Rhyticaryum macrocarpum (Icacinaceae), Horsfieldia pulverulenta, Myristica inundata, Paramyristica sepicana (Myristicaceae), Lepidopetalum micans (Sapindaceae), Maniltoa brassii (Caesalpiniaceae) and Terminalia sogerensis (Combretaceae). Smaller palms, pandans, and shrubs often fill in much of the spaces below the canopy. Among the endemic shrubs and small tree are Harpullia rhachiptera (Sapindaceae), Neuburgia rumphiana (Loganiaceae) and Rhododendron angulatum (Ericaceae), while the ground layer typically includes tall sedges such as the endemic Capitularina involucrata (Cyperaceae) and ferns. There are also a great variety of climbing plants such as the endemic Chlaenandra ovata (Menispermaceae) and a number of epiphytic shrubs like the endemic Vaccinium kostermansii (Ericaceae).

References

Chapman, V. J. 1977. Wet coastal formations of Indio-Malesia and Papua New Guinea. In: Ecosystems of the World 1 - Wet Coastal Ecosystems. Ed. V. J. Chapman. Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company.

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.

Leith, H. & Werger, M. J. A. 1989. Ecosystems of the World 14B - Tropical Rain Forests. Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company.

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.

Paijmans, K. 1990. Wooded swamps in New Guinea. In: Ecosystems of the World 15. Forested Wetlands. Eds. A. Lugo, M. Brinson and S. Brown. Elsevier.

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