Richmond temperate forests

The Richmond temperate forests are an ecoregion covering the northern part of New Zealand's South Island.

Location and description

This area includes the mountain valleys of the Kaikoura Ranges with its high peak at the 2880-metre Mount Tapuaenuku, while to the south lies the beech-covered Spencer Range, and to the north and east lies open land running down to the Marlborough Sounds at the tip of the island. The wide valleys of the Wairau and Awatere rivers divide the region.

The climate is characterised by a hot summer and a cold, dry winter. ^[1]

Flora

The native flora of this north country is Nothofagus beech forest with red beech (N. fusca) and silver beech (N. menziesii) in the lower, warmer, more fertile areas and hard beech (N.truncata) in the more exposed areas. Notable plants include the sedge Carex uncifolia.

Fauna

The black-eyed gecko (Hoplodactylus kahutarae), New Zealand’s only alpine gecko is endemic to the north of South island, which is also home to the vulnerable scree skint (Oligosoma waimatense) and four species of giant weta including Kaikoura giant weta (Deinacrida parva) and the Kaikoura Ranges weta (Deinacrida elegans). The islands in the Marlborough Sounds have more endemic species of their own.

Threats and preservation

There are a number of protected areas along the Marlborough Sounds (on the islands in particular) and inland in the Nelson Lakes National Park and Richmond Forest Park.

References