The Queensland tropical rain forests are a terrestrial ecoregion located in northeastern Australia. An ecoregion is a relatively large area of land or water that contains a geographically distinct assemblage of natural communities. ...

Setting

The ecoregion covers 32,700 square kilometers (12,600 square miles) of northeastern coastal Queensland, from the coast up a series of plateaus and tablelands to the mountains behind the coast. The ecoregion comprises three separate sections. The northern area, which includes Cairns, is the largest, from 15°30’ to 19°25’ south latitude. This northern section is also known as the Wet Tropics bioregion. Cairns is a regional city and Local Government Area located in Queensland, Australia. ...

The second section extends from the Whitsunday group to Carmila, including Mackay, and the third section includes the Warginburra Peninsula, extending inland to include portions of the Normanby Range. The two southern sections are also known as the Central Mackay Coast bioregion. Location of Mackay in Queensland (red) Mackay (21°08′S 149°11′E, pop. ...

Flora

The Queensland tropical rain forests are designated one of the Global 200 ecoregions. The ecoregion is the largest remnant of Australia's rain forest flora, home to ancient assemblage of plants, called the Antarctic flora, presently characteristic of New Zealand and southern Chile, and that once covered much of Australia and Antarctica until about 15 million years ago. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Minke whale Minke whale Minke whale Minke whale Minke whale Minke whale Minke whale Minke whale Minke whale Minke whale Minke whale Minke whale Minke whale Minke whale Minke whale Minke whale Minke whale Minke whale Minke whale Minke whale Minke whale Minke whale Minke whale Minke whale Minke whale...

Conifers of the southern hemisphere family Araucariaceae are the characteristic tree species. In the northern section of the ecoregion, Kauri commonly form the forest canopy, with Agathis robusta most common at lower elevations, and A. microstachya and A. atropurpurea predominant at higher elevations. In the southern sections, Araucaria cunninghamii is predominant, with Araucaria bidwillii dominant in two small areas. Conifers in the family Podocarpaceae are also present, including genera Podocarpus and Sundacarpus. The forests are thick with vines, ferns, epiphytes, and palms. Genera Agathis Araucaria Wollemia The Araucariaceae are a very ancient family of conifers. ... Species See text The genus Agathis, commonly known as kauri or dammar forms a relatively small group of 21 species of evergreen trees in the family Araucariaceae, characteristically with very large trunks and little or no branching for some way up. ... Binomial name Agathis robusta (C.Moore ex F.Muell. ... Binomial name Araucaria cunninghamii Aiton ex D.Don Araucaria cunninghamii is a species of Araucaria known as Moreton Bay Pine, or Hoop Pine (confusing names, as it is not a pine). ... Binomial name Araucaria bidwillii (Molina) K. Koch Araucaria bidwillii is a species in the genus Araucaria, family Araucariaceae. ... Genera Acmopyle Afrocarpus Dacrycarpus Dacrydium Falcatifolium Halocarpus Lagarostrobos Lepidothamnus Manoao Microcachrys Microstrobos Nageia Parasitaxus Phyllocladus Podocarpus Prumnopitys Retrophyllum Saxegothaea Sundacarpus A large family of mainly Southern Hemisphere conifers, with 18-19 genera and about 170-200 species of evergreen trees and shrubs. ... species 105 species (Farjon 1998); see list Podocarpus is a genus of conifers, the most numerous and widely distributed of the podocarp family Podocarpaceae. ... Binomial name Sundacarpus amarus (Blume) C.N.Page Sundacarpus is a genus of conifers containing a single species Sundacarpus amarus, belonging to the family Podocarpaceae. ... Classes Marattiopsida Osmundopsida Gleicheniopsida Pteridopsida A fern, or pteridophyte, is any one of a group of about 20,000 species of plants classified in the Division Pteridophyta, formerly known as Filicophyta. ... An example of an epiphyte assemblage of orchids and bromeliads in a garden setting The term epiphyte refers to any plant that grows upon or attached to another living plant. ... Genera Many; see list of Arecaceae genera Arecaceae (also known as Palmae), the Palm Family, is a family of flowering plants, belonging to the monocot order, Arecales. ...

These forests are limited to areas of high rainfall and good soils. In waterlogged soils, the rainforest flora gives way to Melaleuca thickets, and on poor soils and in drier areas Eucalyptus becomes dominant. The rainforest flora is intolerant of fire, and where periods of drought have allowed devastating fires, the rainforest flora has retreated, allowing fire-tolerant Eucalyptus to become established. If a relatively wet period persists, the rainforest flora may reestablish itself. It is thought that the land management practices of the aboriginal Australians, which involve setting regular fires to keep the eucalyptus woodlands open, may have encouraged the expansion of eucalyptus forests at the expense of the rainforest flora. These rainforests seem to have retreated considerably since the arrival of the aboriginals' ancestors 50,000 years ago, and are presently limited to isolated pockets comprising less than 2% of the continent's area. Species 236; see List of Melaleuca species Melaleuca is a genus of plants in the myrtle family Myrtaceae. ... Species About 700; see the List of Eucalyptus species Wikispecies has information related to: Eucalyptus Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of trees (rarely shrubs), the members of which dominate the tree flora of Australia. ...

Conservation

These forests are particularly interesting because of their southern location and the high degree of endemism of their plant and animal species.

Deforestation has led to habitat fragmentation and diminushing populations of species such as spotted-tailed quoll (Dasyurus maculatus), cassowary (Casuarius casuarius), and ring-tail possum (Hemibelideus lemuroides). Binomial name Dasyurus maculatus Kerr 1792 The Spotted Quoll, also known as the Spotted-tail Quoll and the Tiger Quoll, is a carnivorous marsupial mammal, native to Australia. ... Species Casuarius casuarius Casuarius unappendiculatus Casuarius bennetti Cassowaries (genus Casuarius) are very large flightless birds native to the tropical forests of New Guinea and northeastern Australia. ...

Introduced species also pose a serious threat to many native species. Sweet clover (), introduced and naturalized to the U.S. from Eurasia as a forage and cover crop, supports insect biodiversity. ...