Keppel & Tuiwawa—Dry zone forests of Fiji

New Zealand Journal of Botany abstracts

Dry zone forests of Fiji: species composition, life history traits, and conservation

Gunnar Keppel

Biology Division
School of Biological, Chemical and Environmental Sciences
Faculty of Science and Technology
University of the South Pacific
Suva, Fiji

Present address: School of Integrative Biology, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, QLD 472, Australia. g.keppel@uq.edu.au

Marika V. Tuiwawa

South Pacific Regional Herbarium
University of the South Pacific
Suva, Fiji

Abstract Species composition and life history traits of trees in native forests in the dry zone of Fiji were investigated. Areas receiving less than 2500 mm yr^-1 of rain and covered with native forest were identified using maps, aerial photographs, estimated climate (WorldClim), and field reconaissance. Ten forest remnants were identified and species lists and data on natural history and disturbance were compiled. Cluster analysis and DECORANA identified two principal forest types, moist forest (MF) and tropical dry forest (TDF), each defined by unique climate, species composition, and tree life history characteristics. TDF (reported for the first time from Fiji) has a pronounced dry season (5 consecutive months with <100 mm rainfall each) and several deciduous canopy species. MF lacks a pronounced dry season and has few deciduous species. The amount and variability of rainfall seem to influence the type of forest in a particular location and disturbance is negatively correlated with precipitation. TDF are probably Fiji’s most endangered ecosystems.

Keywords climate; deciduous; mesic forest; moist forest; natural history; sclerophyll; talasiga grassland; tropical dry forest

B07007; Online publication date 8 November 2007; Received 2 April 2007; accepted 25 September 2007

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