One thing that we have not focused on as a unit of analysis are the rain forests in Tasmania. Tasmania has the largest rain forest tract in Australia and more than 10% of the land is covered in rain forest. The main trees are myrtle, leather-wood, celery-top pine, sassafras, Huon pine, pencil pine, King Billy pine or deciduous beech. The rainforests are mostly found in Tasmania's North-West. I am excited to go and hike through them and observe the many species that we have been studying.
One fascinating fact is that the rain forest significantly predates the Eucalyptus. The ancestors once grew in areas like South America and Antartica when Tasmania was part of Gondwanland. Perhaps we can study which exact species can be traced back when we are in Tasmania this September.
Rehan
Source:
http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/?base=3207
Awesome post, Rehan! I wonder what contribution the Tasmanian climate has on these Rainforests. I don't imagine it is all that warm throughout the entire year so I am curious as to what aspects of this region allow the rainforest to thrive. Do you know what kinds of species we should expect to see in the rainforest? It sounds like awesome time to spot some of the creatures we have presented on, now that we are experts!
ReplyDeleteCarlos Aguilar
It's kind of interesting that the rainforest has a large track of rainforest, but most of the time people talk about the Eucalyptus!
ReplyDeleteIt's insane to imagine that Antartica use to have rainforests considering its current state. Then again, a lot can change in millions of years...
ReplyDelete-Daimen