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Australia
has both tropical and temperate rainforests. Tropical rainforests cover 1%
of the countries' land mass, a tiny area in the driest inhabited continent
on the planet. But for it's small size the 'Wet Tropics' as it is known contains
an a large proportion of Australia's biodiversity within in it's boundaries.
The Daintree rainforest in the 'Wet
Tropics' area is the oldest rainforest on earth, approximately 10 times older
than the Amazon..
Temperate rainforests are common in Australia and can be found in New South Wales, Victoria, and Tasmania. Tasmania's west coast is home to the Tasmanian temperate rain forests ecoregion, the biggest tract of temperate rainforest in the world. It contains mixed forests, with broadleaf southern beech (Nothofagus) and conifers, including Huon Pine (Lagarostrobos franklinii), and King Billy Pine (Athrotaxis selaginoides). Substantial temperate rainforest areas also occur in Victoria's Otway Ranges, the Strzelecki Ranges, Dandenong Ranges, East Gippsland, and south-east New South Wales. Many smaller pockets of temperate rainforest can be found within larger Eucalyptus forests.
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