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Tropical & Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas & Shrublands

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Northwest Hawai'i scrub

Bioma

Tropical & Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas & Shrublands

·

Reino biogeográfico

Oceania

Interior de la isla Laysan con vegetación de matorral bajo, arena, el borde de la laguna y aves marinas anidando.

Foto de la región - Cindy Rehkemper/USFWS / Wikimedia Commons - Public domain.

Northwest Hawai'i scrub

La ecorregión de matorral del noroeste de Hawái abarca las remotas islas de Sotavento de Hawái, una cadena de atolones e islotes bajos en el reino de Oceanía que se extiende a lo largo de unos 1350 a 1600 kilómetros, desde la rocosa Nihoa en el sureste hasta el bajo atolón Kure, todo dentro del estado estadounidense de Hawái. Asentada sobre los restos erosionados de antiguas islas volcánicas y arena coralina, la vegetación es un matorral tropical sin árboles: bancos de arbustos bajos tolerantes a la sal y plantas rastreras que orlan las lagunas, con especies comunes como Portulaca lutea y Boerhavia repens. Las condiciones son duras, con tormentas, inundaciones repentinas y tsunamis que modelan este hábitat insular tropical. La ecorregión alberga varias plantas endémicas en peligro, entre ellas la palmera de abanico de Nīhoa (Pritchardia remota), Schiedea verticillata y Amaranthus brownii, junto a la foca monje de Hawái, en peligro, y aves endémicas como el ánade de Laysan, el pinzón de Laysan y el pinzón de Nīhoa; en conjunto, las islas forman la mayor colonia de aves marinas tropicales del mundo y se sitúan por completo dentro del protegido Monumento Nacional Marino de Papahānaumokuākea. Para los jardineros, el género nativo de palmeras de abanico Pritchardia representa el grupo hortícolamente más notable de la región, las mismas palmeras que antaño formaban bosques en Nihoa.

RESOLVE 641

Oceania

6 sq mi

Tropical & Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas & Shrublands

Tipo de paisaje

Tropical & Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas & Shrublands

Región vegetal

Oceania

Huella de la región

6 sq mi

Presión sobre el hábitat

Nature Imperiled (Dinerstein NNH 4)

Origen y cuidado

Patrocinado

Plantas nativas

Compra la selección de plantas nativas de un vivero.

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Suministros de jardinería

Tierra, mantillo, fertilizante y herramientas para plantarlas y cuidarlas.

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Usa esto como el patrón general de plantación para la región: Pastizales y sabanas cálidos donde dominan las gramíneas y los árboles son escasos, mantenidos por lluvias estacionales, el pastoreo y el fuego. Sostienen comunidades de grandes herbívoros y responden con fuerza a los ciclos de humedad y sequía. Para las decisiones de jardín, acota según las restricciones de luz, agua, suelo y tamaño maduro de tu sitio.

Plantas que pueden con esta región

Plotwright aún no tiene plantas con buen ajuste climático para esta región. A medida que el catálogo crezca en esta banda climática, aparecerán sugerencias aquí.

Regiones de plantación similares

Explora otras regiones del mismo bioma. Sus listas de plantas pueden sugerir especies y combinaciones que vale la pena comparar.

Matorral subalpino en las laderas superiores de Haleakala, Maui, con la isla abajo.

RESOLVE 639 - Oceania

Hawai'i tropical high shrublands

The Hawaiʻi tropical high shrublands occupy the upper slopes of four great volcanoes in the US state of Hawaii: Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa, and Hualālai on Hawaiʻi Island, and Haleakalā on Maui. Above the forest line, alpine deserts and grasslands give way downslope to subalpine shrublands, where hardy, cold- and drought-adapted plants dominate, including ʻāheahea (Chenopodium oahuense), ʻōhelo ʻai (Vaccinium reticulatum), naʻenaʻe and related Dubautia shrubs, and ʻiliahi sandalwood (Santalum haleakalae), alongside tussock grasses such as Deschampsia nubigena. This is a high-elevation subtropical highland climate marked by dry, cold conditions on the exposed summits. Its signature plant is the Hawaiian silversword, ʻāhinahina (Argyroxiphium sandwicense), part of an endemic alliance descended from a North American tarweed, while the nēnē goose and ʻuaʻu (Hawaiian petrel) are among its native fauna. The ecoregion is considered vulnerable, pressured by grazing and trampling from feral livestock and by invasive species. For mountain or rock gardeners, the native ʻōhelo (Vaccinium reticulatum), a low cranberry relative, is a notable cold-hardy ornamental from this flora.

Tropical & Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas & Shrublands

RESOLVE 640 - Oceania

Hawai'i tropical low shrublands

The Hawai'i tropical low shrublands occupy the dry, leeward lowlands of the main Hawaiian Islands, blanketing the lowest slopes of the larger islands and nearly all of the smaller ones such as Lāna'i, Kaho'olawe, and Ni'ihau (the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands form a separate ecoregion). The vegetation is a mix of native grasslands and coastal shrublands carpeted in low-growing plants, dominated by 'ilima (Sida fallax), 'a'ali'i (Dodonaea viscosa), naupaka (Scaevola), pūkiawe (Styphelia tameiameiae), and the grass kāwelu (Eragrostis variabilis). This is the driest of all lowland habitats in the archipelago, with rainfall concentrated in the winter months, giving it a tropical-savanna character. More than 90 percent of its plant species are found nowhere else, including the flagship 'ōhai (Sesbania tomentosa), and the small flowers are pollinated by native Hawaiian yellow-faced bees; today the ecoregion is rated critically endangered, with little intact habitat left after losses to development, fire, feral animals, and invasive species. For drought-tolerant native plantings, the shrubland's own 'ilima, naupaka, and 'a'ali'i are well-suited ornamental choices.

Tropical & Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas & Shrublands

RESOLVE 34 - Afrotropic

Angolan mopane woodlands

The Angolan mopane woodlands stretch across southwestern Angola and northern Namibia, running along the Owambo Basin and surrounding the salt flats of the Etosha Pan. As the name suggests, the ecoregion is dominated by the mopane tree (Colophospermum mopane), which grows as a single-stemmed tree up to about 10 meters tall or, where conditions are harsher, as a dense shrub, alongside associated Acacia, Combretum, and Commiphora species. The climate is dry, with rainfall concentrated in the summer and peaking in late summer. The woodlands shelter elephants, black and white rhinoceros, lion, and cheetah, as well as the near-endemic black-faced impala, and the wider region is anchored by protected areas including Namibia's Etosha National Park. Mopane here also has a direct human use, as the caterpillars of the mopane emperor moth are gathered locally as food.

Tropical & Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas & Shrublands

RESOLVE 35 - Afrotropic

Angolan scarp savanna and woodlands

The Angolan scarp savanna and woodlands form a long, narrow strip along the coast of Angola, running from the Atlantic shore up the steep west-facing escarpment that climbs roughly 1,000 meters to the country's central plateau. Vegetation shifts dramatically with elevation, grading from dry woodland and wooded grassland-where baobab, Strychnos, and Acacia welwitschii grow-up to humid mist and cloud forests whose canopy includes Khaya anthotheca, Bombax buonopozense, and Spathodea campanulata. The climate is tropical with summer rains; the coastal belt, cooled by the Benguela Current, stays humid but receives relatively little rain, while the escarpment is far wetter. Despite being poorly studied and only partly protected within reserves such as Quiçãma National Park, the region is rich in endemics, including the red-crested turaco and the grey-striped francolin, and is classified as Vulnerable. For gardeners, the showy African tulip tree (Spathodea campanulata), grown as an ornamental in warm climates worldwide, is native to these escarpment forests.

Tropical & Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas & Shrublands

RESOLVE 36 - Afrotropic

Angolan wet miombo woodlands

The Angolan wet miombo woodlands blanket most of the central Angolan plateau and extend north into the Democratic Republic of the Congo, sitting largely at elevations between about 1,000 and 1,500 meters. The defining habitat is miombo woodland, a moist deciduous broadleaf savanna dominated by legume trees of the family Fabaceae (subfamily Caesalpinioideae), especially the genera Brachystegia, Julbernardia, and Isoberlinia, with grassland and sandy-soil openings between the stands. The climate is tropical and notably wetter than the surrounding savanna, with rainfall strongly concentrated in the hot summer months from roughly November to March. The ecoregion is the stronghold of the giant sable antelope (Hippotragus niger variani), a critically endangered Angolan endemic protected at Cangandala National Park, and it also harbors a strict-endemic rodent, Vernay's climbing mouse. For gardeners, the signature native flora here are the canopy-forming Brachystegia and Isoberlinia legume trees that give the miombo its character.

Tropical & Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas & Shrublands

RESOLVE 181 - Australasia

Arnhem Land tropical savanna

The Arnhem Land tropical savanna covers the rugged Arnhem Land peninsula and its offshore islands, including the Tiwi Islands, Groote Eylandt, and the Wessel Islands, in Australia's Northern Territory. Eucalypt open forests dominate the landscape, led by Darwin stringybark (Eucalyptus tetrodonta) and Darwin woollybutt (Eucalyptus miniata) over a tall understory of Sorghum grasses, interspersed with monsoon rainforest patches, mangroves, and Melaleuca swamp forests. The climate is tropical and strongly monsoonal, with a summer wet season and a largely rainless dry season. Long isolation has made it exceptionally diverse: over 1,900 plant taxa have been recorded, at least 200 of them found nowhere else, and a 2017 assessment found that 36% of the ecoregion lies within protected areas such as Kakadu National Park.

Tropical & Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas & Shrublands

Educator packet

Region packet

Northwest Hawai'i scrub educator packet

La ecorregión de matorral del noroeste de Hawái abarca las remotas islas de Sotavento de Hawái, una cadena de atolones e islotes bajos en el reino de Oceanía que se extiende a lo largo de unos 1350 a 1600 kilómetros, desde la rocosa Nihoa en el sureste hasta el bajo atolón Kure, todo dentro del estado estadounidense de Hawái. Asentada sobre los restos erosionados de antiguas islas volcánicas y arena coralina, la vegetación es un matorral tropical sin árboles: bancos de arbustos bajos tolerantes a la sal y plantas rastreras que orlan las lagunas, con especies comunes como Portulaca lutea y Boerhavia repens. Las condiciones son duras, con tormentas, inundaciones repentinas y tsunamis que modelan este hábitat insular tropical. La ecorregión alberga varias plantas endémicas en peligro, entre ellas la palmera de abanico de Nīhoa (Pritchardia remota), Schiedea verticillata y Amaranthus brownii, junto a la foca monje de Hawái, en peligro, y aves endémicas como el ánade de Laysan, el pinzón de Laysan y el pinzón de Nīhoa; en conjunto, las islas forman la mayor colonia de aves marinas tropicales del mundo y se sitúan por completo dentro del protegido Monumento Nacional Marino de Papahānaumokuākea. Para los jardineros, el género nativo de palmeras de abanico Pritchardia representa el grupo hortícolamente más notable de la región, las mismas palmeras que antaño formaban bosques en Nihoa.

Realm

Oceania

Dominant biome

Tropical & Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas & Shrublands

Approximate area

6 square miles

States / provinces

Not recorded

Climate descriptor

Not recorded

Classroom prompts

- Which climate and biome facts explain why this region supports its characteristic plants?

- How do native-plant and wildlife-support claims differ from a species-presence claim?

- Which source-backed facts would you cite before using this region in a classroom map activity?

Use the Sources & citations section below for page citation styles and region source links.

Fuentes y citas

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Plotwright. (n.d.). Northwest Hawai'i scrub (Northwest Hawai'i scrub). Retrieved 2026, August 20, from https://plotwright.com/regions/resolve-641

Fuentes para esta región

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RESOLVE 2017 Terrestrial Ecoregions (Dinerstein et al.)

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