Data Zone
Country/territory: New Caledonia (to France)
IBA criteria met: A1, A2 (2007)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here
Area: 9,518 ha
| IBA conservation status | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year of assessment (most recent) | State (condition) | Pressure (threat) | Response (action) |
| 2013 | unfavourable | high | low |
| For more information about IBA monitoring, please click here | |||
Site description (2007 baseline)
The Massif Aoupinié is located in the heart of the Central Range, straddling the line of the watershed. To the east, the slopes of Aoupinié (the highest point of the IBA is 1006 m) are the basins of the rivers Nimbaye, Mou and Monéo, while to the west, is the basin of the river Poya. This is one of the great upland forests of the Northern Province, part of which, 5,400 ha, was classified as a Special Reserve for Wildlife. This is a moist evergreen forest at low and medium altitude, rather well preserved, wholly on volcano-sedimentary soil. However, it has been exploited and continues to be to the east of the range, between 400 and 800 m in the upper basins of rivers Soft and Moneo. In this region, the forest, though dense, is of average height and devoid of remarkable trees. The foothills are covered, as everywhere, by savannah interspersed with residual forest or gallery forest pockets.
Key biodiversity
The IBA has been the subject of intensive exploration by different organisations and 63 listening points have been made. There were a total 40 of terrestrial and marine species, including the Tahiti Petrel (Pseudobulweria trouessarti rostrata). There are 24 restricted range species and 16 of the 19 endemic species on the mainland present on Aoupinie. Even if he has not been heard in ornithological studies, according to several residents of the tribes (1998, 2000 & 2003), the site is still home to the IBA Cagou. In addition, it hosts rather large populations of Columbidae: New Caledonian Imperial Pigeon, Metallic Pigeon and Cloven-feathered Dove. The New Caledonian Crow is very abundant (80% of the listening points). Many species seem poorly-represented, but it should be noted that the inventory of the area was carried out at a period considered unfavorable for bird detection and the results are likely to be biased and underestimated.
Non-bird biodiversity: Forest of Aoupinié hosts an exceptional variety of invertebrates with a high level of micro-endemism. For example, the IBA hosts a remarkable assemblage of Lepidoptera including dozens of species, many of which are endemic to this site. The herpetofauna of the massif has been fairly well studied. There are 17 species of lizards of which the small burrowing skink Nannoscincus rankini is considered endemic to high elevation forests of Aoupinié Also an isolated, population of the the skink Lioscincus steindachneri which may be a separate species from the other population known from Massif du Panie.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Aoupinié (New Caledonia (to France)). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/aoupinié-iba-new-caledonia-(to-france) on 22/11/2024.