Araucaria schmidii is endemic to New Caledonia, and is only known from a single location on the upper slopes of Mount Panié in the northeastern part of Grande Terre. It occurs in dense humid cloud forest on schistose rocks at 1,250–1,600 m asl. Its area of occupancy (AOO) and extent of occurrence (EOO) are both estimated to be 8 km2. There has been a recent decline in habitat quality as a result of habitat degradation by pigs. As a result, A. schmidii is assessed as Critically Endangered (CR) under criterion B (CR B1ab(iii)+2ab(iii)).

Geographical area

This species is restricted to a single locality on the summit and highest slopes of Mount Panié, New Caledonia. Botanical surveys on surrounding massifs have not located any additional subpopulations.

Population

The total population is estimated to be fewer than 1,000 mature trees. A recent field visit (J.F. Butaud, Conservation International and Dayu Biik pers. obs., 2017) recorded many seedlings located very close to some of the mother plants. Nevertheless, juveniles measuring between 1 and 5 m high seem very rare. Several large standing and fallen dead stems were also observed.

Habitat

Araucaria schmidii is only found in montane cloud forest in the northeast of New Caledonia. It is the only native Araucaria that grows exclusively on non-ultrabasic soils.

Threats

Recent field visits have observed a clear deterioration in the overall quality of Mount Panié's habitat, with dieback (mortality or crown decline) of several woody species such as Kaori (Agathis montana), some Syzygium, Cunonia, Beauprea and Myrsine species. This decline is most likely related to soil erosion triggered largely by the foraging and burrowing of wild pigs. According to local guides and staff from Dayu Biik and Conservation International, who have been regular visitors to the site since the mid-2000s, ground cover by mosses has greatly decreased, the undergrowth is becoming less dense and the rocky substrate is more and more exposed. The presence of animal tracks and the decreasing density of the vegetation makes traversing the undergrowth relatively easy. The habitat opening seems to encourage the germination of Araucaria seeds, as has been observed in a small plot with hundreds of seedlings both in an open habitat and in the undergrowth on a bed of moss. This probably reflects the pioneer nature of the genus, where a noticeable disturbance that opens the habitat results in regeneration opportunities. However, the absence of juveniles (between 60 cm and 8 m) in the monitored plots and their rarity outside those plots, indicates that there is a high seedling mortality, restricting the regeneration of the species. This mortality may be explained by the open habitat being more vulnerable to droughts or to repeated disturbance by feral pigs. Habitat degradation therefore appears to be generally unfavourable to the species. Araucaria schmidii's restriction to very high altitudes also makes it particularly sensitive to climate change, particularly in the context of the relatively dry years at Mont Panié (Casola and Tron 2013) and the reduction of cloudiness during the dry season (F. Tron pers. comm. 2018) that have been recorded over more than a decade.

Conservation

This species is protected in province Nord. The entire population is located within the Mont Panié protected area which covers around 5,000 ha and was declared in 1950. The species is recorded from ex situ collections (BGCI 2024).

Bibliography

Endemia.nc 2016. Faune et Flore de Nouvelle-Calédonie.

Jaffré, T. and Munzinger 2009. Conservation status of Araucaria schmidii and Agathis montana. Email correspondence with IUCN SSC Conifer RLA Focal Point..

Casola, J. and Tron, F. 2013. Interannual precipitation and temperature variability near Mt. Panié wilderness reserve and its connection to kauri (Agathis montana) die-back. In: F.M. Tron, R. Franquet, T.H. Larsen and J.J. Cassan (eds).

Morat, P.; Jaffré, T.; Tronchet, F.; Munzinger, J.; Pillon, Y.; Veillon, J.-M. and Chalopin, M. 2012. Le référentiel taxonomique Florical et les caractéristiques de la flore vasculaire indigène de la Nouvelle-Calédonie [The taxonomic database « FLORICAL » and characteristics of the indigenous flora of New Caledonia]. Adansonia sér 3(34) , p.177-219.

Munzinger J., Morat Ph., Jaffré T., Gâteblé G., Pillon Y., Rouhan G., Bruy, D., Veillon J.-M., & M. Chalopin 2020. FLORICAL: Checklist of the vascular indigenous flora of New Caledonia [continuously updated].

Manauté, J., Jaffré, T., Veillon, J.-M. and Kranitz, M. 2003. Revue des Araucariaceae de Nouvelle-Calédonie. IRD, Nouméa..

Experts

Assessor(s): Amice, R., Cazé, H., Dumontet, V., Fleurot, D., Garnier, D., Héquet, V., Lagrange, A., Lannuzel, G., McCoy, S., Suprin, B., Veillon, J.

Reviewer(s): Thomas, P., Munzinger, J., Jaffré, T., Gardner, M.

Contributor(s): Gueugnier, C., Butaud, J.

Facilitator(s): Maura, J., Tanguy, V.