Taxonomy
Podonephelium gongrocarpum
Common name :
Faux chêne tigré
Synonyms
Podonephelium homei f. gongrocarpum Radlk.Red List Status -
Least Concern (LC) , assessed in 20/02/2015
Podonephelium gongrocarpum is an endemic tree of New Caledonia where it is restricted to the southern third of the main island, Grande Terre.With an EOO of 2,325 km², an AOO of 88 km², and around 12-15 known subpopulations, some of which occur within a protected area, Podonephelium gongrocarpum is assigned a status of Least Concern (LC).
Geographical area
Podonephelium gongrocarpum is an endemic tree of New Caledonia where it is restricted to the southern third of the main island, Grande Terre.
Population
Population size is unknown.
Habitat
It occurs in dense humid forest on an ultramafic substrate. It is often found in landslide/rockslide areas and in semi-open forest cover or on the edge of forests.
Threats
Podonephelium gongrocarpum may be impacted by mining activities and fires. However, it has a large distribution and natural regeneration has been observed. It does not seem threatened. An important threat to biodiversity in New Caledonia comes from past, present and future mining activities. New Caledonia contains between 20 - 30% of the world's nickel resources. Intense mining activities since the late 19th century generated soil erosion (1.2% of bare ground mapped by SPOT5 in 2007). Based on the distribution of metal-rich soils and site accessibility, these threats are predictable and planned (rise in nickel production from 60,000 to 200,000 tonnes per year between 2013 and 2015). Uncontrolled fires sweep across lowlands of New Caledonia each year, especially during the dry season (an average of 20,000 ha of land is burnt each year, with dramatic peaks of 70,000 ha).
Conservation
This species is not protected by local legislation. Five subpopulations are included in protected areas (réserve naturelle du pic du grand Kaori, réserve naturelle du Mont Mou, réserve naturelle de la forêt de Saille, réserve naturelle de la Vallée de la Thy, réserve naturelle de la Forêt Nord). Dense humid forests are a patrimonial ecosystem protected by the Code de l'Environnement of the Province Sud.This species is produced from seed in the nursery of VALE NC for forest reinforcement.
Bibliography
L'Huillier L.; Jaffré T. and Wulff A. 2010. Mines et Environnement en Nouvelle-Calédonie : les milieux sur substrats ultramafiques et leur restauration.
Munzinger J. et al. 2013. A Taxonomic Revision of the Endemic New Caledonian Genus Podonephelium Baill. (Sapindaceae). Systematic botany(38) , p.1105-1124.
Experts
Assessor(s): Tanguy, V.
Reviewer(s): Schatz, G.
Contributor(s): Cazé, H., Lowry, P., McCoy, S., Isnard, S., Wulff, A.