Australasia

Region | Realm

The Australasia realm is dominated by the Australian continent and two additional subrealms—New Zealand and the Australasian Islands & East Indonesia—with 16 bioregions in total as defined in the One Earth Bioregions Framework. Australia has seven bioregions, the largest of which contains its vast interior deserts. The south of Australia is defined largely by coastal Mediterranean woodlands and a large expanse of tropical savannas to the north. To the east are temperate grasslands and coastal forests that extend down to Tasmania. The New Zealand subrealm contains forests and grasslands and adjoining small islands to the east and west. The Australasian Islands & East Indonesia subrealm includes Papua, Sulawesi, and other Indonesian islands east of the Makassar Strait and south of the Java Sea, as well as the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia. With its seven seas and immense coral reefs, Australasia is one of the most critical realms for ocean biodiversity. The Great Barrier Reef—considered one of the Seven Natural Wonders—is the world’s largest coral reef system, composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching over 2,300 kilometers.