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Tasmanian Temperate Rain ForestsThe Tasmanian temperate rain forests are an ecoregion of western Tasmania. This ecoregion is one of a small number of temperate rain forests in the world, characterized by cool and mild temperate climates with a strong oceanic influence, high year-round rainfall, and the presence of west-facing coastal mountains. The Tasmanian temperate rain forests are part of the Australasia ecozone, which includes Tasmania and Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, New Caledonia, and adjacent islands. The Tasmanian temperate rain forests have many of the Marsupial mammals characteristic of Australia, including the Tasmanian Devil. The mixed forests of the Tasmanian temperate rain forests are home to the Antarctic flora, including broadleaf southern beech (Nothofagus, especially N. cunninghamii), and conifers. Conifers include the Huon Pine (Lagarostrobos franklinii), and King Billy pine (Athrotaxis selaginoides). Neither tree is actually a pine; the Huon pine is a member of the southern hemisphere Podocarp family (Podocarpaceae), and the King Billy pine is a member of the Cypress family (Cupressaceae). Both trees are known for their height and great age. Both are also fine, if slow growing, timber trees, and have been reduced considerably by fire, mining and logging. In 1982, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designated the northern portion of the ecoregion a World Heritage Site.
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