Forest cover map

The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

Map source: Global Forest Resources Assessment 2000, base map: ESRI

The above map is an extract from the Global Forest Cover map produced as part of FRA 2000. Please refer to FRA Working Paper 19 for a background to the production of the map.

An elevated coral atoll composed entirely of two terraces of coral limestone, Niue lies in the south-east tradewind belt and was once covered by closed forest. This vegetation has been highly modified by shifting agricultural practices that have created a mosaic of cultivated plots and fallow lands in various stages of succession to scrub and secondary forest. Relatively intact natural forests remain in areas of extremely rough coral terrain both along the coast and on the upper terrace. The following description of vegetation types is derived from Mueller-Dombois and Fosberg (1998) and Sykes (1970).