The Central Korean deciduous forests is a

temperate broadleaf and mixed forests Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest is a temperate climate terrestrial habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature, with broadleaf tree ecoregions, and with conifer and broadleaf tree mixed coniferous forest ecoregions. These ...

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecological and geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and c ...

on the

Korean Peninsula Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically divided at or near the 38th parallel between North Korea (Dem ...

, covering portions of

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

and

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

Geography

The Central Korean deciduous forests occupy the central and southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. They are bounded on the south by the Southern Korea evergreen forests, and on the north by the

Manchurian mixed forests The Manchurian mixed forests ecoregion (WWF ID: PA0426) covers the forested hills surrounding the river plains of northern China, Russia, North Korea, and South Korea. The ecoregion supports a number of rare species due to the relative isolation ...

. Low mountains and rolling hills cover much of the peninsula, seldom exceeding 1200 meters elevation. The Baekdu-daegan mountain range runs along the eastern side of the peninsula, and the peninsula's main rivers generally flow westwards or southwards from mountain headwaters.

Climate

The climate of the ecoregion is temperate and generally humid ( ''Dwa''). Average annual rainfall exceeds 1000 mm. Summers are humid, and two-thirds of annual rainfall comes between June and September. Winter months are generally drier, and cold continental air from the Asian continent brings below-freezing temperatures. The climate is warmer and winters milder to the south, with colder winter temperatures to the north and at higher elevations.

Flora

The natural vegetation is deciduous broadleaf forest with some subtropical elements. Conifers predominate in recently-disturbed areas and at higher elevations. The predominant trees vary from south to north. In the warmer south, common broadleaf trees include

hornbeam Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the family Betulaceae. Its species occur across much of the temperateness, temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Common names The common English name ''hornbeam'' derives ...

s ('' Carpinus tschonoskii'' and '' Carpinus laxiflora''), maples ('' Acer formosum'' and ''

Acer palmatum ''Acer palmatum'', commonly known as Japanese maple, palmate maple, or smooth Japanese maple (Korean: ''danpungnamu'' []; Japanese: ''irohamomiji'' [] or ''momiji'' []), is a species of woody plant native to Korea, Japan, China, eastern Mongol ...

''), and the oak ''Quercus acutissima'', with the pine ''

Pinus thunbergii ''Pinus thunbergii'' (syn: ''Pinus thunbergiana''), the black pine, Japanese black pine, or Japanese pine, is a pine tree native to coastal areas of Japan (Kyūshū, Shikoku and Honshū) and South Korea. It is called () in Korean, () in Chin ...

'' and the bamboo ''

Phyllostachys ''Phyllostachys'' ( is a genus of Asian bamboo in the grass family. Many of the species are found in central and southern China, with a few species in northern Indochina and in the Himalayas. Some of the species have become naturalized in part ...

''. Pine and bamboo are common in formerly-cleared areas. In the northern portion of the ecoregion, common trees include the oaks '' Quercus mongolica'' and '' Quercus serrata'', along with '' Acer mono'', birch (''

Betula A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...

''),

(''Carpinus''), ''

Celtis sinensis ''Celtis sinensis'' (English language, English: Japanese hackberry, Chinese hackberry; Chinese language, Chinese: ; Japanese language, Japanese: ) is a species of flowering plant in the Cannabis, hemp family, Cannabaceae, that is native to slope ...

'', Korean ash (''Fraxinus chinensis'' var. ''rhynchophylla''), walnut ('' Juglans mandshurica''), '' Maackia amurensis'', '' Platycarya strobilacea,

Prunus padus ''Prunus padus'', known as bird cherry, hackberry (unrelated to the genus ''Celtis''), hagberry, or Mayday tree, is a flowering plant in the Rosaceae, rose family. It is a species of cherry, a deciduous small tree or large shrub up to tall. It ...

Pyrus ussuriensis ''Pyrus ussuriensis'', also known as the Ussurian pear, Harbin pear, and Manchurian pear, is a species of flowering plant in the family Rosaceae. It is native to Korea, Japan, China, and the Ussuri River area of far eastern Russia. It has flo ...

'', willows (''

Salix Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...

''), and elm (''

Ulmus Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the genus ''Ulmus'' in the family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical- montane regions of North America and Eurasia, ...

''), along with the fir ''

Abies holophylla ''Abies holophylla'', also called needle fir or Manchurian fir, is a species of fir native to mountainous regions of northern Korea, southern Ussuriland, and China in the provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Liaoning. It is an evergreen conif ...

''.

Fauna

Mammals native to the ecoregion include Ussuri black bear (''Ursus thibetanus ussuricus''), Siberian roe deer (''Capreolus pygargus''), Korean water deer (''Hydropotes inermis argyropus''),

Asian badger The Asian badger (''Meles leucurus''), also known as the sand badger, is a species of badger native to Mongolia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Korean Peninsula and Russia. Characteristics The Asian badger is mostly lighter in colour than th ...

(''Meles leucurus''),

leopard cat The leopard cat (''Prionailurus bengalensis'') is a Felinae, small wild cat native to continental South Asia, South, Southeast Asia, Southeast, and East Asia. Since 2002 it has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List as it is widely di ...

(''Prionailurus bengalensis''),

yellow-throated marten The yellow-throated marten (''Martes flavigula'') is a marten species native to the Himalayas, Southeast Asia, Southeast and East Asia. Its coat is bright yellow-golden, and its head and back are distinctly darker, blending together black, white, ...

(''Martes flavigula''),

Siberian weasel The Siberian weasel or kolonok (''Mustela sibirica'') is a medium-sized weasel native to Asia, where it is widely distributed and inhabits various forest habitats and open areas. It is therefore listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Descr ...

(''Mustela sibirica''), and mandarin vole (''Lasiopodomys mandarinus''). 379 bird species have been recorded in South Korea, of which 114 species are breeding species, and the others are vagrant, migrant or winter visitor species. Resident birds include the Tristram's woodpecker (''Dryocopus javensis richardsi''), fairy pitta (''Pitta nympha''), and

ring-necked pheasant The common pheasant (''Phasianus colchicus''), ring-necked pheasant, or blue-headed pheasant, is a bird in the pheasant family (Phasianidae). The genus name comes from Latin ''phasianus'' 'pheasant'. The species name ''colchicus'' is Latin for ...

(''Phasianus colchicus torquatus''). The endangered

red-crowned crane The red-crowned crane (''Grus japonensis''), also called the Manchurian crane (; the Chinese character '丹' means 'red', '頂/顶' means 'crown (anatomy), crown' and '鶴/鹤' means 'crane'), is a large East Asian Crane (bird), crane among the ...

(''Grus japonensis'') overwinter in coastal and freshwater wetlands and along rivers, and breeds in the ecoregion's deep freshwater marshes. The white-naped crane (''Antigone vipio'') overwinters in the ecoregion. Both species now breed in the Demilitarized Zone.

Conservation

A 2017 assessment found that 5,236 km², or 2%, of the ecoregion is in protected areas. Only 5% of the unprotected area is still forested. Supplemental material 2 table S1b. Protected areas include Bukhansan National Park, Byeonsan-bando National Park, Chiaksan National Park,

Deogyusan National Park Deogyusan National Park () is located in the provinces of Jeollabuk-do and Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea. It was designated as the 10th national park in 1975. The park is home to a total of 1,067 plant species, 32 mammal species, 130 bird speci ...

, Gayasan National Park, Gyeryongsan National Park, Jirisan National Park, Naejangsan National Park,

Sobaeksan National Park Sobaeksan National Park () is located in the provinces of Chungcheongbuk-do and Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea. It was designated as the 18th national park in 1987. It is named after the mountain Sobaeksan. The park is home to 1,067 plant species ...

, Songnisan National Park,

Woraksan National Park Woraksan National Park () is located in the provinces of Chungcheongbuk-do and Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Kor ...

. The

Korean Demilitarized Zone The Korean Demilitarized Zone () is a heavily militarized strip of land running across the Korea, Korean Peninsula near the 38th parallel north. The demilitarized zone (DMZ) is a border barrier that divides the peninsula roughly in half. It wa ...

runs across the Korean Peninsula. It marks the 1953 armistice line that ended the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

, and since then as served as the ''de facto'' border between North Korea and South Korea. The demilitarized zone is approximately 4 kilometres (2.5 miles) wide. The zone is mostly depopulated, and civilian access is restricted. Over the decades forests and wetlands within the zone have returned to their natural state, and it has become a refuge for wildlife, including resident and migratory birds.

External links

References

{{coord missing, South Korea Ecoregions of Asia Ecoregions of North Korea Ecoregions of South Korea Forests of South Korea Palearctic ecoregions Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests