The Nihonkai evergreen forests

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 ...

(WWF ID: PA0427) covers a thin strip of land on the western coast (facing the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it ...

) of the island of

Honshu , historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the list of islands by area, seventh-largest island in the world, and the list of islands by ...

in Japan. It is bounded on the east by the

Nihonkai montane deciduous forests The Nihonkai montane deciduous forests ecoregion (WWF ID: PA0428) covers the Nihonkai (Sea of Japan-side) mountain slopes of Japan's central island of Honshu, including most of the northern half of the island. Also included in the ecoregion are t ...

ecoregion.

Location and description

The coastal strips extends for most of the length of the island, encompassing bays, inlets, rocky coasts and caves. Also represented in the ecoregion are the

Oki Islands The is an archipelago in the Sea of Japan, the islands of which are administratively part of Oki District, Shimane Prefecture, Japan. The islands have a total area of . Only four of the around 180 islands are permanently inhabited. Much of the ...

and

Sado Island is an island located in the eastern part of the Sea of Japan, under the jurisdiction of Sado City, Niigata Prefecture, Japan, with a coastline of . In October 2017, Sado Island had a population of 55,212 people. Sado Island covers an area of ...

in the Sea of Japan about 40 km west of Honshu.

Climate

The climate of the ecoregion is '' Humid continental climate, warm wet summer'' (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

(Cfa)). This climate is characterized by large seasonal temperature differentials. No month averages below , at least one month averages above , and four months average over . Precipitation is relatively even throughout the year.

Flora and fauna

About 37% of the ecoregion is closed evergreen needle-leaf forest, 27% is closed deciduous forest, 11% cultivated, 10% urban/built-up, and the rest is other types of terrain.

Protected areas

* Sanin Kaigan National Park * Daisen-Oki National Park

References

{{Paleartic temperate broadleaf and mixed forests Palearctic ecoregions Ecoregions of Japan Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests