The Nihonkai montane deciduous 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: PA0428) covers the Nihonkai (Sea of Japan-side) mountain slopes of Japan's central 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 ...

, including most of the northern half of the island. Also included in the ecoregion are the forested lowland hills of the

Oshima Peninsula The Oshima Peninsula (渡島半島 ''Oshima-hantō'') is the southernmost part of Hokkaidō, the northernmost of the Japanese islands. Where the peninsula starts is open to interpretation. A more generous interpretation is to draw a line southea ...

, which is the southern extension of Hokkaido Island.

Location and description

The ecoregion stretches for up the western side of Honshu, from

Wakasa Bay is a bay located in the Chūbu region of Japan, and spans the coasts of Kyoto Prefecture, and Fukui Prefecture. Geography Wakasa Bay is the area south of the straight line from Cape Kyoga on the west of Tango Peninsula to Cape Echizen on the e ...

in the south and expanding to cover the breadth of the island by the time it reaches the northern coast. Elevations range from sea level to , with an average of . Throughout the ecoregion, individual mountain peaks rise above the zone of deciduous trees into the Honshu alpine conifer forests ecoregion.

Climate

The climate of the ecoregion is '' Humid continental climate - Hot summer sub-type'' (

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 ...

Dfa), with large seasonal temperature differentials and a hot summer (at least one month averaging over , and mild winters.

Flora and fauna

The climate is cooler in the north of Honshu than the south, with deciduous mixed trees typified by Japanese beech ''( Fagus crenata)'', Jolcham oak ''( Quercus serrata)'', '' Castanopsis sieboldii'', '' Picea jezoensis'', ''

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 ...

'', '' Pinus pumila'', ''

Prunus nipponica ''Prunus nipponica'', also called or Kurile cherry, is a shrub which originates from the islands of Hokkaido and Honshu, Japan. It grows to a height of about and can grow in sandy, loamy, and clay soils. This species is one of the hardiest of ...

'', ''

Cryptomeria japonica ''Cryptomeria'' (literally "hidden parts") is a monotypic genus of conifer in the cypress family Cupressaceae. It includes only one species, ''Cryptomeria japonica'' ( syn. ''Cupressus japonica'' L.f.). It is considered to be endemic to Japa ...

'', ''

Sciadopitys verticillata ''Sciadopitys verticillata'', the or Japanese umbrella-pine, is a unique conifer Endemism, endemic to Japan, Sakhalin, and the Kuril Islands. It is the sole living member of the family Sciadopityaceae and genus ''Sciadopitys'', a living fossil ...

'', '' Salix pierotii'', ''

Camphora officinarum ''Camphora officinarum'' is a species of evergreen tree indigenous to warm temperate to subtropical regions of East Asia, including countries such as China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Korea, and Japan. It is known by various names, most notably the camph ...

'', ''

Cercidiphyllum japonicum ''Cercidiphyllum japonicum'', known as the Katsura (from its Japanese name カツラ, 桂), is a species of flowering tree in the family Cercidiphyllaceae native to China and Japan. It is sometimes called ''caramel tree'' for the light caramel sm ...

'', '' Fagus crenata'', '' Carpinus laxiflora'', '' Tilia amurensis'', '' Larix gmelinii'', ''

Larix sibirica ''Larix sibirica'', the Siberian larch or Russian larch, is a frost-hardy tree native to western Russia, from close to the Finnish border east to the Yenisei valley in central Siberia, where it hybridises with the Dahurian larch ''L. gmelinii ...

'', '' Larix × czekanowskii'', '' Betula dahurica'', ''

Betula pendula ''Betula pendula'', commonly known as silver birch, warty birch, European white birch, or East Asian white birch, is a species of tree in the family (biology), family Betulaceae, native plant, native to Europe and parts of Asia, though in so ...

'', '' Pinus koraiensis'', ''

Pinus sibirica ''Pinus sibirica'', or Siberian pine, in the family Pinaceae is a species of pine tree that occurs in Siberia from 58°E in the Ural Mountains east to 126°E in the Stanovoy Range in southern Sakha Republic, and from Igarka at 68°N in the l ...

'', ''

Pinus sylvestris ''Pinus sylvestris'', the Scots pine (UK), Scotch pine (US), Baltic pine, or European red pine is a species of tree in the pine family Pinaceae that is native plant, native to Eurasia. It can readily be identified by its combination of fairly s ...

'', '' Picea obovata'', ''

Abies sibirica ''Abies sibirica'', the Siberian fir, is a coniferous evergreen tree native to the taiga east of the Volga River and south of 67°40' North latitude in Siberia through Turkestan, northeast Xinjiang, Mongolia and Heilongjiang. Distribution The ...

'', ''

Quercus acutissima ''Quercus acutissima'', the sawtooth oak, is an Asian species of oak native to China, Tibet, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Siberia, Mongolia, Bangladesh, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Brunei, Indochina (Vietnam, Thailand, ...

'', '' Quercus mongolica'', ''

Ginkgo biloba ''Ginkgo biloba'', commonly known as ginkgo or gingko ( ), also known as the maidenhair tree, is a species of gymnosperm tree native to East Asia. It is the last living species in the order Ginkgoales, which first appeared over 290 million year ...

'', ''

Prunus serrulata ''Prunus serrulata'' or Japanese cherry is a species of cherry tree that grows wild in Japan, China, Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Philippines, Malaysia, Indones ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', '' Tilia amurensis'', ''

Salix babylonica ''Salix babylonica'' (Babylon willow or weeping willow; ) is a species of willow native to dry areas of northern China, Korea, Mongolia, Japan, and Siberia but cultivated for millennia elsewhere in Asia, being traded along the Silk Road to southw ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', ''Populus tremula'', ''Ulmus davidiana'', '' Ulmus pumila'', '' Haloxylon ammodendron'', ''

Elaeagnus angustifolia ''Elaeagnus angustifolia'', commonly called Russian olive, silver berry, oleaster, or wild olive, is a species of ''Elaeagnus'', native to Asia and limited areas of eastern Europe. It is widely established in North America as an introduced specie ...

'', ''

Tamarix ramosissima ''Tamarix ramosissima'', commonly known as saltcedar salt cedar, or tamarisk, is a deciduous arching shrub with reddish stems, feathery, pale green foliage, and characteristic small pink flowers. The cultivar 'Pink Cascade' (dark pink flowered) ...

'', ''

Podocarpus macrophyllus ''Podocarpus macrophyllus'' is a conifer in the genus ''Podocarpus'', family Podocarpaceae. It is the northernmost species of the genus, native to southern Japan and southern and eastern China. Common names in English include yew plum pine, Buddh ...

'', and ''

Prunus sibirica ''Prunus sibirica'', commonly known as Siberian apricot, is a species of shrub or small tree native to northern China, Korea, Mongolia, and eastern Siberia. It is classified in the rose family, Rosaceae, and is one of several species whose fruit ...

''.

Protected areas

Protected areas in the ecoregion include: * Bandai-Asahi National Park * Chūbu-Sangaku National Park *

Oze National Park , is an area consisting of open greenland in Fukushima, Tochigi, Gunma and Niigata Prefectures in Japan. The park is 372 km2 in area and is the 29th national park in Japan. Opened on 30 August 2007, the park's area includes the marshes ...

References

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