The Sayan montane conifer 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: PA0519) covers the mid-elevation levels of the

Sayan Mountains The Sayan Mountains (, ; ) are a mountain range in southern Siberia spanning southeastern Russia (Buryatia, Irkutsk Oblast, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Tuva and Khakassia) and northern Mongolia. Before the rapid expansion of the Tsardom of Russia, the mou ...

, the high mountain range between the

taiga Taiga or tayga ( ; , ), also known as boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces, and larches. The taiga, or boreal forest, is the world's largest land biome. In North A ...

of Siberia,

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

to the north, and the steppes of

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

to the south. The slopes of the mountains at the mid-altitudes are covered by

Temperate coniferous forest Temperate coniferous forest is a terrestrial biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Temperate coniferous forests are found predominantly in areas with warm summers and cool winters, and vary in their kinds of plant life. In some, needle ...

. The ecoregion is in the

Palearctic realm The Palearctic or Palaearctic is a biogeographic realm of the Earth, the largest of eight. Confined almost entirely to the Eastern Hemisphere, it stretches across Europe and Asia, north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The ...

, with a

cold semi-arid climate Cold is the presence of low temperature, especially in the atmosphere. In common usage, cold is often a subjective perception. A lower bound to temperature is absolute zero, defined as 0.00K on the Kelvin scale, an absolute thermodynamic ...

. It covers .

Location and description

The ecoregion stretches some 2,500 km from the

Kuznetsk Alatau Kuznetsk Alatau () is a mountain range in southern Siberia, Russia. The range rises in the Altai-Sayan region of the South Siberian Mountains, northwest of Mongolia. The Siberian Railway skirts the northern limit of the range. Geography ...

mountains in the west, across the western and eastern Sayan Mountain ranges, to the southeastern shores of

Lake Baikal Lake Baikal is a rift lake and the deepest lake in the world. It is situated in southern Siberia, Russia between the Federal subjects of Russia, federal subjects of Irkutsk Oblast, Irkutsk Oblasts of Russia, Oblast to the northwest and the Repu ...

. The ecoregion covers the forested mid-altitudes of the mountains, with a lower bound ranging from 600 to 900 meters above sea level (depending on local conditions), and an upper bound of 1,800 meters. This ecoregion is one of high biodiversity, due to its position on the meeting lines of climate and floral zones, and the many micro-climates created by the mountainous terrain and steep river valleys.

Climate

Because of its altitude and distance from the ocean, the ecoregion has a

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a continental climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of ...

(

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 ...

Dfc). This indicates a continental climate characterized by short, cool summers, and very cold, long winters, with wide differences between day and night temperatures. This region is also heavily influenced by the high barometric pressures over Mongolia. The Altai mountains on the west of the ecoregion capture humidity in the winds from the west; precipitation is accordingly higher on the western side of the ecoregion than the drier east.

Flora and fauna

The mid-altitude forest belt can be divided into three sub-zones. The highest is the 'Light Needle-Leaf Sparse Taiga' zone (1,400 meters to 1,800 meters), an open canopy forest of

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 ...

(Sibirian larch), with notable shrub and grass layers. The 'Dark Needle-Leaf Taiga' zone (900 meters - 1,400 meters) if dominated by

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 ...

(Siberian fir) and stands of

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 ...

(Siberian pine) and

Picea obovata ''Picea obovata'', the Siberian spruce, is a spruce native to Siberia, from the Ural Mountains east to Magadan Oblast, and from the Arctic tree line south to the Altay Mountains in northwestern Mongolia. It is a medium-sized evergreen tree grow ...

(Siberian spruce). The 'dark taiga' zone (600 meters to 900 meters) has the same trees as the middle sub-zone, but more vertically developed shrub and grass layers, and richer soil. Over 800 species of flora are recorded in the ecoregion.

Protections

Officially protected areas in the region include: * Altai Nature Reserve ("Altaisky"). An IUCN class Ia "strict ecological reserve" (a

Zapovednik A zapovednik is an established term on the Post-Soviet states, territory of the former Soviet Union for a protected area which is kept "forever wild". It is the highest degree of environmental protection for the assigned areas, which are strictly ...

) located in the north and east of

Altai Republic The Altai Republic, also known as the Gorno-Altai Republic, is a republic of Russia located in southern Siberia. The republic borders Kemerovo Oblast to the north, Khakassia to the northeast, Tuva to the east, Altai Krai to the west, as well ...

. (Area: 8,812 km²). *

Baikal Nature Reserve The Baikal Nature Reserve (; ) is a nature reserve and "zapovednik" on the southeast shore of Lake Baikal, in southern Buryatia, Russia. Also called Baikal Zapovednik, it was established in 1969 for preserving the nature along the lake and the n ...

("Baikalsky"). An IUCN class Ia "strict ecological reserve" (a

) located on the southeast shore of

and the neighboring central part of the Khamar-Daban Range, in southern

Buryatia Buryatia, officially the Republic of Buryatia, is a republic of Russia located in the Russian Far East. Formerly part of the Siberian Federal District, it has been administered as part of the Far Eastern Federal District since 2018. To its nort ...

. (Area: 1,657 km²). * Khakassia Nature Reserve ("Khakassky"). An IUCN class Ia "strict ecological reserve" (a

) covering two large mountain areas (alpine and mountain-steppe), and a cluster of seven steppe sites located within the left bank of the

Minusinsk Hollow Minusinsk Basin or Khakass-Minusinsk Basin (, ''Minusinskaya (Chakassko-Minusinskaya) kotlovina'') is in Khakassia and Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It ...

. (Area: 2,675 km²). * Kuznetsk Alatau Nature Reserve. An IUCN class Ia "strict ecological reserve" (a

) located on the

, a mountain ridge in the Altai-Sayan mountain region in southwestern Siberia, in the watershed of the

Tom River The Tom (, ; ; ) is a river in Russia, a right tributary of the Ob in central Siberia. Its watershed lies within the Republic of Khakassia, Kemerovo Oblast, and Tomsk Oblast.

and the Chuly River. (Area: 4,129 km²). * Sayano-Shushenski Nature Reserve. An IUCN class Ia "strict ecological reserve" (a

) located in a remote area of the West

of south Siberia, on the southern bank of the

Yenisei River The Yenisey or Yenisei ( ; , ) is the list of rivers by length, fifth-longest river system in the world, and the largest to drain into the Arctic Ocean. Rising in Mungaragiyn-gol in Mongolia, it follows a northerly course through Lake Baikal a ...

along the Sayano-Shushenskoye reservoir. (Area: 3,904 km²). * Shorsky National Park. An IUCN class Ia "strict ecological reserve" (a

) located where the

West Siberian Plain The West Siberian Plain () is a large plain that occupies the western portion of Siberia, between the Ural Mountains in the west and the Yenisei, Yenisei River in the east, and the Altai Mountains on the southeast. Much of the plain is poorly d ...

meets the South Siberian Mountain. (Area: 4,180 km²). * Shushensky Bor National Park. An IUCN class Ia "strict ecological reserve" (a

) located in the extreme southwest of Siberia, in the northern foothills of the Western Sayan Mountains. (Area: 392 km²). *

Tunkinsky National Park The Tunka or Tunkinsky National Park (Russian: Тункинский) is a national park located in south central Siberia. It covers a mountainous region centered on the Irkut River valley (also referred to as the Tunka Valley) that continues from ...

. An IUCN class Ia "strict ecological reserve" (a

) located in a mountainous region centered on the

Irkut River The Irkut (; Buryat and , ''Erhüü go''l) is a river in the Buryat Republic and Irkutsk Oblast of Russia. It is a left tributary of the Angara. It flows out of lake Ilchir which is situated 50 km away from the highest peak of the Eastern Sayan ...

valley (also referred to as the Tunka Valley) that continues from the rift valley of

southwest to the border of

. (Area: 11,837 km²). *

Ubsunur Hollow Biosphere Reserve Uvs Lake Basin (also Uvs Nuur Basin or Ubs Nuur Basin; ) is an endorheic basin located on the territorial border of Mongolia and Tuva, a republic of the Russian Federation. The basin is part of the Central Asian Internal Drainage Basin and is na ...

. An IUCN class Ia "strict ecological reserve" (a

) located a fragile mountain hollow or depression located on the territorial border of Mongolia and the Republic of Tuva in the Russian Federation among the mountains — Tannu-Ola Mountains, and the Altay Mountains region. (Area: 10,688 km²). *

Lake Khövsgöl Lake Khövsgöl () is a lake in Khövsgöl Province, Mongolia. It is the largest freshwater lake in the country by volume and second largest by area after Uvs Lake. It is nicknamed the "Younger sister" of those two "sister lakes". The lake's na ...

National Park (Mongolia). The park covers territory surrounding Lake Khovsgul, the largest freshwater lake in Mongolia (over 1,000 square miles and averaging over 450 feet in depth). (Area: 8,381 km²) * Tengis-Shishged National Park (Mongolia). Covers the lower Shishged River as if flows west from the Darkhad Valley in northern Mongolia. The landscape is one of high peaks with steep sides and wide glaciated valleys. (Area: 8,757 km²)

References

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External links