The South Taiwan monsoon rain 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: IM0171) covers the southern tip of
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
, 200 km east of the mainland. The area is one of high biodiversity, due to its location between temperate and subtropical zones, its monsoon exposure, and its high altitude variation (from mangrove forests at sea level to inland mountains).
Location and description
The ecoregion covers only the southernmost 60 km of the island, 70 km west to east at its widest. The central ridge is mountainous, with a flat coastal flat on the northwest. The ecoregion is only 1,000 square miles in area. Much of the southern tip of the island is protected by
Kenting National Park. It is bounded on the north by the
Taiwan subtropical evergreen forests ecoregion.
Climate
The climate of the ecoregion is ''
tropical monsoon'' (
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 ...
(Am)). This climate is characterized as having no month averaging below , and typically a very rainy wet season and relatively short dry season.
Flora and fauna
The inland mountains support forests of both evergreen and deciduous trees. The evergreens include Chinese banyan (''
Ficus microcarpa'') and Chinese cryptocarya (''
Cryptocarya chinensis)''; deciduous trees include Kapok (''
Bombax ceiba
''Bombax ceiba'', like other trees of the genus ''Bombax'', is commonly known as cotton tree. More specifically, it is sometimes known as Malabar silk-cotton tree; red silk-cotton; red cotton tree; or ambiguously as silk-cotton or kapok, both of ...
''). The coastal mangrove forests feature the Asiatic mangrove (''
Rhizophora mucronata
''Rhizophora mucronata'' (loop-root mangrove, red mangrove or Asiatic mangrove) is a species of mangrove found on coasts and river banks in East Africa and the Indo-Pacific region.
Description
''Rhizophora mucronata'' is a small to medium si ...
'') and Black mangrove (''
Bruguiera gymnorhiza'').
The coastal areas support migratory birds on the
East Asian–Australasian Flyway.
Forests in Nanjenshan Reserve are of three main types. Low-canopied forests (3–5 meters) grow on northeast-facing (windward) ridges and slopes, with ''
Illicium arborescens'' and ''
Lithocarpus amygdalifolius'' as the predominant trees, and ''
Psychotria rubra'' as the most common shrub. Taller forests (10–15 meter canopy height) grow on leeward (southwest or northwest-facing) slopes, with ''
Schefflera octophylla'', ''
Helicia formosana'', ''
Ilex cochinchinensis'', and species of
Fagaceae
The Fagaceae (; ) are a family of flowering plants that includes beeches, chestnuts and oaks, and comprises eight genera with around 1,000 or more species. Fagaceae in temperate regions are mostly deciduous, whereas in the tropics, many species ...
and
Lauraceae
Lauraceae, or the laurels, is a plant Family (biology), family that includes the bay laurel, true laurel and its closest relatives. This family comprises about 2850 known species in about 45 genus (biology), genera worldwide. They are dicotyled ...
as the most abundant canopy trees. In sheltered valley forests ''
Ficus benjamina'' is the predominant tree, forming a canopy 15 to 20 meters tall. ''
Aglaia elliptifolia'' is a common tree, and ''Psychotria rubra'' is the most common shrub.
[Chao, WC., Song, GZ.M., Chao, KJ. et al. Lowland rainforests in southern Taiwan and Lanyu, at the northern border of Paleotropics and under the influence of monsoon wind. ''Plant Ecology'' 210, 1–17 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-009-9694-0]
Conservation
A 2017 assessment found that 349 km², or 14%, of the ecoregion is in protected areas. Another 68% is forested but outside protected areas.
[Eric Dinerstein, David Olson, et al. (2017). An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm, BioScience, Volume 67, Issue 6, June 2017, Pages 534–545; Supplemental material 2 table S1b]
/ref> Protected areas include:["South Taiwan monsoon rain forests". DOPA Explorer. Accessed 14 February 2022]
/ref>
* Kenting National Park
* Dawu Working Circle Taiwan Amentotaxus Nature Reserve
* Dawushan Nature Reserve
* Kenting Uplifted Coral Reefs Nature Reserve
* Xuhai-Guanyinbi Nature Reserve
* Dawu Taiwan Keteleeria Forest Reserve
* Chachayalaishan Major Wildlife Habitat
* Jin-shuei-ying Major Wildlife Habitat
See also
* List of ecoregions in China
References
{{reflist
Ecoregions of China
Ecoregions of Taiwan
Indomalayan ecoregions
Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests