The Taiheiyo evergreen forests is a
temperate broadleaf forest 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 ...
of
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
.
Geography
The ecoregion covers an area of on the
Pacific
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...
''(Taiheiyo)'' side of the islands 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 ...
,
Shikoku
is the smallest of the List of islands of Japan#Main islands, four main islands of Japan. It is long and between at its widest. It has a population of 3.8 million, the least populated of Japan's four main islands. It is south of Honshu ...
, and
Kyushu
is the third-largest island of Japan's Japanese archipelago, four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa Island, Okinawa and the other Ryukyu Islands, Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Ryukyu Islands, Islands ...
. It also includes
Tsushima Island in the
Korea Strait
The Korea Strait is a strait, sea passage in East Asia between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. It connects the East China Sea, the Yellow Sea and the Sea of Japan in the northwest Pacific Ocean. The strait is split by Tsushima Island into two par ...
between Kyushu and Korea and the volcanic
Izu Islands
The are a group of volcanic islands stretching south and east from the Izu Peninsula of Honshū, Japan. Administratively, they form two towns and six villages; all part of Tokyo Prefecture. The largest is Izu Ōshima, usually called simply Ōsh ...
off Honshu's southern coast.
[
The ecoregion is home to Japan's largest cities, including ]Tokyo
Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
, Yokohama
is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...
, Osaka
is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...
, and Nagoya
is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...
.
Climate
The ecoregion has a humid subtropical climate. The influence of the Japan Current creates a humid climate with mild winters and a long growing season, which nurtured evergreen broadleaf forests.
Flora
Laurel forest
Laurel forest, also called laurisilva or laurissilva, is a type of subtropical forest found in areas with high humidity and relatively stable, mild temperatures. The forest is characterized by broadleaf tree species with evergreen, glossy and el ...
s grew near the coast, and oak forests were predominant inland. At higher elevations, the Taiheiyo evergreen forests yielded to the Taiheiyo montane deciduous forests of the interior.Podocarpus
''Podocarpus'' () is a genus of conifers, the most numerous and widely distributed of the podocarp family, the Podocarpaceae. ''Podocarpus'' species are evergreen shrubs or trees, usually from tall, known to reach at times. The cones have ...
'' ('' Podocarpus macrophyllus'' and '' Podocarpus fasciculus''), one species of the Fir Abies firma
''Abies firma'', the momi fir, is a species of fir native to central and southern Japan, growing at low to moderate altitudes of 50–1200 m.
''Abies firma'' is a medium-sized to large evergreen coniferous tree growing to tall and in trunk dia ...
, two species of ''Pittosporum
''Pittosporum'' ( or The first pronunciation is that expected for traditional English pronunciation of Latin, Anglo-Latin; the second is common in nurseries. ''Sunset Western Garden Book,'' 1995:606–607) is a genus of about 250 species of flow ...
'', '' Fatsia japonica'', '' Aspidistra elatior'', '' Castanopsis sieboldii'', '' Persea thunbergii'', '' Cryptomeria japonica'', '' Sciadopitys verticillata'', '' Camphora officinarum'', ''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'', '' Daphniphyllum macropodum'', ''Ilex integra
''Ilex integra'', the elegance female holly, also called mochi tree, is an ornamental tree of the holly genus, which is native to parts of Asia, including Korea; Taiwan; the mid-southern regions of China; and Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu in Japan. ...
'', '' Eurya japonica'', '' Pittosporum tobira'', several species in the laurel family ''( Machilus, Neolitsea
''Neolitsea'' is a genus of about 85 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the laurel family Lauraceae. They range from Indo-Malaysia to East Asia to Australia. The leaves are alternate, clustered, or verticillate, rarely subopposite. Sp ...
,'' and '' Camphora (plant))'', and the Cycad
Cycads are seed plants that typically have a stout and woody (ligneous) trunk (botany), trunk with a crown (botany), crown of large, hard, stiff, evergreen and (usually) pinnate leaves. The species are dioecious, that is, individual plants o ...
('' Cycas revoluta''(. In more coastal areas, '' Pinus thunbergii'' is quite common. Trees with origins in temperate Eurasia include species of evergreen oaks, ''Castanopsis
''Castanopsis'', commonly called chinquapin or chinkapin, is a genus of evergreen trees belonging to the beech family, Fagaceae. The genus contains about 140 species, which are today restricted to tropical and subtropical eastern Asia. The Engli ...
'', '' Salix pierotii'', '' Picea jezoensis'', '' Pinus thunbergii'', '' 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 ...
'', '' Tilia amurensis'', '' 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'', '' 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'', ''Quercus glauca
''Quercus glauca'' ( syn. ''Cyclobalanopsis glauca''), commonly called ring-cupped oak or Japanese blue oak, is a tree in the beech family (Fagaceae). It is native to eastern and southern Asia, where it is found in Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, nor ...
'', ''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 ...
'', ''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'', '' Populus tremula'', '' Ulmus davidiana'', and '' Ulmus pumila''.
Fauna
Native mammals include the Sika deer
The sika deer (''Cervus nippon''), also known as the northern spotted deer or the Japanese deer, is a species of deer native to much of East Asia and introduced to other parts of the world. Previously found from northern Vietnam in the south t ...
(''Cervus nippon'') and Japanese macaque
The Japanese macaque (''Macaca fuscata''), also known as the snow monkey, is a terrestrial Old World monkey species that is native to Japan. Colloquially, they are referred to as "snow monkeys" because some live in areas where snow covers the g ...
(''Macaca fuscata'').
Native birds include the fairy pitta (''Pitta nympha'') and Japanese night heron (''Goraschius goisagi'').
The terrestrial Odaigahara salamander (''Hynobius boulengeri'') is native to the ecoregion.
Conservation and threats
Most of forests have been converted to agriculture or cities. Remnant areas of forest remain around temples and shrines, on steep slopes, and in gorges. Secondary growth woodlands, called '' Satoyama'', are found on hillsides bordering farmlands.[
]
Protected areas
17% of the ecoregion is in protected areas.[ Protected areas include Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park, ]Ise-Shima National Park
is a national park in Mie Prefecture, Japan. It is characterized by its ria coast and islands scattered around a number of bays. The interior is hilly with Mount Asama-ga-take ( the highest peak.
Natural areas
* Ago Bay
* Kami-shima
* Kashi ...
, Yoshino-Kumano National Park, Seto Inland Sea National Park, Ashizuri-Uwakai National Park
is a List of Japanese national parks, national park at the southwestern tip of the island of Shikoku, Japan. The park is spread over small areas on the western side of Shikoku in Ehime Prefecture, Ehime and Kōchi Prefecture, Kōchi prefectures. ...
, Kirishima-Kinkowan National Park, Unzen-Amakusa National Park, Saikai National Park, and Suigō-Tsukuba Quasi-National Park ().[UNEP-WCMC (2020). Protected Area Profile for Japan from the World Database of Protected Areas, October 2020. Available at: www.protectedplanet.net]
See also
* Biota of Tokyo Imperial Palace
References
External links
*
{{Paleartic temperate broadleaf and mixed forests
Ecoregions of Japan
*
Forests of Japan
Palearctic ecoregions
Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests