The Ussuri broadleaf and mixed 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: PA0443) covers a mountainous areas above the lower

Amur River The Amur River () or Heilong River ( zh, s=黑龙江) is a perennial river in Northeast Asia, forming the natural border between the Russian Far East and Northeast China (historically the Outer and Inner Manchuria). The Amur ''proper'' is ...

and

Ussuri River The Ussuri ( ; ) or Wusuli ( ) is a river that runs through Khabarovsk and Primorsky Krais, Russia and the southeast region of Northeast China in the province of Heilongjiang. It rises in the Sikhote-Alin mountain range, flowing north and for ...

Primorsky Krai Primorsky Krai, informally known as Primorye, is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (a krais of Russia, krai) of Russia, part of the Far Eastern Federal District in the Russian Far East. The types of inhabited localities in Russia, ...

and

Khabarovsk Krai Khabarovsk Krai (, ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (a krai) of Russia. It is located in the Russian Far East and is administratively part of the Far Eastern Federal District. The administrative centre of the krai is the types of ...

in the Russian Far East. 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 Humid Continental climate. It covers .

Location and description

The ecoregion covers a Z-shaped area in which the northern section is a 400 km band of forest north of

Khabarovsk Khabarovsk ( ) is the largest city and the administrative centre of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia,Law #109 located from the China–Russia border, at the confluence of the Amur and Ussuri Rivers, about north of Vladivostok. As of the 2021 Russian c ...

parallel to the

(which is 20–30 km to the south), the vertical band of which parallels the

(which is 20–30 km to the west) on the western slopes of the Sikhote-Alin Mountains, and the base of which is the eastern slope of the Sikhote-Alin in

Climate

The region has a Humid continental, cool summer climate (Koppen classification (Dwb)). This climate is characterized by high variation in temperature, both daily and seasonally; with dry winters and cool summers.

Flora and fauna

The Ussuri forests are the most biologically diverse in northern Asia. The maritime influence moderates the climate, precipitation is high enough to support rich forests, and the region is a boundary area between mountains, river flat lands, and sea coast. The forests of the region are dominated by

Korean pine ''Pinus koraiensis'' is a species of pine known commonly as the Korean pine. It is a relic species of the Tertiary, identified as a rare tree species by United Nations. It is native to eastern Asia: Korea, northeastern China, Mongolia, the tempe ...

(''Pinus koraiensis''), Mongolian oak (''Quercus mongolica''), ''

Larix gmelinii ''Larix gmelinii'', the Dahurian larch or East Siberian larch, is a species of larch native to eastern Siberia and adjacent northeastern Mongolia, northeastern China (Heilongjiang), South Korea and North Korea. Description ''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'', ''

Juniperus communis ''Juniperus communis'', the common juniper, is a species of small tree or shrub in the cypress family Cupressaceae. An evergreen conifer, it has the largest geographical range of any woody plant, with a circumpolar distribution throughout the coo ...

'', ''

Betula dahurica ''Betula dahurica'' (lit. ' Daur birch'), Dahurian birch, or Asian black birch (), is a species of birch which is native to China, Japan, Korea, eastern Mongolia, and Russian Far East. It was introduced to the United Kingdom and also grows at th ...

'', ''

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 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, ...

'', ''

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 ''Tilia amurensis'', commonly known as the Amur lime or Amur linden, is a species of ''Tilia'' native to eastern Asia. It differs from the better-known ''Tilia cordata'' in having somewhat smaller leaves, bracts and cymes. It is an important timb ...

'', ''

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'', ''

Pinus pumila ''Pinus pumila'', commonly known as the Siberian dwarf pine, dwarf Siberian pine, dwarf stone pine, Japanese stone pine, or creeping pine, is a tree in the family Pinaceae native to northeastern Asia and the Japanese isles. It shares the commo ...

'', '' 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) ...

'', 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 ...

''. Wildlife such as

brown bear The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear native to Eurasia and North America. Of the land carnivorans, it is rivaled in size only by its closest relative, the polar bear, which is much less variable in size and slightly bigger on av ...

Asian black bear The Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), also known as the Asiatic black bear, moon bear and white-chested bear, is a medium-sized bear species native to Asia that is largely adapted to an arboreal lifestyle. It is distributed from southeast ...

wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, including the dog and dingo, though gr ...

red fox The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe and Asia, plus ...

es,

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 ...

wapiti The elk (: ''elk'' or ''elks''; ''Cervus canadensis'') or wapiti, is the second largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. T ...

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...

s, and the

Common raccoon dog The common raccoon dog (''Nyctereutes procyonoides''), also called the Chinese or Asian raccoon dog to distinguish it from the Japanese raccoon dog, is a heavy-set, Fox, fox-like canid native to East Asia. Named for its raccoon-like face markin ...

inhabit the region. It is also home to the largest species of cat, the

Siberian tiger The Siberian tiger or Amur tiger is a population of the tiger subspecies ''Panthera tigris tigris'' native to Northeast China, the Russian Far East, and possibly North Korea. It once ranged throughout the Korea, Korean Peninsula, but currently ...

Protections

Notable protected areas of the Russian Federation in the ecoregion include: * Bastak Nature Reserve, on the south-eastern spurs of the Bureya Range. (914 km²) * Bolon Nature Reserve covering wetlands of the western approaches to Lake Bolon in the lower Amur River regions. (1,000 km²) * Botcha Nature Reserve on the northeastern slopes of the

Sikhote-Alin The Sikhote-Alin (, , , ) is a mountain range in Primorsky and Khabarovsk Krais, Russia, extending about to the northeast of the Russian Pacific seaport of Vladivostok. The highest summits are Tordoki Yani at above sea level, Ko Mountain () ...

mountains. (2,674 km²) * Komsomolsk Nature Reserve located where the Amur River cuts a narrow passage through the Sikhote-Alin. (643 km²) * Khingan Nature Reserve includes forested spurs of the

Lesser Khingan Lesser Khingan ( zh, c=小兴安岭, p=Xiǎo Xīng'ān Lǐng; , ''Maly Khingan'') is a mountain range in China's Heilongjiang province and the adjacent parts of Russia's Amur Oblast and Jewish Autonomous Oblast.

mountains. (940 km²) * Sikhote-Alin Nature Reserve 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 ...

). (4,016 km²) * Ussurisky Nature Reserve, one of the remaining virgin mixed deciduous-conifer forests in the Primorsky (Maritime) region of the Russian Far East. Located on the western slopes of the Sikhote-Alin mountains. (404 km²) These are all

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

class Ia "strict ecological reserves" (

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 ...

s).

References

{{reflist Ecoregions of Russia Palearctic ecoregions Ecoregions of Asia

Location and description

Climate

Flora and fauna

Protections

See also

References