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Hokkaidō Montane Conifer Forests
The Hokkaido montane conifer forests ecoregion covers the mountainous central regions of Hokkaido Island, the northernmost of Japan's main islands. Forests of spruce and fir thrive in the subalpine, cool climate. On the northeastern edge of the island, the conifer forests extend down to the sea under the influence of the cold Oyashio Current coming down from the north, although logging in recent years has put pressure on these stands. Location and description The mountainous region is surrounded by the lower plains and hills of the Hokkaidō deciduous forests ecoregion. Central to the region is the Daisetsuzan Volcanic Group, the location of Daisetsuzan National Park, the largest national park in Japan. The highest mountain on the island, and in the region, is Asahi-dake with an elevation of . Above the conifer line, alpine conditions support thickets of Stone pine ''(Pinus pumila)'' Climate The climate of the ecoregion is '' Humid continental climate, warm summer'' (Kö ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palearctic
The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Siberian region; the Mediterranean Basin; the Sahara and Arabian Deserts; and Western, Central and East Asia. The Palaearctic realm also has numerous rivers and lakes, forming several freshwater ecoregions. The term 'Palearctic' was first used in the 19th century, and is still in use as the basis for zoogeographic classification. History In an 1858 paper for the ''Proceedings of the Linnean Society'', British zoologist Philip Sclater first identified six terrestrial zoogeographic realms of the world: Palaearctic, Aethiopian/Afrotropic, Indian/Indomalayan, Australasian, Nearctic, and Neotropical. The six indicated general groupings of fauna, based on shared biogeography and large-scale geographic barriers to migration. Alfred Wallace a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Köppen Climate Classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notably in 1918 and 1936. Later, the climatologist Rudolf Geiger (1894–1981) introduced some changes to the classification system, which is thus sometimes called the Köppen–Geiger climate classification system. The Köppen climate classification divides climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on seasonal precipitation and temperature patterns. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (temperate), ''D'' (continental), and ''E'' (polar). Each group and subgroup is represented by a letter. All climates are assigned a main group (the first letter). All climates except for those in the ''E'' group are assigned a seasonal precipitation subgroup (the second letter). For example, ''Af'' indi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shikotsu-Tōya National Park
is a national park in the western part of the island of Hokkaidō, Japan. Named after the volcanic caldera lakes of Lake Shikotsu and Lake Tōya, it has a total area of 993.02 square kilometers. The popular hot spring resort of Noboribetsu is also within the park. The park can be divided into roughly five areas: * The Mount Yōtei area * The area around Lake Tōya, Mount Usu and Shōwa-shinzan ( Tōya Caldera and Usu Volcano Geopark) * The area around the hot springs of , , and * The area around , , and * The area around , , and Image gallery Image:Mount Tarumae.jpg, Mount Tarumae as seen from Lake Shikotsu Image:Yotei-zan-from-hirafu.jpg, Mount Yōtei Image:Noboribetsu hot spring jigokudani.JPG, Noboribetsu hot spring Image:Lake Shikotsu Mt Monbetsu01n4272.jpg, Lake Shikotsu is a caldera lake in Chitose, Hokkaidō, Japan. It is a part of the Shikotsu-Toya National Park. Geography Lake Shikotsu is located in the south-west part of Hokkaidō. It has an average depth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kushiro-shitsugen National Park
is a national park located in the east of the island of Hokkaido, Japan. It was designated as a national park on 31 July 1987. The park is known for its wetlands ecosystems. Kushiro-shitsugen (Kushiro Wetlands or Kushiro Swamp, Marshland) covers an area of on the Kushiro Plain (Kushiro-heiya) and contains the largest tracts of reedbeds in Japan. The Kushiro River (), which originates in Lake Kussharo, meanders through much of the park. During the Ramsar Convention of 1980, in which Japan participated, the park was first registered as a peatland with raised bogs. In 1967, the wetlands (''shitsugen'') themselves had been designated as a national natural monument. For that reason, access is strictly limited and the landscape, most typical of Hokkaido, has been preserved. Wildlife The vegetation of the park consists of reeds, sedges, peat moss wetlands, black alder thickets. The rivers which bend freely back and forth, groups of lakes and marshes, and other wet ecosystems compri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Akan Mashu National Park
is a national park located on the island of Hokkaidō, Japan. Along with Daisetsuzan National Park, these are the two oldest national parks in Hokkaidō. The park was established December 4, 1934. Akan is an area of volcanic craters and forests, covering . The park is famous for its crystal clear lakes, its hot springs, and its large marimo. It is the only place where marimo of appreciable size form naturally in Japan. Sites The park can be divided into two general areas, Kawayu and Akan. Kawayu Mount Iō and the Kawayu Onsen offer natural hotsprings and sulphur fumaroles. Around Lake Kussharo, a caldera lake, are Bihoro Pass, Mount Mokoto, and Mount Nishibetsu. At the lake, Wakoto Peninsula is an area with high ground temperatures and uniquely adapted wildlife. Lake Mashū is a caldera lake. It is one of the clearest lakes in the world with visibility up to 40 meters. Akan Akan Caldera is a large caldera over 20 km across. Emerging from within caldera is the Akan Vol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Betula Ermanii
''Betula ermanii'', or Erman's birch, is a species of birch tree belonging to the family Betulaceae. It is an extremely variable species and can be found in Northeast China, Korea, Japan, and Russian Far East (Kuril Islands, Sakhalin, Kamchatka). It can grow to tall. It is noted for its peeling bark, which can sometimes be removed in sheets, but usually shreds and hangs from the trunk and under branches. Yellow-brown male catkins appear with the leaves in spring. Erman's birch is widely cultivated outside its natural range. The cultivar 'Grayswood Hill' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. Leading tree nurseries including Barcham Trees stock the species. It is consequently a frequently encountered street tree in London and other British towns and cities. File:Betula ermanii SE4 02 MG 5041.jpg, Street tree in Brockley Brockley is a district and an electoral ward of south London, England, in the London Borough of Lewisham south-east o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Picea Glehnii
''Picea glehnii'', the Sakhalin spruce or Glehn's spruce, is a species of conifer in the family Pinaceae. It was named after a Russian botanist, taxonomist, Sakhalin and Amur river regions explorer, geographer and hydrographer Peter von Glehn (1835—1876), the person who was the first to describe this conifer. In Japan people call this tree アカエゾマツ, which means “red spruce”. Natural habitat The spruce's natural habitat is situated on Hokkaido Island. It also appears on Mount Hayachine of the Kitakami range in the Northern part of Honshu (Iwate prefecture), as well as in the Southern part of Russian island Sakhalin (along Aniva Bay, in the Mereya river valley, near Bolshoye Vavaiskoye lake and Busse lagoon). The tree also grows on Southern Kuril Islands (Kunashir, Shikotan and Southern Iturup). Glehn's spruce grows within the range of 0 to 1600 meters above sea level in low places and on cold and excessively wet soil on rocky subsoil. Description The tree has ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abies Sachalinensis
''Abies sachalinensis'', the Sakhalin fir, is a species of conifer in the family Pinaceae. It is found in Sakhalin island and southern Kurils (Russia), and also in northern Hokkaido (Japan). The first discovery by a European was by Carl Friedrich Schmidt (1832-1908), the Baltic German botanist, on the Russian island of Sakhalin in 1866, but he did not introduce it to Europe. The plant was re-discovered by the English plant-collector, Charles Maries in 1877 near Aomori on the main Japanese island of Honshū, who initially thought it to be a variety of ''Abies veitchii''. Abies nephrolepis (khingan fir) is known to be the closest relative, which exists on the mainland just west of the range of Sakhalin fir. Description Grows to 30m tall with Girths up to 100 cm. The crown pyramidal, but tend to flatten out as they grow to old age. Branches are long and slender during the life time. As you move down to more northern parts of its habitat they tend to grow shorter. hardiness zo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Picea Jezoensis
''Picea jezoensis'' (sometimes misspelled ''Picea yezoensis''), the dark-bark spruce, Ezo spruce, Yezo spruce, or Jezo spruce, is a large evergreen tree growing to 30–50 m tall and with a trunk diameter of up to 2 m. It is native to northeast Asia, from the mountains of central Japan and the Changbai Mountains on the China-North Korea border, north to eastern Siberia, including the Sikhote-Alin, Kuril Islands, Sakhalin and Kamchatka. It is found in cold but humid temperate rain forests, and nowhere does its range extend more than 400 km from the Pacific Ocean. The specific epithet ''jezoensis'' derives from Ezo, an old name for Hokkaido and other islands north of the Japanese island of Honshu, where the species is found. The bark is thin and scaly, becoming fissured in old trees. The crown is broad conic. The shoots are pale buff-brown, glabrous (hairless) but with prominent pulvini. The leaves are needle-like, 15–20 mm long, 2 mm broad, flattened in cross-section, dark ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Humid Continental Climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing cold (sometimes severely cold in the northern areas) winters. Precipitation is usually distributed throughout the year but often do have dry seasons. The definition of this climate regarding temperature is as follows: the mean temperature of the coldest month must be below or depending on the isotherm, and there must be at least four months whose mean temperatures are at or above . In addition, the location in question must not be semi-arid or arid. The cooler ''Dfb'', ''Dwb'', and ''Dsb'' subtypes are also known as hemiboreal climates. Humid continental climates are generally found between latitudes 30° N and 60° N, within the central and northeastern portions of North America, Europe, and Asia. They are rare and isolat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Humid Continental Climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing cold (sometimes severely cold in the northern areas) winters. Precipitation is usually distributed throughout the year but often do have dry seasons. The definition of this climate regarding temperature is as follows: the mean temperature of the coldest month must be below or depending on the isotherm, and there must be at least four months whose mean temperatures are at or above . In addition, the location in question must not be semi-arid or arid. The cooler ''Dfb'', ''Dwb'', and ''Dsb'' subtypes are also known as hemiboreal climates. Humid continental climates are generally found between latitudes 30° N and 60° N, within the central and northeastern portions of North America, Europe, and Asia. They are rare and isolat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north toward the East China Sea, Philippine Sea, and Taiwan in the south. Japan is a part of the Ring of Fire, and spans Japanese archipelago, an archipelago of List of islands of Japan, 6852 islands covering ; the five main islands are Hokkaido, Honshu (the "mainland"), Shikoku, Kyushu, and Okinawa Island, Okinawa. Tokyo is the Capital of Japan, nation's capital and largest city, followed by Yokohama, Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo, Fukuoka, Kobe, and Kyoto. Japan is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eleventh most populous country in the world, as well as one of the List of countries and dependencies by population density, most densely populated and Urbanization by country, urbanized. About three-fourths of Geography of Japan, the c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
