The Hokkaido montane conifer forests

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of l ...

covers the mountainous central regions of

Hokkaido Island is Japan, Japan's Japanese archipelago, second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost Prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own List of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; th ...

, 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 , also known as Oya Siwo, Okhotsk or the Kurile current, is a cold subarctic ocean current that flows south and circulates counterclockwise in the western North Pacific Ocean. The waters of the Oyashio Current originate in the Arctic Ocean an ...

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 is a volcanic group of peaks arranged around the wide caldera in Hokkaidō, Japan. In the Ainu language it is known as ''Nutapukaushipe'' (which means "the mountain above the river"),

, the location of

Daisetsuzan National Park , or Taisetsuzan is located in the mountainous center of the northern Japanese island of Hokkaidō. At , Daisetsuzan is the largest national park in Japan, and is approximately the size of Kanagawa Prefecture. Daisetsuzan, meaning "great snowy mo ...

, the largest national park in Japan. The highest mountain on the island, and in the region, is

Asahi-dake is a mountain located near the town of Higashikawa, Hokkaido and the tallest mountain on the Japanese island of Hokkaido. It is part of the Daisetsuzan Volcanic Group of the Ishikari Mountains, it is located in the northern part of the Daisetsuz ...

with an elevation of . Above the conifer line, alpine conditions support thickets of Stone pine ''(

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 common ...

)''

Climate

The climate of the ecoregion is '' Humid continental climate, warm summer'' (

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, notabl ...

(Dfb)). This climate is characterized by large seasonal temperature differentials and a warm summer (at least four months averaging over , but no month averaging over . Average annual precipitation is 1,150 mm.

Flora and fauna

The dominant trees in the region are Ezo spruce ''(

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 ...

)'', Sakhalin fir ''(

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 Fri ...

)'', and Sakhalin spruce ''(

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 (18 ...

)''. There are scattered stands of Erman's birch ''( Betula ermanii)''. The conifer belt rises to an altitude of .

Protected areas

* Akan Mashu National Park *

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) cover ...

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 al ...

References

{{reflist Palearctic ecoregions Ecoregions of Japan