The Nihonkai montane deciduous 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 ...

(WWF ID: PA0428) covers the Nihonkai (Sea of Japan-side) mountain slopes of Japan's central island of

Honshu , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separ ...

, including most of the northern half of the island. Also included in the ecoregion are the forested lowland hills of the

Oshima Peninsula The Oshima Peninsula (渡島半島 ''Oshima-hantō'') is the southernmost part of Hokkaidō, the northernmost of the Japanese islands. Where the peninsula starts is open to interpretation. A more generous interpretation is to draw a line southe ...

, which is the southern extension 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 ...

Location and description

The ecoregion stretches for up the western side of Honshu, from

Wakasa Bay is a bay located in the Chūbu region of Japan, and spans the coasts of Kyoto Prefecture, and Fukui Prefecture. Geography Wakasa Bay is the area south of the straight line from Cape Kyoga on the west of Tango Peninsula to Cape Echizen on the ...

in the south and expanding to cover the breadth of the island by the time it reaches the northern coast. Elevations range from sea level to , with an average of . Throughout the ecoregion, individual mountain peaks rise above the zone of deciduous trees into the Honshu alpine conifer forests ecoregion.

Climate

The climate of the ecoregion is '' Humid continental climate - Hot summer sub-type'' (

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 ...

Dfa), with large seasonal temperature differentials and a hot summer (at least one month averaging over , and mild winters.

Flora and fauna

The climate is cooler in the north of Honshu than the south, with deciduous trees typified by Japanese beech ''(

Fagus crenata ''Fagus crenata'', known as the Siebold's beech, Japanese beech, or buna, is a deciduous tree of the beech genus, ''Fagus'', of the family Fagaceae. Distribution and habitat It is endemic to Japan, where it is widespread and often one of the do ...

)'' and Jolcham oak ''(

Quercus serrata ''Quercus serrata'', the jolcham oak, (, ) is an East Asian species of tree in the beech family. It is native to China, Taiwan, Japan, and Korea. Description ''Quercus serrata'' is a deciduous oak tree reaching a height of occupying elevations ...

)''.

Protected areas

Protected areas in the ecoregion include: *

Bandai-Asahi National Park is a national park in the Tōhoku region, Honshū, Japan. The park site straddles over Fukushima Prefecture, Yamagata Prefecture, and Niigata Prefecture. The park was designated as a national park on September 5, 1950. The park encompasses ...

Chūbu-Sangaku National Park is a national park in the Chūbu region of Japan. It was established around the Hida Mountains and encompasses parts of Nagano, Gifu, Toyama and Niigata prefectures. It was designated a national park on December 4, 1934, along with Daisets ...

Oze National Park , is an area consisting of open greenland in Fukushima, Tochigi, Gunma and Niigata Prefectures in Japan. The park is 372 km² in area and is the 29th national park in Japan. Opened on 30 August 2007, the park's area includes the marshes ( ...

References

{{Paleartic temperate broadleaf and mixed forests Palearctic ecoregions Ecoregions of Japan Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests Montane forests