The South China-Vietnam subtropical evergreen 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: IM0149) covers the mountainous coastal region of southeastern China and northeastern Vietnam. The ecoregional also covers the coastal plain along the

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phil ...

and

Hainan Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slightly l ...

Island. The area has significant biodiversity and ecological importance, with high levels of both endemic and threatened species. Rapid urban expansion is reducing biologically-rich forests and wetlands. Ecologically, the suptropical forests are at the northeastern extent of the

Indomalayan realm The Indomalayan realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms. It extends across most of South and Southeast Asia and into the southern parts of East Asia. Also called the Oriental realm by biogeographers, Indomalaya spreads all over the Indi ...

Location and description

The ecoregion stretches from the northeastern corner of Vietnam, across the lower half of southeastern China, and down into coastal

Island. To the north is the watershed of the

Pearl River The Pearl River, also known by its Chinese name Zhujiang or Zhu Jiang in Mandarin pinyin or Chu Kiang and formerly often known as the , is an extensive river system in southern China. The name "Pearl River" is also often used as a catch-a ...

, to the south is the South China Sea. The terrain is mountainous for the most part, except along the coasts and around the

Leizhou Peninsula The Leizhou Peninsula, alternately romanized as the Luichow Peninsula, is a peninsula in the southernmost part of Guangdong province in South China. History Qing naval forces were stationed at the Leizhou Peninsula. During the 19th century ...

. The ecoregion runs across the southern half of

Guangxi Guangxi (; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the People's Republic ...

and

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

Provinces, with the major

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...

Shenzhen Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern province ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

urban area in its east.

Climate

The climate of the ecoregion is '' Dry-winter humid subtropical climate'' (

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 ...

(Cwa)). This climate is characterized as having no month averaging below , at least one month averaging above , and four months averaging over . Precipitation in the wet summer months is ten time or more the average of the winter months. The ecoregion is mostly below 23d 30m latitude, and below the frost line.

Flora and fauna

Tropical genera represent 80% of the flora of the ecoregion. The forests of the area are under pressure from the increase in rubber and pulp plantations, and commercial agricultural crops in the understory. As of 2012, the region supported 117 threatened species (out of a total of 1,114 species), 28 of which were endemic.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:South China-Vietnam subtropical evergreen forests Ecoregions of China Ecoregions of Vietnam Indomalayan ecoregions Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests

Location and description

Climate

Flora and fauna

See also

References