The Nansei Islands subtropical evergreen forests is a terrestrial

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 ...

of the

Ryukyu Islands The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ōsumi, Tokara, Amami, Okinawa, and Sakishima Islands (further divided into the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), with Yonaguni ...

, also known as the Nansei Islands, in

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 ...

. The Nansei Islands are an

island arc Island arcs are long chains of active volcanoes with intense seismic activity found along convergent tectonic plate boundaries. Most island arcs originate on oceanic crust and have resulted from the descent of the lithosphere into the mantle alon ...

that stretches southwest from

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surroun ...

towards

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

. The larger islands are mostly

high island Geologically, a high island or volcanic island is an island of volcanic origin. The term can be used to distinguish such islands from low islands, which are formed from sedimentation or the uplifting of coral reefs (which have often formed ...

s and the smaller ones mostly

coral Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and sec ...

. The largest is

Okinawa Island is the largest of the Okinawa Islands and the Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Islands of Japan in the Kyushu region. It is the smallest and least populated of the five main islands of Japan. The island is approximately long, an average wide, and has an ...

. The highest point is Mount Miyanoura on

Yakushima Island , native_name_link = , image_caption = Landsat image of Yakushima , image_size = , nickname = , location = East China Sea , coordinates = , map = Japan#Japan Kagoshima Prefecture , map_relief ...

at 1,936 metres (6,352 ft). The ecoregion is the northernmost in 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 ...

, and shares many plants with subtropical and tropical Asia.

Climate

The Nansei Islands have a humid climate, which ranges from subtropical in the north to tropical in the south. The warm

Kuroshio Current The , also known as the Black or or the is a north-flowing, warm ocean current on the west side of the North Pacific Ocean basin. It was named for the deep blue appearance of its waters. Similar to the Gulf Stream in the North Atlantic, the Ku ...

runs offshore, and sustains

coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups. Co ...

s and the northernmost

mangroves A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evolution in severa ...

in the western Pacific.

Flora

The natural vegetation of the islands is subtropical broadleaf evergreen forest. The dominant trees are ''

Castanopsis sieboldii ''Castanopsis sieboldii'', also known as the Itajii chinkapin or Itajii, is a species of evergreen tree that lives in subtropical eastern Asia. This is a climax species that is commonly found in the Japanese temperate rainforest. Specimens are al ...

, Quercus miyagii, Persea thunbergii'', and ''

Schima wallichii ''Schima wallichii'' is an evergreen tree belonging to the tea family Theaceae Theaceae (), the tea family, is a family of flowering plants comprising shrubs and trees, including the economically important tea plant, and the ornamental camel ...

'' ssp. ''liukiuensis''. In the mountain forests of

conifer Conifers are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single ...

s including ''

Cryptomeria japonica ''Cryptomeria'' (literally "hidden parts") is a monotypic genus of conifer in the cypress family Cupressaceae, formerly belonging to the family Taxodiaceae. It includes only one species, ''Cryptomeria japonica'' ( syn. ''Cupressus japonica'' L ...

, Chamaecyparis obtusa,

Tsuga sieboldii ''Tsuga sieboldii'', also called the southern Japanese hemlock, or in Japanese, simply tsuga (栂), is a conifer native to the Japanese islands of Honshū, Kyūshū, Shikoku and Yakushima. In Europe and North America the tree is sometimes u ...

'', and ''

Abies firma ''Abies firma'', the momi fir, is a species of fir native to central and southern Japan, growing at low to moderate altitudes of 50–1600 m. ''Abies firma'' is a medium-sized to large evergreen coniferous tree growing to tall and in trunk d ...

'', are mixed with the broadleaf evergreen trees above 1200 meters elevation.Tagawa, Hideo (1995). "Distribution of Lucidophyll Oak-Laurel Forest Formation in Asia and Other Areas". ''Tropics'' Vol. 5 (1/2): 1:40, December 1995. Coastal and swamp plant communities include plants characteristic of the tropical Pacific, including ''

Ipomoea pes-caprae ''Ipomoea pes-caprae'', also known as bayhops, bay-hops, beach morning glory or goat's foot, is a common pantropical creeping vine belonging to the family Convolvulaceae. It grows on the upper parts of beaches and endures salted air. It is one ...

, Spinifex littoreus,

Thespesia populnea ''Thespesia populnea'', commonly known as the portia tree (), Pacific rosewood, Indian tulip tree, or milo, among other names, is a species of flowering plant belonging to the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is a tree found commonly on coasts ar ...

Terminalia catappa ''Terminalia catappa'' is a large tropical tree in the leadwood tree family, Combretaceae, native to Asia, Australia, the Pacific, Madagascar and Seychelles. Common names in English include country almond, Indian almond, Malabar almond, sea almon ...

'', and ''

Macaranga tanarius ''Macaranga tanarius'' is a plant found in South East Asia, Thailand, Papua New Guinea, South China, Taiwan, and eastern Australia. It is commonly seen as a pioneer species in disturbed rainforest areas. Easily recognised for the round veiny ...

''. Mangrove species include ''

Bruguiera gymnorhiza ''Bruguiera gymnorhiza'', the large-leafed orange mangrove or oriental mangrove,) is a mangrove tree that grows usually to 7-20m high, but sometimes up to 35m, that belongs to the family Rhizophoraceae. It is found on the seaward side of mangrov ...

Heritiera littoralis ''Heritiera littoralis'', commonly known as the looking-glass mangrove or tulip mangrove, is a mangrove tree in the family Malvaceae native to coastal areas of eastern Africa, Asia, Melanesia and northern Australia. The common name refers to the ...

Rhizophora stylosa ''Rhizophora stylosa'', the spotted mangrove, red mangrove, small stilted mangrove or stilt-root mangrove, is a tree in the family Rhizophoraceae. The specific epithet ' is from the Latin meaning "stylus form", referring to the flower. Descript ...

Avicennia marina ''Avicennia marina'', commonly known as grey mangrove or white mangrove, is a species of mangrove tree classified in the plant family Acanthaceae (formerly in the Verbenaceae or Avicenniaceae). As with other mangroves, it occurs in the interti ...

Sonneratia alba ''Sonneratia alba'' is a mangrove tree in the family Lythraceae. The specific epithet ' is from the Latin meaning "white", referring to the flowers. Description ''S. alba'' grows up to tall with a trunk diameter up to . The cracked to fissured ...

'', and ''

Nypa fruticans ''Nypa fruticans'', commonly known as the nipa palm (or simply nipa, from ms, nipah) or mangrove palm, is a species of palm native to the coastlines and estuarine habitats of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the only palm considered adapte ...

''. ''

Satakentia liukiuensis ''Satakentia liukiuensis'' (satake palm, yaeyama-yashi apanese ヤエヤマヤシ satakentia palm, yaeyama palm), is a species of palm tree. They are endemic to Ishigaki Island and Iriomote Island in the Yaeyama Islands, the south-westernmost of ...

'', the only species in the genus ''

Satakentia ''Satakentia liukiuensis'' (satake palm, yaeyama-yashi apanese ヤエヤマヤシ satakentia palm, yaeyama palm), is a species of palm tree. They are endemic to Ishigaki Island and Iriomote Island in the Yaeyama Islands, the south-westernmost of ...

'', is a palm tree that is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Ishigaki Island , also known as ''Ishigakijima'', is a Japanese island south-west of Okinawa Hontō and the second-largest island of the Yaeyama Island group, behind Iriomote Island. It is located approximately south-west of Okinawa Hontō. It is within the ...

and

Iriomote Island is the largest of the Yaeyama Islands of Japan, and the second largest in Okinawa Prefecture after Okinawa Island itself. The island has an area of and a 2005 population of 2,347. The island does not have an airstrip, and most visitors — ov ...

in the

Yaeyama Islands The Yaeyama Islands (八重山列島 ''Yaeyama-rettō'', also 八重山諸島 ''Yaeyama-shotō'', Yaeyama: ''Yaima'', Yonaguni: ''Daama'', Okinawan: ''Yeema'', Northern Ryukyuan: ''Yapema'') are an archipelago in the southwest of Okinawa ...

Fauna

The ecoregion corresponds to the Nansei Shoto Endemic Bird Area, and is home to several endemic bird species, including the Ryukyu wood pigeon (''Columba jouyi''), Ryukyu green pigeon (''Treron permagnus''), and

Ryukyu robin The Ryukyu robin (''Larvivora komadori'') is a bird endemic to the Ryūkyū Islands, of Japan. The Okinawa robin (''Larvivora namiyei'') previously was considered a subspecies. The specific name ''komadori'' is, somewhat confusingly, the co ...

(''Larvivora komadori''). The Okinawa rail (''Gallirallus okinawae'') and

Okinawa woodpecker The is a woodpecker endemic to the Okinawa Prefecture of Japan. It was previously placed in the monotypic genus ''Sapheopipo''. Other common names for this species are Noguchi's woodpecker, Okinawan woodpecker, Pryer's woodpecker and Ryukyu ...

(''Dendrocopos noguchii'') are limited to Okinawa, and the

Amami woodcock The Amami woodcock (''Scolopax mira'') is a medium-sized wader. It is slightly larger and longer-legged than Eurasian woodcock, and may be conspecific. This species is a restricted-range endemic found only in forests on two small islands of the ...

(''Scolopax mira''), Amami jay (''Garrulus lidthi''), and

Amami thrush The Amami thrush (''Zoothera major'') is a member of the Thrush (bird), thrush family Turdidae. It is endemic to the islands of Amami Ōshima and Kakeroma island in the northern Ryūkyū Islands, Nansei Islands of Japan. Description This large, ...

(''Zoothera major'') are limited to the

Amami Islands The The name ''Amami-guntō'' was standardized on February 15, 2010. Prior to that, another name, ''Amami shotō'' (奄美諸島), was also used. is an archipelago in the Satsunan Islands, which is part of the Ryukyu Islands, and is southwest o ...

. The

Ryukyu minivet The Ryukyu minivet (''Pericrocotus tegimae'') is a species of bird in the family Campephagidae. It is Endemism, endemic to Japan. The species was previously thought to be a subspecies of the ashy minivet. Its specific name is named for the Japanes ...

(''Pericrocotus tegimae'') is formerly endemic, but in recent decades has spread to

Shikoku is the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. It is long and between wide. It has a population of 3.8 million (, 3.1%). It is south of Honshu and northeast of Kyushu. Shikoku's ancient names include ''Iyo-no-futana-shima'' (), '' ...

, and western

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 ...

.BirdLife International (2020) Endemic Bird Areas factsheet: Nansei Shoto. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 02/06/2020. Several threatened species live in the ecoregion and in neighboring ones. The Japanese woodpigeon (''Columba janthina'') lives in the Nansei Islands,

Ogasawara Islands The Bonin Islands, also known as the , are an archipelago of over 30 subtropical and tropical islands, some directly south of Tokyo, Japan and northwest of Guam. The name "Bonin Islands" comes from the Japanese word ''bunin'' (an archaic readi ...

, and islands off Korea's southern coast. The Ryukyu scops owl (''Otus elegans'') lives in the Nansei Islands as well as Taiwan and Batanes.

Protected areas

Protected areas include

Yakushima National Park is a protected area located in Kagoshima Prefecture, Kyushu. It includes parts of the Ōsumi Islands with Yakushima, the entire island Kuchinoerabu-jima and some surrounding marine areas. The total size is . The national park was established o ...

(325.53 km²) on Yakushima Island, and

Yanbaru National Park is a national park in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Established in 2016, it is located in and around the forested region of Yanbaru at the northern end of Okinawa Island. The park comprises a land area of in the villages of Kunigami, Ōgimi, and ...

(136.22 km²) on Okinawa Island.

External links

*
Nansei Shoto Endemic Bird Area (BirdLife International)

References

{{reflist Ecoregions of Japan Indomalayan ecoregions . Forests of Japan Natural history of the Ryukyu Islands Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests Endemic Bird Areas