The Da Hinggan-Dzhagdy Mountains conifer forests

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecological and geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and c ...

(WWF ID: PA0505) covers the

Greater Khingan The Greater Khingan Range or Da Hinggan Range ( zh, s=大兴安岭, t=大興安嶺, p=Dà Xīng'ān Lǐng; IPA: ) is a volcanic mountain range in the Inner Mongolia region of Northeast China. It was originally called the Xianbei Mountains, whi ...

Mountains of

Northeast China Northeast China () is a geographical region of China, consisting officially of three provinces Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang. The heartland of the region is the Northeast China Plain, the largest plain in China with an area of over . The regi ...

, and across the border north into the

Russian Far East The Russian Far East ( rus, Дальний Восток России, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in North Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asia, Asian continent, and is coextensive with the Far Easte ...

where it follows the mountain ridge for another 500 km to the east. The mountain forests exhibit a floral community called "Daurian flora", a combination of the Siberian

taiga Taiga or tayga ( ; , ), also known as boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces, and larches. The taiga, or boreal forest, is the world's largest land biome. In North A ...

to the north and the Manchurian floral types to the south. The eastern slopes are steep and drained by many rivers, the western slopes are gentler, and there are grasslands on some slopes. The ecoregion is in the

Palearctic realm The Palearctic or Palaearctic is a biogeographic realm of the Earth, the largest of eight. Confined almost entirely to the Eastern Hemisphere, it stretches across Europe and Asia, north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The ...

, with a

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a continental climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of ...

. It covers .

Location and description

The ecoregion covers the

mountains in

and crosses the

Amur River The Amur River () or Heilong River ( zh, s=黑龙江) is a perennial river in Northeast Asia, forming the natural border between the Russian Far East and Northeast China (historically the Outer and Inner Manchuria). The Amur ''proper'' is ...

north into the Dzhagdy in Russia. In China, this is in the northern parts of

Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of China. Its border includes two-thirds of the length of China's China–Mongolia border, border with the country of Mongolia. ...

Autonomous Region and

Heilongjiang Heilongjiang is a province in northeast China. It is the northernmost and easternmost province of the country and contains China's northernmost point (in Mohe City along the Amur) and easternmost point (at the confluence of the Amur and Us ...

Province. In Russia, most of the region is in

Amur Oblast Amur Oblast () is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located on the banks of the Amur and Zeya rivers in the Russian Far East. The oblast borders Heilongjiang province of the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the south. The administrati ...

Climate

Because of its altitude and distance from the ocean, the ecoregion has a '' Subarctic climate, dry winter'' (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

Subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a continental climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of ...

(Dwc)). This climate is characterized by mild summers (only 1-3 months above ) and cold winters having monthly precipitation less than one-tenth of the wettest summer month. These climate regions tend to be found at higher elevations in the middle of continents, with wide differences between day and night temperatures.

Flora and fauna

Because the ecoregion forms a transition zone between northern (Siberian)

and southern (Manchurian) flora types, it features examples of both - approximately two-thirds of the 1,200 local species of vascular plants are Siberian, the other third Manchurian, Daurian and Mongolian. This combination of floral communities is sometimes referred to as "Daurian flora". The dominant trees are Dahurian larch (''

Larix gmelinii ''Larix gmelinii'', the Dahurian larch or East Siberian larch, is a species of larch native to eastern Siberia and adjacent northeastern Mongolia, northeastern China (Heilongjiang), South Korea and North Korea. Description ''Larix gmelinii'' ...

''), with

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

and

spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' ( ), a genus of about 40 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal (taiga) regions of the Northern hemisphere. ''Picea'' ...

stands. Mongolian oak (''

Quercus mongolica ''Quercus mongolica'', commonly known as Mongolian oak, is a species of oak native to Japan, China, Korea, Mongolia, and Siberia. The species can grow to be tall. The flavono-ellagitannins mongolicin A and B can be found in ''Quercus mongo ...

''),

hazel Hazels are plants of the genus ''Corylus'' of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family, Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K ...

alder Alders are trees of the genus ''Alnus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus includes about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few species ex ...

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...

, poplars and

elm Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the genus ''Ulmus'' in the family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical- montane regions of North America and Eurasia, ...

s also can be found at lower elevation. The area is one of the few remaining large tracts of forest in China, but was also the scene of the largest forest fire in modern Chinese history (over 1 million hectares in 1987).

Protections

The federally protected areas in the region are: * Nora Nature Reserve ("Norsky"). An IUCN class Ia "strict ecological reserve" (a

Zapovednik A zapovednik is an established term on the Post-Soviet states, territory of the former Soviet Union for a protected area which is kept "forever wild". It is the highest degree of environmental protection for the assigned areas, which are strictly ...

) located in the northwest section of the ecoregion, north of the Russia-China border. Nora is representative of the northeastern part of the Amur-Zeya lowland plain between the Nora River and the Selemdzha River. The reserve is half forested, and half bogs. (Area: 211,168 km2). * Zeya Nature Reserve ("Zeysky"). An IUCN class Ia "strict ecological reserve" (a

) located in the north-central section of the ecoregion, in the mountainous headwaters of the

Zeya River The Zeya (; from indigenous Evenki word "djee" (blade); zh, 结雅; mnc, m= , Mölendroff: jingkiri bira) is a northern, left tributary of the Amur in Amur Oblast, Russia. It is long, and has a drainage basin of . The average flow of the rive ...

. The area is heavily forested, mostly with larch and Mongolian oak. (Area: 99,390 km2).

References

External links