Hills near Quing Dao (Tsingtao), Shandong province, China Photograph by Kevin Atkins   Palaearctic Temperate Broadleaf and Mixed Forests   167,600 square miles (434,200 square kilometers) -- about twice the size of Idaho Critical/Endangered

· Fertile Land
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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Fertile Land

If you were to scoop up a handful of dirt from the Huang He (Yellow River) plain, it’s likely that the dirt you are holding was transported down the Yellow River from the loess hills of north-central China. These rich silt deposits mean that the North China plain is fertile and suited for agriculture. Since this area has been farmed for so long, much of the Huang He Plain Mixed Forests have been eliminated, but the ecoregion still contains a diversity of habitats. The wetlands here, for example, serve as refueling stops for many migratory birds.

Special Features

The small remnants of original forest here contain mostly deciduous trees such as oaks, elm, and pistachio. But almost all of these forests have been replaced by forests of red pine. Conifers and cypress grow on higher mountains. Native conifers and other pine and larch species have been introduced from other areas and now grow in place of original forest cover. During the Pleistocene Era, which began about 1,600,000 years ago and ended around 10,000 years ago, Shandong Peninsula was connected to the northerly Dalian Peninsula. As a result, forests characteristic of northeastern China grow here, with native oaks, lindens, and conifers joined by introduced species.

	The Huang He is called the Yellow River because huge amounts of loess soil turn the water that color. So much of this mineral-rich soil ends up in the Huang He that it can fill the riverbed and thus change the river’s course.

Wild Side

The Shandong Peninsula is a nesting area for protected birds such as white-tailed sea eagles and great bustards. The Rongcheng and Nansi Hu Nature Reserves are visited by migrating waterfowl, including swans, cranes, and scaly-sided mergansers. Leopard and sika deer are protected mammals in this ecoregion. The Shandong Peninsula is a nesting area for seabirds and winter habitat for migrating waterfowl, and Shandong Province lists eight plant species that are endangered.

Cause for Concern

The limited amount of protected land that exists in this ecoregion is now covered with secondary scrub and grassland. There is no protection for original vegetation types such as deciduous broadleaf forest and swamp grasslands. Besides habitat destruction, hunting and the heavy use of pesticides also threaten wildlife populations.

For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report.