Beppu, Japan Photograph by Laurenz Bobke   Eastern Asia: Southern Honshu Island, Japan Temperate Broadleaf and Mixed Forests   8,300 square miles (21,600 square kilometers) -- about the size of Massachusetts Critical/Endangered

· Monkeys in the Snow
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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Monkeys in the Snow

Snow is a special feature of this ecoregion--in contrast to the warmer eastern side of Honshu Island. During winter months, snow cover protects the soil and vegetation from the harsh, cold air. And for more than 20 days a year, this ecoregion is covered in at least 4 inches (10 cm) of snow. It is fitting, then, that a mammal characteristic of this ecoregion is the Japanese macaque, also known as the snow monkey.

Special Features

This ecoregion in western central Honshu consists of alluvial plains, coasts, and gentle hills. The temperate humid climate, influenced by the Sea of Japan, features hot summers and long, overcast winters with deep wet snow--which is quite different from the sunny dry winter found on the Pacific side of the island. Several habitat types exist because of the complex topography. The typical forests in this region are a mixed community of diverse broadleaved evergreen species, dominated by laurel in coastal areas and evergreen oaks in inland areas, both having a shrubby understory.

	Snow monkeys stay warm in the wintertime by sunning themselves during the day and moving around less frequently. They also sleep in deciduous trees rather than conifers that are often covered in snow that could fall on top of them, reducing their heat level.

Wild Side

Many endemic mammals inhabit the patches of evergreen forest that remain in this ecoregion. Snow monkeys in western Japan live in the evergreen broadleaf forests with dense undergrowth, where they form large groups. These monkeys have cheek pouches that they use to carry food in as they forage for fruit, leaves, berries, seeds, small animals, insects, and, in winter, even tree bark. The monkeys often store some of these goodies for later. Endemic amphibian species also inhabit this ecoregion. Two are listed as endangered or threatened on the National Red List: Abe's salamander and the Hokuriku salamander.

Cause for Concern

These coastal plains and hills have been almost entirely developed or converted for agriculture since rice cultivation was introduced to Japan about 2,000 years ago. The natural forest communities are now present only in scattered fragments near the sanctuaries around temples and shrines and in inaccessible mountain areas, river gorges, and protected areas. Secondary vegetation now dominates this ecoregion in the form of forests of Japanese red pine and oaks or grasslands of Japanese silver grass, lawn grass, and bamboo.

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