|
|
On the islands of eastern Russia, forests are dense and dark—but filled with activity. As active volcanoes rumble in the background of Kunashir Island, called "black island" by local peoples, birds can be heard calling to each other or seen swooping down to grab prey.
Located in the Far East of Russia, this ecoregion encompasses the broadleaf forests at the southwest tip of Sakhalin and the Kurile Islands of Kunashir, Iturup and Shikotan. Yellow maple, Manchurian ash, oak, and elm trees all grow here alongside berries and medicinal wild plants such as bracken. Bamboo occurs in dense thickets. Torrential summer rains enable grasses, ferns, and other groundcovering plants to grow to unusual heights. In the south, precipitation is as high as 40 inches a year (1,000 mm), with frequent fog in the summer and blizzards in the winter. The majority of sunny days occur in August, but this "summer" season is also characterized by typhoons and hurricane winds.
The diversity of bird species here is higher than it is in surrounding ecoregions, and several species have evolved to be endemic to the islands on which they are found. Rare birds include white-tailed sea eagles, Steller's sea eagles, spotted greenshanks, and Blackston's fish owls. Among land mammals, brown bears, sables, river otters, musk deer, and foxes all live in the forests. Whales, dolphins, sea lions, walruses, and a variety of seals feed off the shores of Sakhalin and the Kurile Islands.
These isolated islands still contain ample tracts of pristine wilderness, and few human impacts currently exist. For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report. All text by World Wildlife Fund © 2001
|
More Photos
