Bikin River, Primorskiy Kray, Russia Photograph by Steve Nelson & Zovtaigi   Eastern Asia: Eastern Russia Temperate Broadleaf and Mixed Forests   76,200 square miles (197,400 square kilometers) -- about the size of Nebraska Vulnerable

· Cliffs along the Sea
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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Cliffs along the Sea

On the rocky cliffs of the Sikhote Alin’ Range next to the Sea of Japan, you can find a variety of hardy plants and animals that are adapted to rugged environments. Bears, leopards, and tigers can all be found here.

Special Features

Amid hills and low mountains on the southeastern tip of Russia, pine forests mix with oak, walnut, ash, and other broad-leaved trees. Forests of Yeddo spruce and Khingan fir become more dominant as you move north. Amur grape and Chinese magnolia vines climb and drape themselves throughout the forest canopy. On the forest floor, wild Siberian ginseng can be found.

	The Siberian tiger--the largest cat in the world--is one of the five subspecies of tiger that still exist today. There once were eight subspecies, but three have been completely wiped out by hunting and habitat loss. Unless drastic conservation measures are put in place, the remaining tigers--numbering only about 5,000--may face a similar fate.

Wild Side

Of all this ecoregion’s mammals, the Siberian tiger is perhaps the most majestic. Although the tiger can survive in a variety of habitats, it needs large, unbroken tracts of land with plenty of prey, water, and shelter. It remains one of the most endangered species in the whole world. Other mammals include goatlike gorals, which climb around on the rocky cliffs. Asiatic black bears and the rare Amur leopard can be found in these forests as well, along with diverse species of shrews and bats. Of this ecoregion’s bird species, Chinese mergansers, Mandarin ducks, and Blakiston's fish owls are some of the unique species you might see here. Slinking along the ground are several reptile species, including a snake called the Ussurian mamushi.

Cause for Concern

The habitats of this ecoregion are protected in many formal reserves, but with Russia’s current economic situation there is not enough funding for proper reserve management. Logging, especially by East Asian companies, is an ongoing threat. Poaching and habitat loss are severe threats to the endangered Siberian tigers and Amur leopards.

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