Abstract
With a rich human history dating back to a Paleolithic time some 30,000 years ago, Japan is home to an astonishing array of plant communities that range from alpine to subtropical and temperate rainforest (Hämet-Ahti et al. 1974; Box 1995). The Japanese archipelago (~377,853 square kilometers) occupies a fraction (~0.8 percent) of the earth’s terrestrial surface and is roughly one twenty-fifth the size of the United States. It is located in a transitional zone between subtropical and subboreal at 30 to 45°N latitude (see figure 7-1). Japan’s mountainous island chain rises to 3,000 meters elevation, where forest transitions to alpine tundra. The lack of glacial influence has served as refugia for numerous species, including many endemics that required humid places during the Pleistocene glacial period.
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Notes
- 1.
The prefectures of Japan refer to the nation’s 47 subnational jurisdictions. In Japan, they are ¯fuken and are made up of governmental bodies larger than cities, towns, and villages.
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Nakamura, Y., DellaSala, D.A., Alaback, P. (2011). Temperate Rainforests of Japan. In: Temperate and Boreal Rainforests of the World: Ecology and Conservation. Island Press, Washington, DC. https://doi.org/10.5822/978-1-61091-008-8_7
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