Japanese temperate rainforest

The Japanese temperate rainforest is located in the Japanese archipelago, in small patches over a wide range of islands, from Kyushu in the South to Hokkaido in the North. Due to its geographic features and climate, the Japanese temperate rainforest is very different from other temperate rainforests in the world. The islands in the Japanese archipelago comprise about 1/400 of the world’s land. The islands are located on a latitude that is normally dry; desert can be found elsewhere in the world at this latitude. However, the oceans surrounding Japan provide enough precipitation to maintain a temperate rainforest.

The Japanese temperate rainforest can be classified into three types: the warm temperate zone found in the southern islands and lower elevations in the north, the cool temperate zone found in the northern islands and higher elevations in the south, and the subalpine forest in the higher elevations of northern Honshu and Hokkaido. The distribution of the Japanese temperate rainforest is also highly dependent on altitude; you may see all of three types of temperate rainforest on the higher mountains such as Mt. Fuji or Mt. Miyanouradake.

The climate of this region is warm and wet. The mean annual temperature is 6 – 13 °C in the cool temperate zone and 13 – 23 °C in the warm temperate zone. Annual precipitation is 1,200 – 1,800 mm. Some regions have an annual precipitation of more than 2,800 mm. The precipitation pattern of cool and warm temperate zones is almost opposite: the southern warm temperate rainforest has higher precipitation in summer and less precipitation in winter, and the northern cool temperate rainforest has lower precipitation in summer and higher in winter with the snowfall. High precipitation is caused by oceanic circulation and the rain shadow effect. Summer typhoons from the tropics bring warm; moist air to the southern islands, especially on the Pacific Ocean side. Westerly from Siberian high and Tsushima Current cause heavy snowfall on the Sea of Japan side of northern Japan.

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