Editing Temperate rainforest (section)

====Temperate rainforests of the Russian Far East====
{{See also|Temperate rainforests of the Russian Far East}}The [[Russian Far East]] region is the eastern-most region of both Russia and the Asian continent as a whole. The Russian federal subjects of [[Primorsky Krai]] and [[Khabarovsk Krai]] are located in the southeast of this region, with Primorsky Krai sharing a land border with [[China]] and [[North Korea]], and both federal subjects face the Pacific ocean to the eaat and share maritime borders with Japan. The [[Sikhote-Alin]] mountain range is located here and extends for about 1000 km in a northeast direction, parallel to the coast, from near the coastal city of [[Vladivostok]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Central Sikhote-Alin, Russia |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/766 |access-date=2024-12-18 |website=whc.unesco.org (UNESCO)}}</ref>

Whilst the mountain range ascends from sea level to a maximum altitude of around 1900 metres contains a variety of different habitats, they are located in region with a temperate climate. During the last [[glacial maximum]] (or ice age), the area was not glaciated, allowing for the development of a complex [[ecosystem]] containing species with origins in Siberia’s boreal forest and Manchuria’s subtropical forests.<ref name="DellaSala2011">DellaSala D. 2011. Temperate and Boreal Rainforests of the World. Island Press</ref> Temperate rainforest covers most of the mountain slopes and the biogeographic region is known as the Primorye centre of plant diversity, a biogeographic meeting point of flora and fauna from temperate, subtropical and taiga climatic regions.<ref name=":0" /> Historically these forests ranged from the southeastern Pacific coast of Russia, through North Korea and into northern China, however vast human development, particularly in China, has limited the forest to its current range in the Russian Far East.<ref name="DellaSala20112">DellaSala D. 2011. Temperate and Boreal Rainforests of the World. Island Press</ref> In 2001, [[UNESCO]] recognized a 1.5 million hectare area of forest in the central part of the Sikhote-Alin mountains as a [[World Heritage Site]] in Russia, citing the area as one of the most unique and valuable areas of intact forest in the world <ref>Central Sikhote-Alin. (n.d.). Retrieved November 22, 2014, from https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/766</ref>

Although not limited to forests, more than 2500 species of vascular plants have been described in the Primorye biographic region, of which many are considered relict and endemic species. Flora of mosses and lichens are particularly diverse. About 200 species are listed in the IUCN Red List as rare and endangered.<ref name="Cushman2002">Cushman, S. A., & Wallin, D. O. (2002). Separating the effects of environmental, spatial and disturbance factors on forest community structure in the Russian Far East. Forest Ecology and Management, 168(1), 201-215</ref> The forests fall in the transition zone between two [[biomes]]: the southern Asian [[hardwood forest]] and the northern [[coniferous forest]].<ref name="Cushman2002" /> The rainforests are a mix of deciduous broadleaf and coniferous forest, with the dominant tree species becoming more coniferous at higher elevations, and more mixed forest found at lower elevations or within mountain valleys. The most common species include the [[Pinus koraiensis|Korean pine]] (''Pinus koraiensis'') and [[Abies holophylla|Manchurian fir]] (''Abies holophylla'') at the lowest elevations and coastlines. [[Picea jezoensis|Jezo spruce]] (''Picea jezoensis'') and [[Abies nephrolepis|Khingan fir]] (''Abies nephrolepis'') are common species to be found from 700–1400 metres altitude.<ref name="DellaSala20113">DellaSala D. 2011. Temperate and Boreal Rainforests of the World. Island Press</ref> Other tree species include [[Mongolian oak]] (''Quercus mongolica''), [[Betula pendula|silver birch]] (''Betula platyphylla''), [[Scots pine]] (''Pinus sylvestris''), [[Populus tremula|trembling aspen]] (''Populus tremula''), [[Pinus pumila|Siberian dwarf pine]] (''Pinus pumila''), [[Betula ermanii|Erman's birch]] (''Betula ermanii''), and [[Larix gmelinii|Dahurian larch]] (''Larix gmelinii''), a deciduous conifer common throughout, but dominant in the northernmost reaches of the forest<ref name="Cushman2002" /> Other characteristic flora include various [[Fern|ferns]], [[Nelumbo|lotus]], (''Nelumbo nucifera'') and the willow ''[[Salix arbutifolia]],'' ''[[Taxus cuspidata]]'', ''[[Juniperus rigida]]'', ''[[Phellodendron amurense]]'', ''[[Kalopanax]]'', ''[[Aralia elata]]'', ''[[Maackia amurensis]]'', ''[[Alnus japonica]]'', ''[[Actinidia kolomikta]]'', ''[[Schisandra chinensis]]'', ''[[Celastrus orbiculatus]]'', ''[[Thladiantha dubia]]'', ''[[Weigela]]'', ''[[Eleutherococcus]]'', ''[[Flueggea suffruticosa]]'', ''[[Deutzia]]'', ''[[Betula schmidtii]]'', ''Carpinus cordata'', ''[[Acer mandshuricum]]'', ''[[Parthenocissus tricuspidata]]'', ''[[Vitis amurensis]]'', and ''[[Panax ginseng]]'' and many others.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hu |first1=Yang |last2=Hu |first2=Yunfeng |date=1 January 2020 |title=Detecting Forest Disturbance and Recovery in Primorsky Krai, Russia, Using Annual Landsat Time Series and Multi–Source Land Cover Products |journal=Remote Sensing |volume=12 |issue=1 |pages=129 |bibcode=2020RemS...12..129H |doi=10.3390/rs12010129 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

Along with the neighbouring [[Amur region]] of Russia, the temperate rainforests of the Russian Far East hold the last remaining habitats for the critically endangered [[Siberian tiger]], [[Amur leopard]], and [[Manchurian sika deer]]. It has been estimated that there are less than 600 tigers<ref name="Carroll2006">Carroll, C., & Miquelle, D. G. (2006). Spatial viability analysis of Amur tiger Panthera tigris altaica in the Russian Far East: the role of protected areas and landscape matrix in population persistence. Journal of Applied Ecology, 43(6), 1056-1068</ref> and around 90 leopards left in the wild.<ref>Uphyrkina, O., Miquelle, D., Quigley, H., Driscoll, C., & O'Brien, S. J. (2002). Conservation genetics of the Far Eastern leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis). Journal of Heredity, 93(5), 303-311</ref> The area also contains populations of [[Asiatic black bears]], [[Kamchatka brown bear|Kamchatka brown bears]], and [[Mongolian wolf|Mongolian grey wolves]], as the Russian Far East, altogether, might probably be the only place in the world where endangered tigers, leopards, bears, and grey wolves coexist. This region also happens to be some of the last of habitat of the [[Blakiston's fish owl|Blakiston’s fish owl]] (Bubo blakistoni); along with being the world’s largest owl, it is unique in the way that it eats fish (primarily [[Masu salmon]]) and relies on [[old growth forests]] along river banks to hunt, nest, and breed.<ref>WCS Study: Huge Trees Help Huge Salmon-Eating Owl. (2013, August 15). Retrieved November 22, 2014, from http://www.wcs.org/press/press-releases/rare-blakiston-fish-owls.aspx</ref> The [[Siberian grouse]] is similar to the [[spruce grouse]] and [[Franklin's grouse]] of North America, and can be found in the dense, remote pockets of broadleaf, coniferous and deciduous forests of Far East Russia. Common ungulates include [[red deer]], [[roe deer]], [[wild boar]], Manchurian moose, and [[musk deer]].