Editing Laurel forest (section)

=== East Asia ===
[[File:塔魔巴之起霧的樹林.jpg|thumb|[[Taiwan subtropical evergreen forests|Subtropical evergreen forests]] of [[Taiwan]]]]
Laurel forests are common in subtropical eastern Asia, and form the climax vegetation in far southern Japan, [[Taiwan]], southern China, the mountains of [[Indochina]], and the eastern [[Himalayas]]. In southern China, laurel forest once extended throughout the Yangtze Valley and Sichuan Basin from the [[East China Sea]] to the [[Tibetan Plateau]]. The northernmost laurel forests in East Asia occur at 39°&nbsp;N. on the Pacific coast of Japan. Altitudinally, the forests range from sea-level up to 1000 metres in warm-temperate Japan, and up to 3000 metres elevation in the subtropical mountains of Asia.<ref name="Tagawa, Hideo 1995" /> Some forests are dominated by [[Lauraceae]], while in others evergreen laurophyll trees of the beech family ([[Fagaceae]]) are predominant, including ring-cupped oaks (''[[Quercus]]'' subgenus ''Cyclobalanopsis''), chinquapin (''[[Castanopsis]]'') and tanoak (''[[Lithocarpus]]'').<ref name="Box, Elgene O. 1998" /> Other characteristic plants include ''[[Schima]]'' and ''[[Camellia]]'', which are members of the tea family ([[Theaceae]]), as well as [[magnolia]]s, [[bamboo]], and [[rhododendron]]s.<ref>{{WWF ecoregion|id=im0118|name=Jian Nan subtropical evergreen forests |access-date=April 8, 2011}}</ref> These subtropical forests lie between the temperate deciduous and conifer forests to the north and the subtropical/tropical monsoon forests of Indochina and India to the south.

Associations of Lauraceous species are common in broadleaved forests; for example, ''[[Litsea]]'' spp., ''[[Persea odoratissima]], [[Persea duthiei]],'' etc., along with such others as ''[[Engelhardia spicata]],'' tree rhododendron (''[[Rhododendron arboreum]]''), ''[[Lyonia ovalifolia]],'' wild Himalayan pear (''[[Pyrus pashia]]''), sumac (''[[Rhus]]'' spp.), Himalayan maple (''[[Acer oblongum]]''), box myrtle (''[[Myrica esculenta]]''), ''[[Magnolia]]'' spp., and birch (''[[Betula]]'' spp.). Some other common trees and large shrub species of subtropical forests are ''[[Semecarpus anacardium]], [[Crateva unilocularis]], [[Trewia nudiflora]], [[Premna interrupta]]'', Vietnam elm (''[[Ulmus lancifolia]]''), ''[[Ulmus chumlia]], [[Glochidion velutinum]]'', beautyberry (''[[Callicarpa arborea]]''), Indian mahogany (''[[Toona ciliata]]''), fig tree (''[[Ficus]]'' spp.), ''[[Mahosama similicifolia]], [[Trevesia palmata]],'' brushholly (''[[Xylosma longifolium]]''), false nettle (''[[Boehmeria rugulosa]]''), ''[[Heptapleurum venulosum]], [[Casearia graveilens]], [[Actinodaphne reticulata]], [[Sapium insigne]]'', Nepalese alder (''[[Alnus nepalensis]]''), marlberry (''[[Ardisia thyrsiflora]]''), holly (''[[Ilex]]'' spp), ''[[Macaranga pustulata]], [[Trichilia cannoroides]],'' hackberry (''[[Celtis tetrandra]]''), ''[[Wenlendia puberula]], [[Saurauia nepalensis]],'' ring-cupped oak (''[[Quercus glauca]]''), ''[[Ziziphus incurva]], [[Camellia kissi]], [[Hymenodictyon flaccidum]], [[Maytenus thomsonii]]'', winged prickly ash (''[[Zanthoxylum armatum]]''), ''[[Eurya acuminata]]'', matipo (''[[Myrsine semiserrata]]''), ''[[Sloanea tomentosa]], [[Hydrangea aspera]], [[Symplocos]]'' spp., and ''[[Cleyera]]'' spp.

In the temperate zone, the cloud forest between 2,000 and 3,000&nbsp;m altitude supports broadleaved evergreen forest dominated by plants such as ''[[Quercus lamellosa]]'' and ''[[Quercus semecarpifolia|Q. semecarpifolia]]'' in pure or mixed stands. ''[[Lindera]]'' and ''Litsea'' species, Himalayan hemlock (''[[Tsuga dumosa]]''), and ''Rhododendron'' spp. are also present in the upper levels of this zone. Other important species are ''[[Magnolia campbellii]], [[Michelia doltsopa]],'' andromeda (''[[Pieris ovalifolia]]''), ''[[Daphniphyllum himalense]], [[Acer campbellii]], [[Acer pectinatum]]'', and ''[[Sorbus cuspidata]]'', but these species do not extend toward the west beyond central Nepal. Nepalese alder (''Alnus nepalensis''), a pioneer tree species, grows gregariously and forms pure patches of forests on newly exposed slopes, in gullies, beside rivers, and in other moist places.

The common forest types of this zone include ''Rhododendron arboreum, [[Rhododendron barbatum]], [[Lyonia (plant)|Lyonia]]'' spp., ''[[Pieris formosa]]; [[Tsuga dumosa]]'' forest with such deciduous taxa as maple (''[[Acer (plant)|Acer]]'') and ''Magnolia''; deciduous mixed broadleaved forest of ''Acer campbellii, Acer pectinatum, Sorbus cuspidata'', and ''[[Magnolia campbellii]]''; mixed broadleaved forest of ''Rhododendron arboreum, Acer campbellii, [[Symplocos ramosissima]]'' and Lauraceae.

This zone is habitat for many other important tree and large shrub species such as pindrow fir (''[[Abies pindrow]]''), East Himalayan fir (''[[Abies spectabilis]]''), ''Acer campbellii, Acer pectinatum,'' Himalayan birch (''[[Betula utilis]]''), ''[[Betula alnoides]],'' boxwood (''[[Buxus rugulosa]]''), Himalayan flowering dogwood (''[[Cornus capitata]]''), hazel (''[[Hazel|Corylus ferox]]''), ''[[Deutzia staminea,]]'' spindle (''[[Euonymus tingens]]''), Siberian ginseng (''[[Acanthopanax cissifolius]]''), ''[[Coriaria terminalis]]'' ash (''[[Fraxinus macrantha]]''), ''[[Dodecadenia grandiflora]], [[Eurya cerasifolia]], [[Hydrangea heteromala]], [[Ilex dipyrena]]'', privet (''[[privet|Ligustrum]]'' spp.), ''[[Litsea elongata]]'', common walnut (''[[Juglans regia]]''), ''[[Lichelia doltsopa]], [[Myrsine capitallata]], [[Neolitsea umbrosa]],'' mock-orange (''[[Philadelphus tomentosus]]''), sweet olive (''[[Osmanthus fragrans]]''), Himalayan bird cherry (''[[Prunus cornuta]]''), and ''[[Viburnum continifolium]]''.

In ancient times, laurel forests (''shoyojurin'') were the predominant vegetation type in the [[Taiheiyo evergreen forests]] ecoregion of Japan, which encompasses the mild temperate climate region of southeastern Japan's Pacific coast. There were three main types of evergreen broadleaf forests, in which ''Castanopsis'', ''[[Machilus]]'', or ''Quercus'' predominated. Most of these forests were logged or cleared for cultivation and replanted with faster-growing [[conifer]]s, like [[pine]] or [[hinoki]], and only a few pockets remain.<ref>Karan, Pradyumna Prasad (2005). ''Japan in the 21st century: environment, economy, and society''. University Press of Kentucky, Lexington.{{ISBN|978-0-8131-2342-4}}. p. 25.</ref>

==== Laurel forest ecoregions in East Asia ====
* [[Changjiang Plain evergreen forests]] ([[China]])
* [[Chin Hills–Arakan Yoma montane forests]] ([[Myanmar]])
* [[Eastern Himalayan broadleaf forests]] ([[Bhutan]], [[India]], [[Nepal]])
* [[Guizhou Plateau broadleaf and mixed forests]] ([[China]])
* [[Jiang Nan subtropical evergreen forests]] ([[China]])
* [[Nihonkai evergreen forests]] ([[Japan]])
* [[Northern Annamites rain forests]] ([[Laos]], [[Vietnam]])
* [[Northern Indochina subtropical forests]] (China, Laos, Myanmar, [[Thailand]], Vietnam)
* [[Northern Triangle subtropical forests]] (Myanmar)
* [[South China–Vietnam subtropical evergreen forests]] (China, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Macau)
* [[Southern Korea evergreen forests]] ([[South Korea]])
* [[Taiheiyo evergreen forests]] (Japan)
* [[Taiwan subtropical evergreen forests]] ([[Taiwan]])