Yambaru, Okinawa Island, Japan Photograph by © Junkichi Mima   Eastern Asia: Nansei (Ryukyu) Islands south of Japanese mainland Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests   1,600 square miles (4,100 square kilometers) -- about one-third the size of Connecticut Critical/Endangered

· Location and General Description
· Biodiversity Features
· Current Status
· Threats
· Ecoregion Justification
· References
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Location and General Description

Biodiversity Features

Current Status

Types and Severity of Threats

Justification of Ecoregion Delineation

The Nansei Islands are also known as Rukyu Islands. Consisting of over 100 islands between Kyushu and Taiwan, ecoregion boundaries are based on the ‘Psychotrio regions’ from Miyawaki (1975). The region includes Yakushima and Tanegashima, just south of Kyushu. The ecoregion represent the northern limit of mangrove species and the southern limit of warm-temperate forests (Shidei 1974).

References

Brazil, M. 1991. The birds of Japan. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington DC.

Environment Agency of Japan. 1992. Nature conservation in Japan: the 3rd Edition.

Nature Conservation Bureau. Environment Agency of Japan, Tokyo, Japan.

Kamamichi, T. editor. 1996. Encyclopedia of Animals in Japan Volume 1: Mammals I. Heibonsha Limited Publishers, Tokyo, Japan.

Maekawa, F. 1974. Origin and characteristics of Japan’s flora. Pages 33-85 in M. Numata, editor, The flora and vegetation of Japan. Kodansha, Tokyo, Japan.

Miyawaki, A. 1975. Outline of Japanese vegetation. Pages 19-27 in K. Numata, K. Yoshida, and M. Kato, editors. Studies in conservation of natural terrestrial ecosystems in Japan. JIBP Synthesis volume 8. University of Tokyo Press, Tokyo, Japan.

Miyawaki, A. and K. Suzuki. 1975. Subtropical segetation in the Ryukyu Islands. Pages 29-31 in K. Numata, K. Yoshida, and M. Kato, editors. Studies in conservation of natural terrestrial ecosystems in Japan: Part I vegetation and its conservation. JIBP Synthesis volume 8. University of Tokyo Press, Tokyo, Japan.

Numata, M., editor. 1974. The flora and vegetation of Japan. Kodansha, Tokyo, Japan.

Sengoku, S. et al., editors. 1996. Encyclopedia of animals in Japan Volume 5: Amphibians, Reptiles, Chondrichthyes. Heibonsha Limited, Publishers, Tokyo, Japan.

Shidei, T. 1974. Forest vegetation zones. Pages 87-124 in M. Numata, editor. The flora and vegetation of Japan. Kodansha, Tokyo, Japan.

Shimizu, T. 1975. Flora of Japan. Pages 16-18 in K. Numata, K.Yoshida, and M. Kato, editors, Studies in conservation of natural terrestrial ecosystems in Japan: Part I Vegetation and its Conservation. JIBP Synthesis volume 8. University of Tokyo Press, Tokyo, Japan.

For more general information on this ecoregion, go to the WildWorld version of this description.