Before I talk about biodiversity in Japan, I'd like to talk a bit about biodiversity in general. Basically, Biodiversity is the variety of all living things (plants, animals, fungi etc.) in a given area. Our world has an insane amount of diversity. Think about all the plants and animals you see on a daily basis outside your home. Maybe you'll see 20, 50, a couple hundred? The Earth contains millions of species; and that's just what we've been able to find.
All this biodiversity isn't just aesthetic. All living things are connected in a great web of resources and feedback systems. An ecosystem is thought to be in a healthy state if its biodiversity level is high. This is because ecosystems with a greater variety of species tend to be more resilient; the more strings that support the system, the less likely it is to collapse after a disturbance occurs.
Biodiversity varies a lot depending on where you are. Some places are naturally overflowing with an immense amount of species. These "hotspots" for diversity can be found in lots of places from Australia, to Madagascar to Japan. Since I'm currently living in Japan, I think it's appropriate that I tell you what I learned about Japan's biodiversity.
All this biodiversity isn't just aesthetic. All living things are connected in a great web of resources and feedback systems. An ecosystem is thought to be in a healthy state if its biodiversity level is high. This is because ecosystems with a greater variety of species tend to be more resilient; the more strings that support the system, the less likely it is to collapse after a disturbance occurs.
Biodiversity varies a lot depending on where you are. Some places are naturally overflowing with an immense amount of species. These "hotspots" for diversity can be found in lots of places from Australia, to Madagascar to Japan. Since I'm currently living in Japan, I think it's appropriate that I tell you what I learned about Japan's biodiversity.
 Vegetation types in Japan (original source WWF) 1) Nansei Islands subtropical evergreen forests 2) Taiheiyo evergreen forests 3) Taiheiyo montane deciduous forests 4) Nihonkai evergreen forests 5) Nihonkai montane deciduous forest 6) Honshu alpine conifer forests 7) Hokkaido deciduous forests 8) Hokkaido montane conifer forests | Japan spans from about 22°N to 46° latitude, creating an array of diverse habitats from snowy boreal mixed forests in the north, to subtropics in the south and plenty of mountainous zones in between. |
This diverse landscape creates a large range of diversity that is very stunning and unique. About a third of the 5,600 plants species found here are endemic to the area; you won't find them naturally occurring anywhere else in the world. This can also be said of half the mammals and reptiles found here, as well as 44 of the 50 or so amphibians. Conservation International estimates about 2133 of the 6390 species in Japan are endemic to the area. If you wanna know more about Japan's unique species, the Japanese Ministry of Environment has a great pamphlet you can find here. Man, all this talk about biological diversity makes me wanna go out and explore XD. I'll leave you with this picture of a Japanese macaque (Macaca fuscata). Until next time :3
 The Japanese macaque (aka the snow monkey). This is an old world monkey native to Hokkaido, Japan. |
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