1996 Volume 13 Issue 1 Pages 25-35
Southern Sakhalin is actually dominated by the Picea jezoensis-Abies sachalinensis forest, contrasting with a commonly accepted view that conifer-deciduous broadleaved trees mixed forests prevail there. The Picea-Abies forest of Sakhalin is the only lowland evergreen coniferous forest in northeastern Asia. Picea-Abies forests of northeastern China, Hokkaido, Primorie and Khabarovsk usually occur on mountain slopes. This suggests that in northeastern Asia the Picea-Abies forest of Sakhalin is the only vegetation homologous to the boreal evergreen coniferous forests of North America, Europe, and western Siberia. The establishment of the Picea-Abies forest of Sakhalin is closely correlated with the decline of broadleaved species, strong competitors of conifers, from Hokkaido to Sakhalin. Both Picea jezoensis and Abies sachalinensis occupy the vacant area from the broadleaved species in southern Sakhalin. In northern Sakhalin, contrarily, Larix-dominated forests with mixture of Picea jezoensis prevail due to the sharp decline of Abies sachalinensis there, probably being caused by a lack of sufficient heat necessary to promote the vigorous growth of Abies.
