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Japan has significant diversity in flora. Of approximately 5,600 total vascular plant species, almost 40% are endemic. [1] This richness is due to the significant variation in latitude and altitude across the country, a diversity of climatic conditions due to monsoons, and multiple geohistorical incidences of connections with the mainland.
The wildlife of Japan includes its flora, fauna, and natural habitats. The islands of Japan stretch a long distance from north to south and cover a wide range of climatic zones . This results in a high diversity [ 1 ] of wildlife despite Japan's isolation from the mainland of Asia .
Japan is within the larger region of East Asia. For the purposes of this category, "Japan" is defined in accordance with the World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions . That is, the geographic region is defined as including the following areas, typically defined by the political boundaries of its constituents:
Japan has the sixth longest coastline in the world (29,751 km (18,486 mi)). It is the largest island country in East Asia and the fourth largest island country in the world. [12] Because of Japan's many far-flung outlying islands and long coastline, the country has extensive marine life and mineral resources in the ocean.
Japan lies at the convergence of three terrestrial realms, the Palearctic, Indomalaya, and Oceania, and its flora and fauna combine elements from all three.The ecoregions that cover the main islands of Japan, Honshū, Hokkaidō, Kyūshū, and Shikoku, along with the nearby islands, are considered part of the Palearctic realm.
The islands in the Japanese archipelago comprise about 1/400 of the world’s land. [1] The islands are located on a latitude that is normally dry; desert can be found elsewhere in the world at this latitude. However, the oceans surrounding Japan provide enough precipitation to maintain a temperate rainforest.
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The distinction between vegetation (the general appearance of a community) and flora (the taxonomic composition of a community) was first made by Jules Thurmann (1849). ). Prior to this, the two terms (vegetation and flora) were used indiscriminately, [4] [5] and still are in some co