The Nujiang Lancang Gorge alpine conifer and mixed forests blanket the steep valleys and ridges of the western Hengduan Mountains, stretching from southern Qinghai and eastern Tibet down through Yunnan, with portions reaching western Sichuan in China and eastern Kachin State in Myanmar. The terrain follows the middle catchments of the Nu (Salween) and Lancang (Mekong) rivers, where vegetation shifts from subtropical evergreen broadleaved forest in the warm valley bottoms to subalpine conifer forest on the high ridges, dominated by genera such as Taiwania, Keteleeria, Pseudotsuga, Cunninghamia, Platycladus, and Cupressus. Extreme vertical relief gives the region a striking gradient, with subtropical river channels below 2,000 meters and ridges that climb past 5,000 meters in the north, spanning dry gorge valley floors to alpine crests. Thanks to rugged topography and remoteness, large tracts remain relatively undisturbed and the ecoregion holds a high richness of species, home to the endemic Yunnan snub-nosed monkey, red pandas, and clouded leopards, though logging and hydroelectric projects remain ongoing threats.

At a glance

About the temperate conifer forests biome

Temperate forests dominated by evergreen conifers, from coastal rainforests to montane pine and fir stands. Adapted to cool, moist or seasonally dry climates, they include some of the tallest and longest-lived trees on the planet.

Catalog plants suited to this ecoregion

Computed from each plant's stated USDA zone range against this ecoregion's CHELSA-derived current zone range, with the CHELSA mid-century warming delta applied for the projection. Plants whose stated range falls outside both the current and projected zone end up dropped; the rest land in one of the three buckets below.

Collections for this ecoregion

Curated multi-plant collections whose members all fit this ecoregion's zone range — no won't-grow members smuggled in. Overall fit class shown per collection is the weakest link across its members.

Related ecoregions