Endemic to Japan where the main threat is logging and the replacement of native forests with commercial plantations
Distribution
Endemic to Japan on the islands of Honshu, Kyushu and Shikoku. The extent of occurrence is more than 20,000km²
Habitat and Ecology
Picea torano occurs in (low) mountains at elevations between 400 to 1500 m above sea-level, almost invariably on podzolic soils of young volcanic rocks such as lava flows and tuffs. The climate is cool, moist maritime, with a annual precipitation exceeding 1000mm; the winters are cold and snowy, especially at the higher elevations. There are some small remnants of pure stands left, e.g. at the northern end of Lake Yamanaka, elsewhere it is mixed with Abies homolepis, Larix kaempferi, Pinus densiflora and/or broad-leaved trees, e.g. Betula, Fagus, Acer, Quercus mongolica var. grosseserrata, Prunus maximowiczii, and Zelkova serrata.
Human Uses
Picea torano is uncommon and grows in inaccessible places, therefore it is not an important timber tree. In Japan it is a popular amenity tree, used in gardens and parks. Despite its striking foliage and cones and conical habit in cultivation, it remains an uncommon tree in gardens and arboreta in Europe and is even less common elsewhere outside Japan.
Conservation Status
Global status
Vulnerable A2ce+3ce
Global rationale
The more accessible and large trees have been cut in the past and were replaced by afforestation with different species, e.g. Cryptomeria japonica and Larix kaempferi. Due to the fact that this species is poorly protected, the causes of decline are likely to affect this species further in the future.
Global threats
Large stands of this species have been depleted, but it is widespread and occurs also in mixed conifer/broad-leaved forests from central Honshu southward.
Conservation Actions
One subpopulation is found within a protected area.
References and further reading
Iwatsuki K., Yamazaki T., Boufford, D.E., & Ohba H. (eds.). (1995). Flora of Japan, Volume 1. Pteridophyta and Gymnospermae. Tokyo, Japan: Kodansha. pp. xv and 263-288.
Katsuki, T. & Farjon, A. 2013. Picea torano. In: IUCN 2013. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.1. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 13 July 2013.
