Low mountains and rolling hills cover much of the peninsula, seldom exceeding 1200 meters elevation.

Winter months are generally drier, and cold continental air from the Asian continent brings below-freezing temperatures.

In the warmer south, common broadleaf trees include hornbeams (Carpinus tschonoskii and Carpinus laxiflora), maples (Acer formosum and Acer palmatum), and the oak Quercus acutissima, with the pine Pinus thunbergii and the bamboo Phyllostachys.

rhynchophylla), walnut (Juglans mandshurica), Maackia amurensis, Platycarya strobilacea, Prunus padus, Pyrus ussuriensis, willows (Salix), and elm (Ulmus), along with the fir Abies holophylla.

[2] Mammals native to the ecoregion include Ussuri black bear (Ursus thibetanus ussuricus), Siberian roe deer (Capreolus pygargus), Korean water deer (Hydropotes inermis argyropus), Asian badger (Meles leucurus), leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis), yellow-throated marten (Martes flavigula), Siberian weasel (Mustela sibirica), and mandarin vole (Lasiopodomys mandarinus).

Over the decades forests and wetlands within the zone have returned to their natural state, and it has become a refuge for wildlife, including resident and migratory birds.