Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Plant composition and diversity of broad-leaved coppices and conifer plantations in southern Japan: implications for biodiversity conservation

  • Published:
Folia Geobotanica Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Improving the ecological understanding of semi-natural and artificial forests is necessary to conserve forest species and biodiversity in temperate regions. We investigated plant composition and diversity of semi-natural broad-leaved (Castanopsis sieboldii) coppices and artificial conifer (Cryptomeria japonica) plantations in Tanegashima Island, southern Japan, to evaluate the potential of these substitutional vegetation to conserve original lucidophyllous forest species. Vegetation surveys were conducted using 100-m2 plots. Species composition was analysed using non-metric multidimensional scaling and indicator species analysis. Species richness, diversity indices, and rarefaction curves were compared between the two forest types. The stands in the Castanopsis coppice and Cryptomeria plantation were separately distributed in the ordination diagrams, and those in the latter were more aggregated than those in the former. The Castanopsis coppice was characterized by evergreen broad-leaved trees of lucidophyllous elements (component species of lucidophyllous forests) whereas the Cryptomeria plantation was characterized by ground ferns containing non-lucidophyllous elements. Species richness was greater in the Castanopsis coppice than in the Cryptomeria plantation for lucidophyllous elements, and the same was true for diversity indices. The rarefaction curve of the Castanopsis coppice also lay above that of the Cryptomeria plantation for lucidophyllous elements. These results suggest that replacing Castanopsis coppices with Cryptomeria plantations could promote the homogenization of species composition by causing a decline in many evergreen broad-leaved tree species and reduce plant diversity for lucidophyllous elements at both plot-sized and broader spatial scales. Expanding Cryptomeria plantations into Castanopsis coppices should be avoided from the perspective of biodiversity conservation.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aiba S, Hill DA, Agetsuma N (2001) Comparison between old-growth stands and secondary stands regenerating after clear-felling in warm-temperate forests of Yakushima, southern Japan. Forest Ecol Managem 140:163–175

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Amezaga I, Onaindia M (1997) The effect of evergreen and deciduous coniferous plantations on the field layer and seed bank of native woodlands. Ecography 20:308–318

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Antúnez I, Retamosa EC, Villar R (2001) Relative growth rate in phylogenetically related deciduous and evergreen woody species. Oecologia 128:172–180

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Botta-Dukát Z (2005) Rao’s quadratic entropy as a measure of functional diversity based on multiple traits. J Veg Sci 16:533–540

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brockerhoff EG, Jactel H, Parrotta JA, Quine CP, Sayer J (2008) Plantation forests and biodiversity: oxymoron or opportunity? Biodivers & Conservation 17:925–951

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buckley P (2020) Coppice restoration and conservation: a European perspective. J Forest Res 25:125–133

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Calviño-Cancela M, Rubido-Bará M, van Etten EJB (2012) Do eucalypt plantations provide habitat for native forest biodiversity? Forest Ecol Managem 270:153–162

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clarke KR (1993) Non-parametric multivariate analyses of changes in community structure. Austral J Ecol 18:117–143

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cole EC, Hanley TA, Newton M (2010) Influence of precommercial thinning on understory vegetation of young-growth Sitka spruce forests in southeastern Alaska. Canad J Forest Res 40:619–628

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Colwell RK, Mao CX, Chang J (2004) Interpolating, extrapolating, and comparing incidence-based species accumulation curves. Ecology 85:2717–2727

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dufrêne M, Legendre P (1997) Species assemblages and indicator species: the need for a flexible asymmetrical approach. Ecol Monogr 67:345–366

    Google Scholar 

  • Fahy O, Gormally M (1998) A comparison of plant and carabid beetle communities in an Irish oak woodland with a nearby conifer plantation and clearfelled site. Forest Ecol Managem 110:263–273

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • FAO (2016) State of the World’s Forests 2016, Forests and agriculture: land-use challenges and opportunities. FAO, Rome

    Google Scholar 

  • Flinn KM (2007) Microsite-limited recruitment controls fern colonization of post-agricultural forests. Ecology 88:3103–3114

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Forestry Agency (2014) Forest and forestry white paper 2013. Available at https://www.rinya.maff.go.jp/j/kikaku/hakusyo/25hakusyo/190411_6.html (Accessed 4 April 2021)

  • Gomes SIF, van Bodegom PM, Merckx VSFT, Soudzilovskaia NA (2019) Environmental drivers for cheaters of arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis in tropical rainforests. New Phytol 223:1575–1583

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Gotelli NJ, Colwell RK (2001) Quantifying biodiversity: procedures and pitfalls in the measurement and comparison of species richness. Ecol Letters 4:379–391

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hansen AJ, Spies TA, Swanson FJ, Ohmann JL (1991) Conserving biodiversity in managed forests: Lessons from natural forests. Bioscience 41:382–392

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hartley MJ (2002) Rationale and methods for conserving biodiversity in plantation forests. Forest Ecol Managem 155:81–95

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hattori T, Akamatsu H, Takeda Y, Kodate S, Kamihogi A, Yamasaki H (1995) A study on the actual conditions of satoyama (rural forests) and their management. Humans & Nat 6:1–32 (in Japanese with English abstract)

    Google Scholar 

  • Hattori T, Minamiyama N, Hashimoto Y, Ishida H (2004) Flora of the lucidophyllous forest in Japan. Nat Human Activities 8:13–47

  • Hattori T, Minamiyama N, Hashimoto Y, Ishida H (2006) Species composition and species richness of the secondary lucidophyllous forests in the Yaeyama Islands. Humans & Nat 16:1–7 (in Japanese with English abstract)

    Google Scholar 

  • Hattori T, Minamiyama N, Ueda M (2019) Species composition and species richness of the natural and the secondary lucidophyllous forests on Tanegashima Island, Kagoshima Prefecture. Hyogo-Shizen-Kenkyukai-Hokoku 4: 21–42 (in Japanese with English abstract)

  • Hattori T, Nakanishi S (1985) On the distributional limits of the lucidophyllous forest in the Japanese Archipelago. Bot Mag (Tokyo) 98:317–333

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hatushima S (1991) Flora of the northern Ryukyus. Asahi-Insatsu, Kagoshima (in Japanese)

  • Hédl R, Šipoš J, Chudomelová M, Utinek D (2017) Dynamics of herbaceous vegetation during four years of experimental coppice introduction. Folia Geobot 52:83–99

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Horák J, Brestovanská T, Mladenović S, Kout J, Bogusch P, Halda JP, Zasadil P (2019) Green desert?: biodiversity patterns in forest plantations. Forest Ecol Managem 433:343–348

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Igarashi T, Kiyono Y (2008) The potential of hinoki (Chamaecyparis obtusa [Sieb. et Zucc.] Endlicher) plantation forests for the restoration of the original plant community in Japan. Forest Ecol Managem 255:183–192

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • IPBES (2019) Global assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. IPBES secretariat, Bonn

  • Ishida H, Hattori T, Hashimoto Y (2005) Comparison of species composition and richness among primeval, natural, and secondary lucidophyllous forests in southeastern Kyushu, Japan. Veg Sci 22:71–86

    Google Scholar 

  • Ishii H, Maleque MA, Taniguchi S (2008) Line thinning promotes stand growth and understory diversity in Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica D.Don) plantations. J Forest Res 13:73–78

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Itô H, Hino T, Sakuma D (2012) Species abundance in floor vegetation of managed coppice and abandoned forest. Forest Ecol Managem 269:99–105

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ito H, Ito S, Tsukamoto M, Nakao T (2008) Dynamics of multi-stem clump structure of canopy trees affects the change in stand structure of secondary lucidophyllous forests. J Jap Forest Soc 90:46–54 (in Japanese with English abstract)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ito S, Ishigami S, Mizoue N, Buckley GP (2006) Maintaining plant species composition and diversity of understory vegetation under strip-clearcutting forestry in conifer plantations in Kyushu, southern Japan. Forest Ecol Managem 231:234–241

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ito S, Nakayama R, Buckley GP (2004) Effects of previous land-use on plant species diversity in semi-natural and plantation forests in a warm-temperate region in southeastern Kyushu, Japan. Forest Ecol Managem 196:213–225

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Iwatsuki K (1992) Ferns and Fern Allies of Japan. Heibonsha, Tokyo (in Japanese)

  • Kagoshima Prefecture (2020) Forest and Forestry Statistics in Kagoshima Prefecture 2019. Available at https://www.pref.kagoshima.jp/ad01/sangyo-rodo/rinsui/tokei/shinrin/r1toukei_191128.html (Accessed 4 April 2021)

  • Kawanishi M, Komatsu T, Sakio H, Yonebayashi C (2008) Effects of thinning and litter removal on the recovery of riparian vegetation in a Cryptomeria japonica plantation. J Jap Forest Soc 90:55–60 (in Japanese with English abstract)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kira T (1991) Forest ecosystems of east and southeast Asia in a global perspective. Ecol Res 6:185–200

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kirby KJ, Buckley GP, Mills J (2017) Biodiversity implications of coppice decline, transformations to high forest and coppice restoration in British woodland. Folia Geobot 52:5–13

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kostel-Hughes F, Young TP, Wehr JD (2005) Effects of leaf litter depth on the emergence and seedling growth of deciduous forest tree species in relation to seed size. J Torrey Bot Soc 132:50–61

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kuroda A, Ishida H, Iwakiri K, Fukui S, Hattori T (2015) Comparison of species composition and species richness among Cryptomeria japonica plantations, secondary lucidophyllous forests, and primeval lucidophyllous forests in the lowland parts of Yakushima Island, south Japan. Veg Sci 32:95–116 (in Japanese with English abstract)

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuroda T, Ozawa T (1996) Paleoclimatic and vegetational changes during the Pleistocene and Holocene in the Ryukyu Islands inferred from pollen assemblages. J Geogr 105:328–342 (in Japanese with English abstract)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kuwano Y (2009) Relationship between seed bank and current-year seedlings after thinning in artificial Japanese cedar and cypress forests. Kyushu J Forest Res 62:70–73 (in Japanese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Laliberté E, Legendre P, Shipley B (2014) FD: Measuring functional diversity (FD) from multiple traits, and other tools for functional ecology, Version 1.0-12. Available at https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=FD (Accessed 21 February 2021)

  • MacArthur RH, Wilson EO (1967) The Theory of Island Biogeography. Princeton University Press, Princeton

    Google Scholar 

  • Matsushita M (1992) Lucidophyllous forest development along the Pacific coast of the Japanese Archipelago during the Holocene. Quatern Res 31:375–387 (in Japanese with English abstract)

    Google Scholar 

  • Michelsen A, Lisanework N, Friis I, Holst N (1996) Comparisons of understorey vegetation and soil fertility in plantations and adjacent natural forests in the Ethiopian highlands. J Appl Ecol 33:627–642

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miyawaki A (1981) Vegetation of Japan, Vol. 2, Kyushu. Shibundo, Tokyo (in Japanese)

  • Miyawaki A (1989) Vegetation of Japan, Vol. 10, Okinawa & Ogasawara. Shibundo, Tokyo (in Japanese)

  • Miura S (2000) Proposal for a new definition to evaluate the status of forest floor cover and floor cover percentage (FCP) from the viewpoint of the protection against raindrop splash. J Jap Forest Soc 82:132–140 (in Japanese with English abstract)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mogi T, Takahashi H, Katsuyama T (2000a) Woody plants of Japan, Choripetalae 1. Yama-Kei Publishers, Tokyo (in Japanese)

  • Mogi T, Takahashi H, Katsuyama T (2000b) Woody plants of Japan, Choripetalae 2. Yama-Kei Publishers, Tokyo (in Japanese)

  • Mogi T, Takahashi H, Katsuyama T (2001) Woody plants of Japan, Gamopetalae & Monocotyledoneae & Gymnospermae. Yama-kei Publishers, Tokyo (in Japanese)

  • Morita Y (2004) The report of the plant collection on Tanega-shima, Kagoshima Prefecture. Bull Kagoshima Pref Mus 23:61–73 (in Japanese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Müllerová J, Hédl R, Szabó P (2015) Coppice abandonment and its implications for species diversity in forest vegetation. Forest Ecol Managem 343:88–100

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Muranaka T (2002) List of alien species (vascular plants). In The Ecological Society of Japan (ed) Handbook of alien species in Japan. Chijinshokan, Tokyo, pp. 320–353 (in Japanese)

  • Nagaike T (2002) Differences in plant species diversity between conifer (Larix kaempferi) plantations and broad-leaved (Quercus crispula) secondary forests in central Japan. Forest Ecol Managem 168:111–123

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (2013) GeomapNavi, Version 1.1.0. Available at https://gbank.gsj.jp/geonavi (Accessed 4 April 2021)

  • Ohashi H, Kadota Y, Murata J, Yonekura K, Kihara H (2015) Wild flowers of Japan, vol. 1, Cycadaceae~Cyperaceae. Heibonsha, Tokyo (in Japanese)

  • Ohashi H, Kadota Y, Murata J, Yonekura K, Kihara H (2016a) Wild flowers of Japan, vol. 2, Poaceae~Urticaceae. Heibonsha, Tokyo (in Japanese)

  • Ohashi H, Kadota Y, Murata J, Yonekura K, Kihara H (2016b) Wild flowers of Japan, vol. 3, Rosaceae~Meliaceae. Heibonsha, Tokyo (in Japanese)

  • Ohashi H, Kadota Y, Murata J, Yonekura K, Kihara H (2017a) Wild flowers of Japan, vol. 4, Malvaceae~Apocynaceae. Heibonsha, Tokyo (in Japanese)

  • Ohashi H, Kadota Y, Murata J, Yonekura K, Kihara H (2017b) Wild flowers of Japan, vol. 5, Convolvulaceae~Caprifoliaceae. Heibonsha, Tokyo (in Japanese)

  • Ohkawa T, Hayashi M (2016) Trees and shrubs of the Ryukyu Islands. Bun-ichi Sogo Shuppan, Tokyo (in Japanese)

  • Oksanen J, Blanchet FG, Friendly M et al. (2018) vegan: Community Ecology Package, Version 2.5-3. Available at https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=vegan (Accessed 19 November 2018)

  • Paritsis J, Aizen MA (2008) Effects of exotic conifer plantations on the biodiversity of understory plants, epigeal beetles and birds in Nothofagus dombeyi forests. Forest Ecol Managem 255:1575–1583

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Petchey OL, Gaston KJ (2002) Functional diversity (FD), species richness and community composition. Ecol Letters 5:402–411

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peterson CJ, Facelli JM (1992) Contrasting germination and seedling growth of Betula alleghaniensis and Rhus typhina subjected to various amounts and types of plant litter. Amer J Bot 79:1209–1216

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Podani J, Schmera D (2006) On dendrogram-based measures of functional diversity. Oikos 115:179–185

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Poulsen AD (1996) Species richness and diversity of ground herbs within a plot of lowland rainforest in north-west Borneo. J Trop Ecol 12:177–190

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Qian H, Klinka K, Sivak B (1997) Diversity of the understory vascular vegetation in 40 year-old and old-growth forest stands on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. J Veg Sci 8:773–780

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • R Core Team (2018) R 3.5.2: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. Available at https://www.R-project.org

  • Rao CR (1982) Diversity and dissimilarity coefficients: A unified approach. Theor Populat Biol 21:24–43

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Riofrío, ML, Cruz D, Torres E, De La Cruz M, Iriondo JM, Suárez JP (2013) Mycorrhizal preferences and fine spatial structure of the epiphytic orchid Epidendrum rhopalostele. Amer J Bot 100:2339–2348

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Roberts DW (2019) labdsv: Ordination and Multivariate Analysis for Ecology, Version 2.0-1. Available at https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=labdsv (Accessed 21 February 2021)

  • Roleček J, Vild O, Sladký J, Řepka R (2017) Habitat requirements of endangered species in a former coppice of high conservation value. Folia Geobot 52:59–69

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Satake M, Kaburagi K, Seki T, Nozaki T, Lee I, Katsuki S (1999) Geobotanical studies on the island of Tanegashima (Affinity of world property Island Yakushima). Bull Nat Inst Health Sci 117:39–49 (in Japanese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Scolastri A, Cancellieri L, Iocchi M, Cutini M (2017) Old coppice versus high forest: the impact of beech forest management on plant species diversity in central Apennines (Italy). J Pl Ecol 10:271–280

    Google Scholar 

  • Seiwa K, Etoh Y, Hisita M, Masaka K, Imaji A, Ueno N, Hasegawa Y, Konno M, Kanno H, Kimura M (2012) Roles of thinning intensity in hardwood recruitment and diversity in a conifer, Cryptomeria japonica plantation: A 5-year demographic study. Forest Ecol Managem 269:177–187

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stapanian MA, Cassell DL (1999) Regional frequencies of tree species associated with anthropogenic disturbances in three forest types. Forest Ecol Managem 117:241–252

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thomas SC, Halpern CB, Falk DA, Liguori DA, Austin KA (1999) Plant diversity in managed forests: understory responses to thinning and fertilization. Ecol Applic 9:864–879

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tsuji S, Hoshino Y (1992) Effects of the alteration of the management to the forest floor of the secondary forests of Quercus serrata on the species composition and the soil conditions. Jap J Ecol 42:125–136 (in Japanese with English synopsis)

    Google Scholar 

  • Vild O, Roleček J, Hédl R, Kopecký M, Utinek D (2013) Experimental restoration of coppice-with-standards: response of understorey vegetation from the conservation perspective. Forest Ecol Managem 310:234–241

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whittaker RJ, Fernández-Palacios JM (2007) Island biogeography: ecology, evolution, and conservation. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Yaguchi H, Hoshino Y (2020) Effects of vegetation management on plant species composition and plant functional composition in Quercus serrata secondary forests on the Musashino terrace. Veg Sci 37:69–84 (in Japanese with English abstract)

    Google Scholar 

  • Yamagawa H, Ito S, Nakao T (2007) Edge effects from a natural evergreen broadleaved forest patch on advanced regeneration and natural forest recovery after clear-cutting of a sugi (Cryptomeria japonica) plantation. Jap J Forest Environm 49:111–122

    Google Scholar 

  • Yamagawa H, Ito S, Nakao T (2013) Seed dispersal in clear-cut stands adjacent to lucidophyllous forest in 1 to 6 years after clear-cut. Jap J Ecol 63:219–228 (in Japanese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Yamagawa H, Ito S, Sakuta K, Mizoue N, Nakao T (2009) Effects of small-scale clearcutting management on species diversity and vertical structure of understory vegetation of a conifer plantation comprising uneven-aged stands, in Kyushu, southern Japan. J Jap Forest Soc 91:277–284 (in Japanese with English abstract)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yamasaki H, Aoki K, Hattori T, Takeda Y (2000) Increase of species diversity due to management of vegetation in satoyama (rural forests). J Jap Inst Landscape Architect 63:481–484 (in Japanese with English summary)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yonekura K, Kajita T (2003) BGPlants Japanese-scientific name index (YList). Available at http://ylist.info (Accessed 3 February 2021)

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank Yoshiki Yagura, Kei Uchida, Megumi Fujisaki and Ryosuke Mitsuyoshi for their support in the field survey. We thank the anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions. This work was supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS KAKENHI Grant Numbers JP16510178 and JP20510218).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Natural and Environmental Sciences, University of Hyogo, Yayoigaoka 6, Sanda, Hyogo, 669-1546, Japan

    Asumo Kuroda

  2. Minami-Tajima Nature Education Center, Hasama 189, Santo, Asago, Hyogo, 669-5134, Japan

    Tamotsu Hattori

Authors
  1. Asumo Kuroda
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Tamotsu Hattori
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

All authors contributed to the conception and design of the study. Data collection was conducted by AK and TH. Data analysis was performed by AK. The first draft of the manuscript was written by AK, and TH commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Asumo Kuroda.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors have no conflict of interest to declare.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary Information

The data used for the analyses are provided as Electronic supplementary material.

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary file1 (XLSX 60 KB)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Kuroda, A., Hattori, T. Plant composition and diversity of broad-leaved coppices and conifer plantations in southern Japan: implications for biodiversity conservation. Folia Geobot 57, 21–35 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12224-022-09409-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12224-022-09409-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation