Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Dwarf bamboo as an ecological filter for forest regeneration

  • Note and Comment
  • Published:
Ecological Research

Abstract

Quantitative relationships between the aboveground biomass of dwarf bamboo, Sasa nipponica, and the survivorship and emergence of seedlings of Abies homolepis, Fraxinus lanuginosa f. serrata, and Fagus crenata were estimated. We show that dwarf bamboo acts as an ecological filter since the responses of tree species differ according to the biomass of dwarf bamboo. Deer exclusion without management of dwarf bamboo would make it impossible for any tree species to regenerate due to rapid increases in the biomass of dwarf bamboo.

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

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Agata W, Kamata E (1979) Ecological characteristics and dry matter production of some native grasses in Japan I. Annual growth pattern of Sasa nipponica community. J Jpn Grassl Sci 25:103–109 (in Japanese with English summary)

    Google Scholar 

  • Cross JR (1981) The establishment of Rhododendron ponticum in the Killarney Oakwoods, S. W. Ireland. J Ecol 69:807–824

    Google Scholar 

  • Furusawa H, Miyanishi H, Kaneko S, Hino T (2003) Movement of soil and litter on the floor of a temperate mixed forest with an impoverished understory grazed by deer (Cervus nippon centralis Temminck). J Jpn For Soc 85:318–325 (in Japanese with English summary)

    Google Scholar 

  • George LO, Bazzaz FA (1999a) The fern understory as an ecological filter: growth and survival of canopy-tree seedlings. Ecology 80:846–856

    Google Scholar 

  • George LO, Bazzaz FA (1999b) The fern understory as an ecological filter: emergence and establishment of canopy-tree seedlings. Ecology 80:833–845

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hiura T, Sano J, Konno Y (1995) Age structure and response to fine-scale disturbances of Abies sachalinensis, Picea jezoensis, Picea glehnii, and Betula ermanii growing under the influence of a dwarf bamboo understory in northern Japan. Can J For Res 26:289–297

    Google Scholar 

  • Itô H, Hino T (2003) Stand structure of a mixed forest in Mt. Ôdaigahara. Appl For Sci 12:163–165 (in Japanese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Itô H, Hino T (2004) Effects of deer, mice and dwarf bamboo on the emergence, survival and growth of Abies homolepis (Piceacea) seedlings. Ecol Res 19:217–223

    Google Scholar 

  • Itô H, Hino T (2005) How do deer affect tree seedlings on a dwarf bamboo-dominated forest floor? Ecol Res 20:121–128

    Google Scholar 

  • Koike T (1986) Photosynthetic responses to light intensity of deciduous broad-leaved tree seedlings raised under various artificial shade. Environ Control Biol 24:51–58

    Google Scholar 

  • Lei TT, Semones SW, Walker JF, Clinton BD, Nilsen ET (2002) Effects of Rhododendron maximum thickets on tree seed dispersal, seedling morphology, and survivorship. Int J Plant Sci 163:991–1000

    Google Scholar 

  • Maeji I, Yokoyama S, Shibata E (1999) Population density and range use of sika Deer, Cervus nippon, on Mt. Ohdaigahara, Central Japan. J For Res 4:235–239

    Google Scholar 

  • Maguire DA, Forman RTT (1983) Herb cover effects on tree seedling patterns in a mature hemlock-hardwood forest. Ecology 64:1367–1380

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nakashizuka T (1987) Regeneration dynamics of beech forests in Japan. Vegetatio 69:169–175

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nakashizuka T (1988) Regeneration of beech (Fagus crenata) after the simultaneous death of undergrowing dwarf bamboo (Sasa kurlensis). Ecol Res 3:21–35

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nakashizuka T (1991) Population dynamics of coniferous and broad-leaved trees in a Japanese temperate mixed forest. J Veg Sci 2:413–418

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nakashizuka T, Numata M (1982) Regeneration process of climax beech forests I. Structure of a beech forest with the undergrowth of Sasa. Jpn J Ecol 32:57–67

    Google Scholar 

  • Narukawa Y, Yamamoto S (2002) Effects of dwarf bamboo (Sasa sp.) and forest floor microsites on conifer seedling recruitment in a subalpine forest, Japan. For Ecol Manag 163:61–70

    Google Scholar 

  • Peters R, Nakashizuka T, Ohkubo T (1992) Regeneration and development in beech-dwarf bamboo forest in Japan. For Ecol Manag 55:35–50

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • R Development Core Team (2005) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria

  • Rooney TP (2001) Deer impacts on forest ecosystems: a North American perspective. Forestry 74:201–208

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith LL, Vankat JL (1991) Communities and tree seedling distribution in Quercus rubra- and Prunus serotina-dominated forests in southwestern Pennsylvania. Am Midl Nat 126:294–307

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Takatsuki S (1983) The importance of Sasa nipponica as a forage for Sika deer (Cervus nippon) in Omote-Nikko. Jpn J Ecol 33:17–25

    Google Scholar 

  • Takatsuki S (1986) Food habits of Sika Deer on Mt. Goyo, Northern Honshu. Ecol Res 1:119–128

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Takatsuki S (1990) Dwarf bamboos as food for Sike Deer in Japan. Bamboo J 8:56–63

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor AH, Qin Z (1988) Regeneration patterns in old-growth Abies-Betula forests in the Wolong Natural Reserve, Sichuan, China. J Ecol 76:1204–1218

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor AH, Huan J, Zhou S (2004) Canopy tree development and undergrowth bamboo dynamics in old-growth Abies-Betula forests in southwestern China: a 12-year study. For Ecol Manag 200:347–360

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wada N (1993) Dwarf bamboos affect the regeneration of zoochorous trees by providing habitats to acorn-feedking rodents. Oecologia 94:403–407

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Waller DM, Alverson WS (1997) The white-tailed deer: a keystone herbivore. Wildl Soc Bull 25:217–226

    Google Scholar 

  • Xiong S, Nilsson C (1999) The effects of plant litter on vegetation: a meta-analysis. J Ecol 87:984–994

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yokoyama S, Shibata E (1998a) Characteristics of Sasa nipponica grassland as a summer forage rosouce for sika deer on Mt Ohdaigahara, central Japan. Ecol Res 13:193–198

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yokoyama S, Shibata E (1998b) The effects of sika-deer browsing on the biomass and morphology of a dwarf bamboo, Sasa nipponica, in Mt. Ohdaigahara. For Ecol Manag 103:49–56

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to H. Furusawa, Y. Takahata, A. Ueda, T. Shimada, S. Chikaguchi, and S. Narayama (Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute) for their support, the staff of the Ôdaigahara Visitors’ Center of the Ministry of Environment, and S. and S. Tagaito (Ôdai Shrine) for their kind cooperation during our fieldwork. We also thank Prof. E. Shibata (Nagoya University), Prof. T. Nakashizuka (Research Institute for Humanity and Nature), Prof. K. Kikuzawa (Ishikawa Prefectural University), Dr. T. Kubo (Hokkaido University) for their helpful comments on our research. This study was supported by grants from the Ministry of Environment (Environmental Research by National Research Institutes of Government Ministries and Agencies, 1999–2002) and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan (No. 14206019, 2002–2005).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Kansai Research Center, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, Momoyama, Kyoto, 612-0855, Japan

    Hiroki Itô & Teruaki Hino

Authors
  1. Hiroki Itô
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Teruaki Hino
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hiroki Itô.

About this article

Cite this article

Itô, H., Hino, T. Dwarf bamboo as an ecological filter for forest regeneration. Ecol Res 22, 706–711 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-006-0066-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-006-0066-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation