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Changes in forest resource utilization and forest landscapes in the southern Abukuma Mountains, Japan during the twentieth century

  • Original Article
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Journal of Forest Research

Abstract

Land use and landscape changes, which have much effect on local biodiversity, are driven primarily by socioeconomic forces. Understanding these forces is important for preservation of current biodiversity. In this study, we clarified the socioeconomic forces that have brought about changes in the forest landscape around the Ogawa Forest Reserve in the southern Abukuma Mountains, Japan, by interviewing local residents and reviewing local historical documents. Furthermore, we reconstructed past forest landscapes and quantified the changes that have occurred from the beginning of the twentieth century until the present by use of old land-use maps and past aerial photographs. The use of forest resources has dramatically changed during the past hundred years, and it can be divided into three periods corresponding to the level of economic development. The main landscape has changed significantly from one mainly composed of expansive grasslands and broad-leaved forests into a mosaic of fragmented secondary forests and coniferous plantations. These landscape changes reflect shifts in both the use of forest resources by local residents and the management of the national forests. Clarifying temporal–spatial landscape changes by understanding the historical relationship between humans and the landscape provides useful information for optimizing conservation and management planning.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the Samegawa town office, the Tabito branch office of Iwaki city, and the people of Sadanami and Ogawa for offering useful information, and Dr W. Suzuki for providing old literature on the national forests. We also thank Mr H. Yamagata for assisting with the interview process, and Drs T. Nakashizuka, M. Shibata, M. Ichikawa, K. Akao, W. Hujita, M. Imada, and T. Matsuura for making invaluable suggestions during the course of the study. This research was partly supported by the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature Projects of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (P2-2) and by the Global Environment Research Fund (H-081) of the Japanese Ministry of the Environment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Forest Management, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, 1 Matsunosato, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8687, Japan

    Asako Miyamoto & Makoto Sano

  2. Department of Forest Vegetation, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, 1 Matsunosato, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8687, Japan

    Hiroshi Tanaka

  3. Tohoku Research Center, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, 92-25 Nabeyashiki, Shimokuriyagawa, Morioka, Iwate, 020-0123, Japan

    Kaoru Niiyama

Authors
  1. Asako Miyamoto
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  2. Makoto Sano
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  3. Hiroshi Tanaka
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  4. Kaoru Niiyama
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Correspondence to Asako Miyamoto.

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Miyamoto, A., Sano, M., Tanaka, H. et al. Changes in forest resource utilization and forest landscapes in the southern Abukuma Mountains, Japan during the twentieth century. J For Res 16, 87–97 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10310-010-0213-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10310-010-0213-x

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