Detection of the remnant vegetation from the Last Glacial in the mountains of central Japan

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This project aims to detect the remnant vegetation, which occurred abundantly in the Last Glacial but at present reduced their occurrence in the mountains of central Japan. The major results are as follows. Two different types of the remnant vegetation can be distinguished: 1) small patches of the forest consisting of such species as reduced their occurrence during the Holocene, Pinus koraiensis, Picea sect. Picea and Larix, 2) Grass lands consisting of the east Asiatic elements. The former appear on the rocky slopes and sharp ridges on Mt.Yatsugatake and on the northern part of Akaishi mountain range. The latter is distributed on the gentle slopes and gentle ridges on the eastern part, of Okuchichibu mountains, Daibosatsu mountain range and Okutama mountains. Those remnant vegetation is well characterized by the presence of the species of east Asiatic elements. The environments of the remnant vegetation is represented by the dry condition through the year and extremely cold in winter. These environments are quite similar to those of the continental part of the north-east Asia. The most reliable scenario explaining the processes of the present distribution of the remnant vegetation is that the vegetation well developing under cold dry environments in the Last Glacial had reduced the occurrence influenced by the warm, moisture, snowy environments since the Holocene, resulting in the sporadic occurrence on the present sites.