Biodiversity Conservation in Conifer Plantations

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1)Occurrence of plant species in sugi plantations of different stand attributes (such as stand age, adjacent stand type, management history, site environment) were investigated in southern Kyushu with respect to species' characteristic habitat, type of seed dispersal and life form. Based on this analysis effect of different management scenarios were simulated to evaluate the conservation efficiency of different management strategies. The result suggested the importance of long-term management strategy such as prolonging the cutting age or altering the spatial arrangement, but inefficiency of short-term practices such as thinning for conservation of late-seral forest species. These predictions were examined in the field survey of uneven-aged forest promoted by small-scale or strip clearcutting systems.2)Habitat use of wildlife was investigated by using sensor cameras. The results indicated a strong influence of landscape structure rather than of stand structure, suggesting the importance of landscape management for the conservation of wildlife in managed forest landscapes. Diversity of soil microbials in conifer plantation was also investigated using the PLFA technique, indicating the influence of both current stand structure and former land use.3)The role of understory vegetation of conifer plantations in a warm-temperate region was evaluated from the view pint of regeneration source after logging in reforestation-abandoned sites by field observation, remote-sensing and experimental abandoning after clearcutting. The results suggested the great contribution of advanced regeneration rather than buried viable seeds for successful recovery of lucidophyllus forest.4)Distribution of trees in natural forest were investigated in relation to micro-topography to provide the model of conservation goal. Potential distribution of important tree species and vegetation types were estimated based on GIS-derived macro-scale information.