Vegetation changes were investigated by pollen analysis of forest soils under a temperate mixed forest in the southwestern part of the Tsurugi Mountains, Shikoku, Japan. The two soil profiles recorded vegetation changes that were caused by cutting practices on a large scale in the early Meiji period (the late 19th century). The previous vegetation type appears to have been an Abies firma-Tsuga sieboldii forest containing various broad-leaved trees, although Abies firma and Betula grossa are dominant in the present-day vegetation. The distribution patterns of several pollen types between the two soil profiles differed. These results may provide information about vegetation changes on a fine spatial scale.
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