Destruction and Recovery of Vegetation Caused by the 2000-Year Eruption on Miyake-Jima Island, Japan

Abstract

The active Mt. Oyama volcano on Miyake-jima Island in the Izu Islands, Japan, erupted in 2000 followed by large amounts of volcanic gas containing high concentrations of SO2has been emitted. The island ecosystem has been heavily damaged by the volcanic ash and gas. We detail the destruction and recovery of vegetation found in a 7-year study of 11 permanent plots from 2001 to 2007. Damage to vegetation by ash was worst near the crater in 2001. Trees began dying in 2001, apparently due to direct and/or indirect effects of volcanic gas emission. In contrast to the tree decline, two grass species,Miscanthus condensatusandCarex oshimensis, increased notably following the eruption, suggesting their high SO2and acidic soil tolerance.Miscanthus condensatusandC. oshimensiswere not dominant species in early stage of primary succession before the 2000-year eruption. In the vegetation recovery after the eruption, the tolerances to SO2and acidic soils are necessary for plant species to colonize on devastated sites.

Photosynthetic Properties of Miscanthus condensatus at Volcanically Devastated Sites on Miyake-jima Island

“…Miscanthus , a genus of the Poaceae and a C 4 plant, have a wide distribution and are found across both the cool and warm temperate regions of East Asia [ 38 ]. In Japan, two closely related species, Miscanthus sinensis and M. condensatu (neither have the N-fixing ability), are common dominant pioneer species in the early stages of volcanic succession [ 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 ]. In Miyake-jima Island, Japan, the site of focus in this study, M. condensatus was the most dominant species in the ecological recovery process following the volcanic eruption of large amounts of ash and gas in the year 2000 [ 42 ].…”

“…In Japan, two closely related species, Miscanthus sinensis and M. condensatu (neither have the N-fixing ability), are common dominant pioneer species in the early stages of volcanic succession [ 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 ]. In Miyake-jima Island, Japan, the site of focus in this study, M. condensatus was the most dominant species in the ecological recovery process following the volcanic eruption of large amounts of ash and gas in the year 2000 [ 42 ]. According to a chronosequence study on lava flow of different ages, the process of primary succession on Miyake-jima Island can be summarized as follows: (1) successful colonization of pioneer species, such as deciduous Alnus sieboldiana (a N-fixing tree), M. condensatus (a perennial grass), and Fallopia japonica var.…”

“…hachidyoensis (a perennial herb), on bare lava flows; (2) colonization of several deciduous species such as Prunus speciosa and climax evergreen species such as Machilus thunbergii and Castanopsis sieboldii , and the disappearance of pioneer species; and (3) establishment of the climax forest, composed of evergreen C. sieboldii [ 9 ]. The successional process following the eruptions in 2000 differs from that on lava flow, and M. condensatus , the species of interest in this study, extensively dominated the new bare land [ 42 ]. However, to the best of our knowledge, physiological studies of other pioneer species on volcanically devastated sites are limited [ 3 , 43 , 44 ], and no research has been conducted to understand the growth strategies of these two Miscanthus species through physiological traits.…”

Resilient Plant–Bird Interactions in a Volcanic Island Ecosystem: Pollination of Japanese Camellia Mediated by the Japanese White-Eye

“…On Miyake-jima, C. japonica and Z. japonica are the most important members of their temperate forest during natural recovery. Japanese camellia tolerates much more damage than other tree species [10]. The Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute [11] reported that C. japonica and Eurya japonica Thunb.…”

Measurement of Volcanic SO<sub>2</sub> Concentration in Miyakejima Using Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (DOAS)

“…Restoration of forest, however, is rather slow, since withering took place due to the continuous influence of the volcanic gas [7]. From such an ecological point of view, it is desirable to have pollution data covering wider regions of the island.…”