Impact of national-scale changes in forest cover on floods and rainfall-induced sediment-related disasters in Japan

Sato, Tadamichi; Shuin, Yasuhiro

doi:10.1080/13416979.2022.2131221

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…As a result, there are no studies comparing forest cover and economic development across regions. It has been noted that the success of afforestation projects in Japan led to a gradual increase in forest accumulation, resulting in a significant reduction in the high incidence of land cover loss throughout the country in the 1950s [15]. However, resource under-utilization has become a major forest policy issue in Japan, as more than 50 years have passed since the afforestation projects were implemented.…”

Section: Literature Review On Current Forestry Issues In China and Japanmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In recent years, climate change has caused frequent heavy torrential rainfall disasters during the typhoon and the rainy season in Japan, with an increasing number of days where the hourly rainfall level exceeds 50 mm [15]. Landslides and floods caused by heavy rains have damaged mountain villages, leading to the rapid depopulation of aging villages [23].…”

Section: Literature Review On Current Forestry Issues In China and Japanmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Post-Restoration Forest Management Issues in East Asia under Climate Change: Based on the Special Issue “Economic and Societal Losses Due to Environmental Impacts on Forestry Productivity”

Sato,

Yoshimura

2023

Forests

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Forests provide diverse ecosystem services to people. Consequently, initiatives have been undertaken to restore deforested areas. In East Asian countries, particularly those within the Asian Monsoon region, deforestation has contributed to natural disasters such as sediment run-off, landslides, and flooding, which are exacerbated by torrential rainfall. Restoring forest cover is a critical aspect of national land conservation. To achieve this goal, state-led afforestation initiatives have been launched. Successful afforestation efforts have also been considered an indicator of economic development. However, Japan, which implemented afforestation projects successfully in the 1950s and 1970s, has experienced the under-utilization of its forests due to significant changes in economic and societal conditions since afforestation took place. During the 2010s, the Japanese government promoted the industrialization of forestry, encouraging final felling and reforestation. However, there have been issues with immature forest operation methods and low forestry productivity. Furthermore, in the context of intensifying climate change, heavy rainfall-induced disasters have become more intense, with an increased threat to human safety. Research efforts from the natural and social science fields in Japan have helped identify issues that need to be addressed concerning forests where plantation trees are now utilizable. There is a need to identify improved methods of forestry practice that reduce the risk of climate change-related disasters and establish related forest policies.

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Section: Literature Review On Current Forestry Issues In China and Japanmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Literature Review On Current Forestry Issues In China and Japanmentioning

confidence: 99%

Post-Restoration Forest Management Issues in East Asia under Climate Change: Based on the Special Issue “Economic and Societal Losses Due to Environmental Impacts on Forestry Productivity”

Sato,

Yoshimura

2023

Forests

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Quantifying effects of changes in forest age distribution on the landslide frequency in Japan

Lusiana,

Shinohara,

Imaizumi

2024

Nat Hazards

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Landslides are destructive natural disasters that cause human and economic losses. Although many studies report the effects of forest age on landslide susceptibility, especially for shallow landslides, no studies have examined the effects at a national scale. We assumed that temporal variations in the annual number of rainfall-triggered landslides in Japan were determined by variations in rainfall and forest age distribution. By this assumption, this study aimed to quantify the decrease in the frequency of rainfall-induced landslides owing to the increasing maturity of forests in Japan. Data were collated from 21 studies covering 11 sites in three countries that reported a landslide susceptibility index (i.e., frequency ratio or landslide density) and the relation between forest age and the normalized landslide susceptibility index (NLSI) was modeled. Using this relation and the area for each forest age class, the change in landslide susceptibility at a national scale (NLSIJpn) was quantified during 1966–2017. The authors developed generalized linear models (GLMs) using the annual number of landslides as the response variable and the NLSIJpn and a rainfall index for each year as the explanatory variables. The number of rainfall-induced landslides was simulated in the GLMs in 15 scenarios with different forest age distributions and rainfall amounts. The number of landslides in young-age-dominated and middle-age-dominated forests was estimated to be 2.4 and 1.1 times, respectively, that in mature-age-dominated forests. The change in the number of landslides from young-age-dominated to mature-age-dominated forests was larger than that from an increase in the rainfall amount of 20%. We conclude that increasing the maturity of forests greatly reduces landslide frequency in Japan. In a changing climate with potentially threatening increases in rainfall, preserving mature forests is important to avoid amplifying landslide susceptibility on a national scale.

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Land use changes and natural disaster fatalities: Empirical analysis for India

Agarwal

Sahoo

Parida

et al. 2023

Ecological Indicators

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Impact of national-scale changes in forest cover on floods and rainfall-induced sediment-related disasters in Japan

Cited by 5 publications

References 16 publications

Post-Restoration Forest Management Issues in East Asia under Climate Change: Based on the Special Issue “Economic and Societal Losses Due to Environmental Impacts on Forestry Productivity”

Post-Restoration Forest Management Issues in East Asia under Climate Change: Based on the Special Issue “Economic and Societal Losses Due to Environmental Impacts on Forestry Productivity”

Quantifying effects of changes in forest age distribution on the landslide frequency in Japan

Land use changes and natural disaster fatalities: Empirical analysis for India

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