Social and ecological evaluation of regional resources at a rural area with terraced paddy fields, Ohaga district, Okayama, Japan.

Empowering nature conservation in Japanese rural areas: a planning strategy integrating visual and biological landscape perspectives

“…Rice cultivation is a land-use practice with a long history in this area, but changes in production schemes in the past four decades have had consequences for biotic communities (see, e.g. Lane and Fujioka, 1998;Yamamoto et al, 1998;Arita and Kobayashi, 2000;Fukamachi et al, 2002;Iiyama and Kamada, 2002). Despite the recent recognition of aesthetic and biotic values of rice paddies (see, e.g.…”