The land use and landscape changes in the rural mountainous area since Meiji era (1890's)

Vegetation History Characteristics of Planted Forests in Japan: Analysis of the 1960 World Census of Agriculture and Forestry

“…When considering ecosystem conservation, having an understanding of the vegetation history of each region's planted forests can be helpful in recognizing how the changes in land use in various areas have affected the forest landscape. Prior research on landscape ecology, geography, and rural planning has documented cases of changes in the landscape and land use of mountainous areas (for example, the Sendai River basin in Tottori Prefecture [14], Moroga Village in Tottori Prefecture [15], the Hitotsugawa upstream area in Kyushu Mountains [13], Oguni Town in Kumamoto Prefecture [16], Kuroiwa Village in Ashikita Town, Kumamoto Prefecture [17], Higashisefuri Village in Saga Prefecture [18], Omogo Village in Ehime Prefecture [19], Hiwa Town in Hiroshima Prefecture [20], Kukino in Minamata City [21], and the mid-stream area of the Aritagawa River in Wakayama Prefecture [22]). According to these studies, abandoned grasslands, forests left after fuelwood harvesting during the energy revolution, logging areas for wood processing plants, slashand-burn areas, and poorly conditioned terraces have all been used to develop planted forests.…”