九州各県における年間木材生産量と皆伐地の空間分布の関係性

Abstract

recent years, Japan has experienced a rise in timber production. Nonetheless, it is imperative to determine the origin of this augmented production. To investigate the possibility of a sustainable timber supply, it is essential to elucidate the characteristics of the logged areas. Therefore, we aimed to clarify the relationship between annual timber production and the spatial distribution of logging, including slope and distance from roads, in privately owned planted forests across the prefectures of Kyushu. We classified forest areas based on their spatial distribution and utilized linear regression to demonstrate the correlation between annual timber production and the ratio of logged area. Our findings revealed a strong inclination to selectively log forests with gentler slopes and shorter distances from roads as the annual timber production increased. The rise in timber production may have been achieved through a greater supply from more profitable forests. These results suggest that increased timber production could result in an uneven distribution of logging locations. Even in areas with sufficient forest resources on the whole, there may be localized resource scarcities in the more profitable forest areas.