Forest Landscapes of the Kanto Region, Japan in the 1880’s and Human Impact on Them

Abstract

One of the primary materials for the study of forest landscapes of the Kanto region in the 1880fs is a set of topographic maps which were made for the first time ever in Japan to cover a wide area based on a modern survey. The other primary material is a set of records which were written as supplementary explanations of these maps. The results show that most of the forests there at that time, other than special ones such as national forests, consisted predominantly of pine trees or deciduous oak trees, and that most pine trees in the forests were less than 10 meters in height while most deciduous oak forests were less than 4 meters in height. Intensive use for fuel etc. on a rotation of 4 to 30 years was the background of such forests.