The present-day Significance of the Flood Restraining Forest Belts along the Kizu River, Yodo Basin

Abstract

With the improvement of flood-control works such as embankments and dams, serious flood damages occur less frequently than before. However, the collapse of embankments may occasionally be inevitable and dams have been said to have a negative influence on the ecosystem of a river. Therefore, the Ministry of Construction changed its lines of flood control with the revise of the River Law in 1997. The flood control forest is to be an important structure in this context. This study aims to clarify various functions of the forests along the Kizu River.