2015 Volume 2 Issue 2 Pages 9-18
We investigated edible wild plant species, abiotic factors and vegetation types in 489 study transects (4 × 10m) to clarify the relationship between habitat and the number of edible wild plant species in the Akiyama region, Nagano Prefecture, central Japan. In total, we found 53 species of edible plant: 4 species of ferns, 26 of herbs and 23 of trees. Generalized linear models revealed that edible ferns and herbs inhabited bright lower part of the slope in the low altitude zone, edible dwarf bamboo (Sasa kurilensis) inhabited dark upper part of the slope forests in the high altitude zone, and edible trees inhabited both lower and upper part of the slope in the low altitude zone. Furthermore, the number of edible wild plant species tended to be high in anthropogenically disturbed forests, such as coniferous plantation forests, highly disturbed broad-leaved forests, and in the vicinity of villages. The diversity and distribution patterns of edible wild plant species were affected by elevation, topography, slope inclination, forest ground light conditions, and vegetation types, and also by human forest use.
