2009 Volume 17 Issue 2 Pages 45-53
Identification of buried woods and pollen analysis were carried out to reveal the paleovegetation of the Sanbe-Azukihara buried forest in Shimane, southwestern Japan. The buried forest was formed by a debris avalanche derived from Mt. Sanbe at ca. 3500 yrs BP. The paleoflora in the Sanbe-Azukihara buried forest was mainly composed of Cryptomeria japonica, Chamaecyparis obtusa, Cephalotaxus harringtonia, cf. Castanopsis cuspidata, Quercus subgen. Cyclobalanopsis sp., Zelkova serrata, Aesculus turbinata, Cercidiphyllum sp., and Sapindus mukorossi. The study results indicated that vegetation changed gradually from a wasteland to a Cryptomeria japonica forest through a riparian forest between 4500 and 3500 yrs BP. In central Chugoku region where the study area is located, the high ratio of C. japonica pollen has not so far been reported from pollen analytical studies through the Holocene. The discovery of a buried forest of Cryptomeria japonica in the central Chugoku region shows that this area had a cool humid climate suitable for the growth of C. japonica and provides a material to clarify the reason for the weak development of C. japonica forests during the Holocene in this region.
