Beyond the tsunami disaster: Ten years’ activities to use uncultured fields after the Great East Japan Earthquake in Miyagi, Japan

抄録

The tsunami associated with the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011, caused devastating damage to the Pacific coast of eastern Japan. Especially in Miyagi Prefecture, about 15,000 ha of agricultural land was damaged. The authors have been involved in earthquake recovery support for 10 years by proposing the effective use of such damaged areas.The objectives of this study were to introduce 1) the activities suggested by the Commission of Agricultural Development for Arid Lands, the Japanese Association for Arid Land Studies and 2) activities to use uncultured fields for willow biomass production. Several symposiums with field tours in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan were conducted in 2012-2016. Information exchange between local stakeholders and farmers regarding the improvement of salt damage and the utilization of soil with low fertility was conducted in the symposiums. Such activities could provide reconstruction support to local people. As a part of the extensive effective utilization of tsunami-stricken farmlands, a cultivation test was conducted using fast-growing willow (Salix spp.), and biomass production was attempted. Cultivation trials were conducted in two fields in Watari Town, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan in 2014-2020. The yields cultivated from the two fields after 3-4 years amounted to 5.0-19.1 and 9.0-10.7 t·ha^-1·y^-1, respectively. A clone named KKD on both sites can grow in a range reported in previous studies, even in sandy soil, by efforts to optimize clone selection and cultivation techniques, such as mulching for successful harvesting. In the future, we would like to utilize the knowledge obtained in the trials for further desertification prevention studies and activities.