2013 Volume 59 Issue 1 Pages 72-80
The authors aimed at clarifying the expenditure trend for silviculture subsidy of prefectures and the correlations between changes in reforestation and silviculture subsidy and other factors related to forest resources, ownership, and fiscal conditions of each prefecture in the 2000s, by applying both multivariate regression and tree regression analyses. Results showed that the amount of subsidy for silviculture declined in early 2000s, but recovered in the latter half of the 2000s, partly because of the fiscal policy galvanizing forest operations as a measure to counter climate change. Both analyses identified the resource factor (percentage of private plantation forests aged > 36 years) that was the most robust variable in explaining the changes in subsidy for reforestation and silviculture in the 2000s. Tree regression analysis indicated a drastic increase in the subsidy for silviculture in prefectures with stronger fiscal basis and located in urban areas or with higher utilization of growing forest stock. However, the amount of subsidy in prefectures with smaller increases in prefecture-initiated projects was reduced. We highlighted the importance of securing prefecture-initiated fund to warrant management of forests despite the differences in resources, ownership and fiscal basis.
