Name : [in Japanese]
Location : [in Japanese]
Date : January 17, 2018 - January 18, 2018
Pages 57-58
Recent years have seen a greater attention for forest resources in Japan due to the upward pressure on domestic energy demand. One of the key criteria for conjecturing available supplies of forest resources is the economic evaluation of harvesting activities. This study evaluated the timber harvesting costs of planted forests throughout Japan. The cost evaluation was performed using GIS (geographic information system) technology and currently-available GIS data (e.g., digital elevation models, vegetation maps and road network data). The average costs were 6203.0 yen/m3 for Hokkaido region, 6396.8 yen/m3 for Tohoku region, 6793.3 yen/m3 for Kanto region, 7015.6 yen/m3 for Chubu region, 7612.2 yen/m3 for Kinki region, 7166.0 yen/m3 for Chugoku region, 7470.3 yen/m3 Shikoku and 6386.3 yen/m3 for Kyushu region. The results showed that timber harvesting costs vary greatly depending on the characteristics of the regions.
