Identifying conservation units in a species and prioritizing their conservation were attempted in order to efficient conservation practice. We defined a conservation unit as a distinct populations between which individuals cannot be exchanged because of unique genetic and ecological characteristics. Conservation priority was given to conservation units that were restricted in distribution or those where habitats were not protected, because habitat loss is one of the most important factors leading to species extinction. We identified a gap between species distribution and conservation status using the land use master plan. We considered nature conservation areas, natural park areas, and protected forest areas as protected land, urbanization promotion areas as not protected, and agricultural promotion areas and private forest areas as at intermediate risk. The Japanese clouded salamander Hynobius nebulosus was used as a model species. An assessment was carried out after defining the conservation units of this species based on reported geographic variation in allozyme, mt-DNA, or morphology. The presence/absence of the species and land use regulation were recorded on a 1-km grid. The greatest numbers of records of species occurrence were in agriculture promotion areas (17.4%) and private forest areas (39.5%) with 791 records. Of the ten conservation units, the Tottori population was given at highest priority for conservation.
