Abstract
Maruyama wetland-one of the largest spring-fed wetland in Hyogo prefecture-was faced with two main problems owing to the fact that its vegetation was shaded by surrounding trees. These problems included a decrease in both the area of the wetland and the richness of the plant species characterizing the wetland vegetation. Therefore, for the purpose of conserving Maruyama wetland, vegetation management was carried out in 2006. Vegetation management, involved the clearance of all the trees growing in the wetland and its periphery (i.e., at a distance of approximately 5-10 m from the wetland) and the thinning of forests surrounding the wetland. In order to clarify the effect of vegetation management, the areas of four wetland communities, flora, and plant species composition of these communities were investigated before and after vegetation management. The following results were obtained after vegetation management: (1) Among the four wetland communities, the areas of three wetland communities increased, and the area of the wetland increased. (2) New plant species that characterize the wetland vegetation appeared. (3) The mean species richness per square meter increased in the case of two wetland communities. Although this study was a case study of a spring-fed wetland, the abovementioned results indicated that vegetation management of a wetland and its surrounding forest is effective for maintaining both the area and the species richness of the wetland.
