Abstract
Around the Agatsuma sulfur mine in Gunma Prefecture, degraded landscapes caused by smoke damages have been formed. Landform, soils and vegetation and the vegetation changing processes are surveyed and analyzed.
Degraded plant communities of Sasa and Carextypes are distributed in moderately damaged area, and patches of eroded bare grounds have been formed in heavily damaged area.
Degradation and restoration processes of degraded landscapes are similar to those of volcanic desert landscapes around the crater of Mt. KusatsuSirane, but distribution patterns of degraded lands are quite different.
The result of analysis suggests that landscape conservation treatments based on ecological evaluation are needed to minimize the appearance of man-induced land and vegetation degradation.
