Abstract
The relationship between forest improvements and road access was analyzed in Shitara and Toei, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. Public, forest, and strip roads, and five basic forest operations - planting, weeding, pruning, cleaning, and thinning - conducted by the Forest Owners' Association as subsidized projects related to reforestation and silviculture from 1991 to 2000, were considered. The area in which forestry operations were conducted declined by almost 50% over the 10-year study period, and amounted to less than half of the area targeted in the local Forest Improvement Plans. The mean access distance to work sites was 156 m in Shitara and 164 m in Toei, 55 m and 52 m less than the 10-year averages for each entire forest (211 m and 216 m), respectively. The mean slope of the work sites was almost the same as that of each entire forest, for both areas. To improve present forestry conditions, increased road access would be required; road densities would have to increase by 8.1 m/ha for Shitara and 7.1 m/ha for Toei. Forest conditions and temporal changes were further analyzed using both cluster and discrimination analyses of forest resources, forest improvement, and road access factors; four categories of forest were subsequently identified: well managed and accessible, poorly managed despite accessibility, poorly managed and accessible, and mature forest not needing tending.
