Abstract
Surveys of the vegetation nine to thirteen years after aerial seeding works were performed on the hillside slopes in the three districts, Hattani-Sawa, Saido-Gawa and Matsuura-Gawa, in Sakurajima, southwestern Japan. Environmental variables considered likely to affect the vegetation were also investigated and analyzed with multivariate analysis, including altitude, inclination angle, direction and soil depth of the slopes. The results showed that Miscanthus sinensis-Polygonum cuspidatum community was dominant at all of the slopes, and exotic grasses (Poaceae) used as cover plans at aerial seeding works could not be observed- for instance, Festuca arundinacea Schreb., Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. and Eragrostis curvula (Schrad.) Nees. Miscanthus sinensis-Polygonum cuspidatum community has also some woody plants, and these species were affected by inclination angle and soil depth of the slopes, especially by the latter; their occurrence frequency and growth were increased as soil depth of the slopes became larger, and vice versa, which corresponded well with previous report.
