Blown sand, and revegetation and growth environment of coastal forest 13 years after Japanese black pine mortality in the Fukiage sand dunes, Kagoshima

Abstract

From the mid-1980s until 1997, Japanese black pines growing in the Fukiage sand dunes were devastated by pine wilt disease. We investigated the characteristics of the blown sand mass as well as the recovery conditions and growth environment of coastal forest 13 years after this forest mortality. We placed three 250-m transects (Transects 1–3) perpendicular to the shoreline from the top of the fore-dune to the inland area. Transects 1 and 2 were in areas of black pine forest that had been severely damaged by pine wilt disease, and Transect 3 was in an area that was almost undamaged. We investigated the spatial distribution of the blown sand mass and conducted vegetation and soil surveys along the three transects. The blown sand along Transects 1 and 2 originated from the fore-dune and had moved approx. 200 m inland, while that along Transect 3 was restricted to the area around the fore-dune because of a protective forest that provided a barrier against blown sand. The coastal forest in Transects 1 and 2 was poorly developed compared with that in Transect 3. Artificial formation of coastal forest in the frontal (fore-dune) area is necessary to protect forests and to allow regeneration.