2020 Volume 28 Issue 1 Pages 13-19
To analyze the long-term trend of areal changes, areas of the black pine and all other species forests were investigated using GIS software on aerial photographs. The percentage of the black pine forest areas in 1988 increased by 23% compared with 1976 and that in 2009 decreased by 11% compared with 1988 in Miho no Matsubara. Those in Senbon Matsubara similarly increased by 23% and decreased by 17%, respectively. On the other hand, the areas of all other species consistently increased during the observed years and have come to be about four and three times their original areas in Miho no Matsubara and Senbon Matsubara, respectively. These results suggest that the increases in areas of the black pine forests may be due to the afforestation in two coastal forests and that their decreases may be due to cutting after pine wilt disease spread in Miho no Matsubara, and to the severe drought in 1995 and the typhoon hitting in the following year in Senbon Matsubara. The results also suggest that the increases in areas of all other species may be due to the management reduction for black pine forests in the two coastal forests.
