Abstract
"Dezukuri", which used to be the main subsistent farming type in the Hakusan area, Ishikawa Prefecture, has rapidly disappeared during the 1950s and 1960s, due to the fuel revolution and the high ecomonic growth rate. At present, it is on the verge of the total extinction. In this paper, we analyzed the physical environment of the "Dezukuri" in Shiramine Village utilizing geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing techniques. Based on the distribution map of the Dezukuris plotted at a s cale of 1:5, 000, in which 322 Dezukuris were identified with a total area of 1.39km2, we analyzed their location by superimposing the Dezukuri distribution map with maps of altitude, slope gradient, slope aspect, drainage systems, landslides, logging roads, geology, soil, vegetation, and the planting practice. Their preferred sites are found to be 600 to 900m in elevation, 15° to 20° in slope gradient, and the east aspect of the slope, in the areas of conglomerate-sandstone, brown forest soil and the white oak community.
