Abstract
The relationships between plant community and tree establishment on the abandoned skislopes in the lowland of Hokkaido, northern Japan, were investigated to verify if Miscanthus sinensis community, an indicator community for tree regeneration on managing skislopes, is effective as the indicator even after skislope abandonment. Shade-intolerant trees, represented by Betula platyphylla var. japonica and Larix kaempferi, established well on M. sinensis community of which ground surface had the highest available light, but did less in the other communities classified by TWINSPAN. The highest available light should be derived from the lowest vegetation cover in M. sinensis community. Age - height relationships on trees on a skislope abandoned for 5 years showed that the trees steadily regenerated in the M. sinensis community after the skislope abandonment. In conclusion, M. sinensis community can be used as an indicator to predict tree regeneration after the skislope abandonment.
