Abstract
To characterize the changes in the flora of a suburban forest, we analyzed floristic changes over approximately 50 years using past flora lists and the current list for the Tama Forest Science Garden in the southwest Tama area, Tokyo. The numbers of taxa (species, subspecies and varieties) recorded in the past (1950-60s), recently (2000s), and both (1950-60s and 2000s) were 164, 141, and 626, respectively. Although 20% or less of past taxa was replaced by other taxa, the total number of taxa seen changed little. However, the taxa recorded in the past included rare species in a higher proportion than those observed recently. By contrast, taxa that exist today included a higher proportion of alien species, as compared to taxa that appeared in the past. These patterns indicate significant shifts in species composition in the suburban forest over the past 50 years.
