Abstract
The vegetation in railroad right-of-ways was investigated in order to make its proper control. According to the answers to the questionaire sent to 37 Maintenance of Way Depots of Japan National Railways through Japan, the weeds recognized as most troublesome and dominant were; 1) Miscanthus sinensis Anderss., 2) Polygonum cuspidatum Sieb et Zucc. and Pueraria lobata Ohwi, 3) Artemisia spp., Solidago altissima L., banboo grasses (Pleioblastus spp. and Sasa spp.), Phragmites communis Trin. and Equisetum arvense L., in decreasing order of the ranking. M. sinensis was common at almost all the railroad section, while P. cuspidatum and P. lobata were found in southern regions than Yamagata. Major species in Hokkaido were quite different from those in Honshu.
Changes in the amount of major weeds along the railroad right-of-ways for 370km. around Osaka were determined by counting from the moving trains, and their relation to artificial environment of the habitats were discussed. Distributions of the most dominant weeds; M. sinensis, S. altissima, Setaria spp., Imperata cylindrica P. Beauv. and P. lobata, seemed to have been affected more or less by some disturbances on the habitats: M sinensis and I. cylindrica tended to decrease as the residential part in the surrounding area increased, while S. altissima and P. lobata increased conversely. P. lobata tended to be found in abundance on tall embankment. Setaria spp. distributed more in the area managed with herbicides for these years than by mowing. S. altissima and I. cylindrica generally showed the less distribution to the herbicide-applied area.
