Takuya Yamasaki: 25-year history of the Rokko Mountains Greenbelt Development Project. Ap. For. Sci.

Twenty-five years have passed since the start of the Rokko Mountains Greenbelt Development Project, and we will report on the changes in the situation after the development of slope stabilization and forest maintenance, as well as introduce forest creation with citizen participation by civic groups, companies, and elementary and junior high schools.

Mayumi Y. Ogasa, Naoko Yamashita, Ryo Kitagawa, Sakae Fujii, Hiroyuki Tobita: The impact of mechanical stimulation on the growth of containerized Cryptomeria japonica seedlings during the nursery phase and after planting. Ap. For. Sci.

Containerized conifer seedlings often exhibit a high height-to-diameter ratio. To investigate the effect of mechanical stimulation on suppressing height growth, containerized seedlings of Cryptomeria japonica

were subjected to shaking for 3 or 30 min, or stroked 1 or 10 times on their crowns, while monitoring their growth throughout the season. Factors influencing growth rate after planting in the field were also analyzed.

Seedlings stroked 10 times were 15% shorter in height than those in the control (untreated) group at the end of the growing season. The height growth of seedlings shaken for 3 or 30 min was initially suppressed but ultimately comparable to that of the control seedlings by the end of growing season. No significant effects of treatment history on seedling height growth were observed after planting in the field. The height growth

1 year after planting was negatively correlated with canopy openness, while the height growth 2 years after planting was positively correlated with soil electric conductivity and negatively correlated with soil hardness. These results suggest that height growth is constrained by stroking the crown during the container nursery phase, but it was affected more by environmental factors after planting than treatment history.

Koga Tatsuya, Akaishi Oji：Why was hunting not banned in Japan?: A Policy Process Analysis of the concept of hunting ban (1971～1972). Ap. For. Sci.

Japan's hunting system, the "Ranba" system, in principle allows free hunting. It is considered a poor management function for hunting, and some experts recommend abolishing the system in order to improve wildlife management and prevent hunting accidents. This paper analyzes the process of the failure of the abolishing the “Ranba” system and the concept of hunting ban proposed by Oishi Buichi, the director general of the environment agency (1971-1972), using the policy window model and the policy entrepreneur hypothesis to examine the future direction of system design. The analysis based on the policy window model indicates that the background for the inclusion of the concept of hunting ban as an agenda in the wildlife administration during 1971-1972 was due to concerns over overhunting and hunting accidents. Additionally, there had been proposals to abolish the “Ranba” system since the 1950s through the council of wildlife, and the appointment of Oishi as the director general of the environment agency led to the inclusion of the “Ranba” system abolition as an agenda. Furthermore, the analysis based on the policy entrepreneur hypothesis suggests that the lack of coordination between Oishi and the hunting interest groups supporting the “Ranba” system, the hunting-affiliated lawmakers within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, in terms of alternative policy ideas, hindered the improvement of the system towards preventing hunting accidents and ensuring the wildlife protection. In designing future systems, it is important to ensure a policy process that facilitates appropriate consensus-building and prevents the escalation of conflicts.