We developed a remote control function for a forwarder to reduce labor burden on the driver. The driver canoperate traveling and handling while confirming visual information from the cameras mounted on the forwarder. Furthermore, we added an automated traveling function to the forwarder. After the driver travels once on a strip road, the controller memorizes the linearity of the road and the duration of operation during the trip. At the time of automated travel, the controller reproduces the duration of operation. This duration is revised using global navigation satellite system (GNSS) and pinpointing information from a traveling trace by agitation, such as slips at the time of automated traveling. We conducted a validation test in logging fields using this prototype. With regard to the remote control function, handling and traveling work efficiency decreased when using the remote control in comparison with boarding operation, and drivers confirmed comfort and safety. With regard to the automated traveling function, a control error larger than the width made along the guidelines of the strip road occurred because the traveling function was unable to secure the precise GNSS measurements necessary to revise the control error in a thinning field. These results indicate that locations wherein the device can be used are limited; however, they confirmed a reduced labor burden on the driver.

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Manganese peroxidase reaction of P. crassa WD1694 cultivated in pulp culture was detected and visualized with tetra-methylbenzidine (TMBZ), a peroxidase substrate for histochemical detection. P. crassa WD1694 was cultivated in fungal media containing unbleached kraft pulp, distilled water and TMBZ. After cultivation for 2 days, flocs including P. crassa WD1694 and pulp were generated in each cultivation condition of solid-state fermentation, an agitated suspension of pulp, and a stationary suspension of pulp. TMBZ staining was observed on the flocs in each culture. Fungal hyphae intimately associated with pulp fibers in the flocs were stained with Coomassie Brilliant Blue, and slime layer covered the fungal hyphae and the pulp in the flocs was visualized with Phloxine B. The TMBZ staining observed in each culture was mainly observed on the hyphal end and along the hyphae in the flocs. Time course analysis of TMBZ and Phloxine B staining revealed that fungal hyphae and slime gathered pulp and made flocs, and the TMBZ staining occurred on the flocs. These results suggest a histological system that MnP reaction occurs on the end of hyphae and along the hyphae in the flocs and that could cause efficient and effective degradation of lignin in pulp.

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Since 1976 the Japanese cabinet office has conducted 10 opinion polls on forestry in which answers were collected through face-to-face interviews with 3,000 or 5,000 adults. Here changes in the Japanese public opinion on forestry in the 2000s were clarified via the results of long sequence labor-needed surveys. The percentage of people who had high expectation for the wood production service of forests altered from a drastic decline in the 1980s and 1990s to a moderate increase in the 2000s. On the other hand, the need for forest policy measures on the promotion of wood supply and use remained the same in the 2000s. In the 2000s, a contradictive relationship emerged between the expectation for the wood production service of forests and the need for forest policy measures to support the mountain villagers because the need was higher among urban people than among rural people. More than 80% of people thought that the use of domestic woods helps forest improvement, but only approximately 30% people evaluated the use of domestic woods when deciding on the kind of houses to live. In the 2000s, approximately 15% people considered whether the woods came from adequately managed forests. The trend in which people increasingly prioritize economic efficiency in the decision of the operation of forest improvement activities also emerged in the 2000s.

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The categorization of winter precipitations into solid and liquid is important because the effects of snowfall and rainfall on climate, environment, and human life differ significantly. The monthly solid and liquid precipitations were calculated by reading the automatic precipitation gauge chart since the winters of 1922–1987 at the Tohkamachi Experimental Station, FFPRI. It is desired that the solid and liquid precipitations be calculated since 1988 and longtime data be obtained. Therefore, the correlation between air temperature and the ratio of snowfall during precipitation was investigated and solid and liquid precipitations were calculated. Although the precipitation particle temperature should be more similar to the wet-bulb temperature than the air temperature, there is little difference between the calculated results using these two temperatures. Accordingly, in this study, winter precipitations from 1988 to 2016 were categorized into solid and liquid precipitations using the snowfall ratio based on the air temperature.

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Immediately after the Great East Japan Earthquake, an embankment was built in the Arahama coastal area as a planting base by the Coastal Forest Restoration Project. It is feared that a rain pool and the hardness of a part of the embankment, which was built in early year, inhibited the growth of planted trees. Planting bases tend to become compacted by heavy construction machinery, which allows rain water to pool on the embankment. The physical properties of the embankment were investigated in Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. Most soil samples collected from a depth of lower than 75 cm (especially 10 to 40 cm) had the Yamanaka hardness index of higher than 20 mm, a bulk density of higher than 1.5 Mg m^-3, and a coarse porosity of lower than 20%. The embankment was hard, densely packed and had low coarse porosity, indicating that the embankment has been compacted.

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