Biodiversity offsets are a mechanism that compensates for the residual negative effects of project development after avoidance, minimization, and restoration of environmental impacts have been implemented. Offset policies have been developed in a growing number of countries as biodiversity conservation and restoration strategies, and are also expected to be an effective approach in Japan toward achieving Aichi Targets. Achieving no net-loss, which means that biodiversity gains from targeted conservation activities match the losses of biodiversity due to the impacts of a specific development project, is a principle of biodiversity offsets. However, the no net-loss concept of biodiversity offsets leaves various unsolved ecological problems pertaining to theory, technology, and practice. This review summarizes the key components of no net loss of biodiversity from ecological perspectives, focusing particularly on 1) explicit measures of biodiversity and ecological equivalence, 2) additional conservation benefits, 3) uncertainty and the risk of failure, and 4) limits to what can be offset and the mandatory mitigation hierarchy. We also discussed challenges to introducing the biodiversity-offset concept in Japan, which is characterized by species-rich secondary ecosystems. We particularly considered a number of specific issues concerning the regional framework in selecting offset-site locations and restoring degraded Satoyama ecosystems as potential impact- and offset-sites in Japan.

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Galactinol synthase (GolS), an enzyme synthesizing galactinol from myo-inositol and UDP-galactose, catalyzes the first step of the biosynthetic pathway of the raffinose family oligosaccharides (RFOs). A putative function of accumulated RFOs, galactinol and myo-inositol is compatible solute, but clear in vivo functions are uncertain. Six GolS genes were isolated from black poplar (Populus nigra ) leaves. We characterized expression patterns of the GolS genes in response to either drought, salinity, cold stress or abscisic acid (ABA) and found the distinct GolS gene of which transcript level remarkably increased in response to drought- and salt-stress (PnGolS2 ). The amounts of leaf raffinose, galactinol and myo-inositol were significantly larger in the poplar transformants overexpressing PnGolS2 (OXGolS) than those in non-transformants (NT). Leaf transpiration rate was significantly lower in the OXGolS plants than that in the NT due to the reduced stomatal conductance in the OXGolS. Leaf osmolality was unaffected by the overexpression of PnGolS2 while the leaf water potential showed more negative values in the OXGolS plants than that in the NT plants. These results suggest that overexpressing the drought and salt-responsive GolS gene, PnGolS2, reduces hydraulic conductance in black poplar.

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A list of 71 butterfly species recorded in Chiyoda Tree Nursery, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, Kasumigaura City, central Japan from1997 to 2016 has been compiled from collection data. It consists of ten papilionid, six pierid, 17 lycaenid, 30 nymphalid and eight hesperiid species. Three (Narathura bazalus, Argyreus hyperbius and Papilio memnon) and one (Hestina assimilis) of these species are thought to have invaded Chiyoda Tree Nursery in the 2000’s and 2010’s, respectivery. According to Tanaka’s criterion, there are 51 forest species　(71.8%) and 20 grassland species (28.2%) at the study site. The Sunose environmental index (EI) was 145, which indicated a “good natural environment”. The percentage of Chinese (23.9%) geographical distribution-type species in Chiyoda Tree Nusery was higher, and Siberian (15.5%) and Pan-tropical (8.5%) type species were lower than the national average in Japan. Four Red Data species of Japan and/or Ibaraki Prefecture, Eurema laeta, Sasakia charonda, Artopoetes pryeri and Favonius yuasai were recorded.

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This study aims to examine the method to extract road network which is an important key for interpreting large scale forest exploitation from satellite data. Study site was selected in the forested area which extends over Kompong Thom and Preah Vihear provinces, Cambodia. Landsat-8 OLI data was used in this study. Edge preservation smoothing filter were apply to NDVI image. Road networks which ran east-west and north-south direction in large scale forest exploitation area were extracted by edge detection and filtering procedures. Road networks in young rubber forest were extracted in large scale forest exploitation area. However, the road networks in bare soil which is immediately after exploitation and in mature rubber forest were not detected by this procedure. The extracted road networks by this study would be used for automatic forest change detection procedure combined with other spectral information such as NDVI difference in further study.

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Dung beetles (coprophagus group of Scarabaeoidea) are useful indicators of habitat quality in tropical regions. In December of 2006 through 2008, we carried out surveys of the beetles using pitfall traps baited with human excrement and fish meat at 30 sites, 10–40 km north of Balikpapan, lowland of East Kalimantan, Indonesia. From these surveys we collected a total of 65 species and 8,073 individual dung beetles, and listed in the table. To provide a useful reference for future studies evaluating forest environments using assemblages of dung beetles, we stimated diet and habitat preferences of 44 species with collections of more than 5 individuals. Forty-one of the 44 species were collected with traps baited with both human excrement and fish meat. For 8 species the total of catch did not exceed 70% in either of the two bait types, and 5 of the 8 species were endemic to Borneo. Regarding habitat, 36 species abundant in natural forests were rarely collected in anthropogenic-destroyed forests, plantation forests, and open-lands, except for 7 species that were also abundant in such habitats. Catharsius renaudpauliani was only one species that was expected to reside mainly in destroyed forests and plantation forests. Seven species abundant in openlands were rarely collected in natural forests. Species abundant in natural forests tend to have narrow distribution ranges, while species abundant in open-lands tend to have wide distribution ranges.

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We measured diameter at breast height of 800 stems and their height from 29 tree species in a 6-ha plot of oldgrowth temperate deciduous forest established in the Ogawa Forest Reserve. An expanded allometric function was fit to these data, and specific parameters were estimated. The data and parameter estimates are provided as hardcopy tables and electronic materials. These data and estimates will be useful to establish management plans for forest stands of various species of deciduous trees.

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