Landscape structure strongly affects bio-diversity in Japanese rural area because of high heterogeneity of biotopes, especially in Yatsu landscape which is the complex of wet paddy fields and dry forests. We analyzed relationship between landscape structure and biotopes of Yatsu landscape in 3 scales. At first, change of Yatsu landscape from 1950s to 1990s using by 50m grid land　use data. In second, we survey improvement and management of paddy fields in bottom of Yastu valley, also survey plant communities and number of butterfly species around paddy at micro scale. At last we evaluate potentiality of Yatsu landscape in Tone River Basin as the biotopes using by Rural Landscape Information System. As the result, it was clarified that potentiality of Yatsu landscape as biotopes was decreased because that improvement and management of paddy fields have been changed for 50 years, and they made change Yatsu landscape and its heterogeneity of biotopes, especially grasslands between paddy fields and forests.

View full abstract

In this paper, to analyze landscape change and transition of land management in rural area based on two case studies in different landform area. In plateau area study, land-use and land-cover changes were identified using the aerial photo from 1947, 1974 and 2000. I clarified the situation of use and management at each land covers by hearing with local farmers. In mountainous area study, I analyzed the forming process of terraced rice field landscape by the change in spatial features of the landscape. Terraced rice field lots and distribution of levee trees and forests were focused as the spatial features. Landscape elements were identified using aerial photo from 1976 and 1995. The mesh analysis had been adopted to solve the change pattern of the terraced rice field landscape.

View full abstract

This paper presents the result of lost rural landscape reconstruction with high fidelity using GIS technologies. The U.S. air force aerial photographs, 1/3,000 scale topographic map published from a local government, and 1/25,000 scale topographic map published from the national mapping agency were used as primary materials for the reconstruction. The process of the study is as follows. The positional accuracy of the primary materials was validated. Then, grid type DEMs were created from each material. We tested both a precise method and a simplified method as the image ortho-rectification method. The former one utilized the aerial triangulation result and the latter one employed the affine transformation. Bird's-eye views were created from combinations of DEMs and colorized ortho images. Small terrain undulations and levees were expressed on the DEM created from aerial photographs, although they were lacked on the DEMs from topographical maps. It says that the aerial photographs are best from the perspective of precision. The aerial triangulation, on the other hand, is much cost consuming. The comparison of image ortho-rectification methods revealed that the simplified method created relatively large displacement at a hill top. We compared bird's-eye views created from different materials. There was little difference between them at the zoom out view whereas the quality of scene was proportional to the quality of DEM at the close up view. The combination of DEM and ortho image from the aerial triangulation result made the better scene as the terrain undulations harmonized with land cover classifications. As a whole, it is best to utilize aerial photographs in both DEM generation and ortho rectification process. However, the time and the cost needed for the process is the highest of all. The required accuracy and availability of materials must be considered when choosing the method.

View full abstract

The Rapid Survey Maps, or Jinsoku-sokuzu, were surveyed in the 1880s just as Japan was about to move from the early-modern to modern period, at a critical moment in history for the study of rural land use. The Rapid Survey Maps can be analyzed by GIS, but these maps require much more attention to georeferencing than normal topographic maps because they do not show latitude or latitude and have irregular distortions. This paper describes methods to input and georeference Rapid Surveys Maps in a GIS, and reports results of GIS analysis on land use change in southern Ibaraki Prefecture based on the Rapid Survey Maps. Rural land use in southern Ibaraki Prefecture of the early Meiji period consisted of about 60% woodland and grassland. When compared to a vegetation map of the 1980s, rice paddy had persisted more than other land uses, and grassland had disappeared as a land use depicted on the vegetation map.

View full abstract

The purpose of this paper was to introduce economic studies of measuring the multifunctionality of agriculture and rural areas using stated preference methods. One study was to value the environmental benefits of the agriculture and rural areas in Japan using contingent valuation methods. The other was to measure the environmental benefits of construction plans of canal harmonizing with firefly's habitat using choice experiments. A further direction of the economic valuation of the multifunctionality with stated preference approach will be to develop valid indicators used for explaining to participants the multifunctionality based on psychology, ecology, and related disciplines in addition to economics.

View full abstract

Macro environmental accounting is a tool to understand relations between environment and economic activities, which focuses on nations and regions. By applying it to agricultural sector, we can understand complicated relations between agricultural production and environment in one nation or region in both monetary and physical term. Macro environmental accounting can describe various data concerning about environment and agriculture systematically and provide useful information to local communities, consumers and policy makers as well as farmers. However, as environmental accounting is under way of development, it still has some problems to apply it to analysis. As regards with application to agriculture, there still are some problems to solve. For example, agriculture produces not only environmental loads but also environmental benefits as by-product. As environmental accounting focuses on only evaluation of environmental loads, a framework of the accounting must be modified for application agriculture. This paper aims to explain macro environmental accounting and to introduce a few research works of environmental accounting which apply it to agricultural environmental evaluation.

View full abstract

Japanese agriculture constantly maintains a severe environment where there is a continuous decrease in production and the depression of the sales price. Under the recognition of the high price of domestic farm products, Japanese agriculture has remained defensive and protective in order to guard itself against the import of cheaper agricultural products. However, even in an environment of export deterioration, there is an agricultural product that has continued to be exported. It is necessary to examine the background that led to the possibility of that agricultural product being continuously exported and the problem that has been left behind because of that same exportation. It is also necessary to determine a strategic possibility that will allow Japanese farm exports to thrive. Under trade liberalization, the agriculture of fruit cultivation has been compelled to operate in serious conditions. Although functioning under these circumstances, some Japanese fruits have been successfully exported to foreign countries. There is one case where up to 18% of one prefecture’s pear shipments were exported. It is the case of the Nijisseiki pear, an export of Tottori Prefecture. This thesis examines in detail the correlation between the export environment and the construction of the pear export system, through the field research conducted in Tottori Prefecture’s pear producing districts. Moreover, it searches for factors, which have resulted in the decrease of export amounts since 1997 from changes in the export environment and the analysis of the marketing strategy of producing districts. When there are reductions in the domestic market, the export market will expand and gain in importance, as can be seen in the adjustments made in securing the stability of the supply and demand of the domestic market for the producer of the Nijisseiki pear in Tottori Prefecture. Even though exporting was difficult, that particular export system was able to continue its exports. The export system was constructed by the Nijisseiki pear’s cultivator, the prefectural level of Agricultural Cooperatives JA, and other related organizations, all of which understand the advantages of exporting. It was this collaboration that undertook the responsibility and supplied the effort necessary to make the system. After 1997, exports have decreased, because the competition has intensified in the foreign markets, this in turn decreased the amount of domestic production. In addition, according to a primary level agricultural cooperative JA (Senkazyo: cooperative’s fruit sorting place), the recognition and correspondence to its export are different. Some primary level agricultural cooperative JA positively participated in exporting, and all farmers who cultivated the Nijisseiki pear realized and received the benefits of exporting. The case of the exportation of the Nijisseiki pear, from Tottori Prefecture, gives one clear incentive to Japanese agriculture today.

View full abstract

Rice is a primary crop in Laos and various farming types such as rainfed paddies, lowland irrigation and slash-and-burn uplands have been extensively exploited for rice production. Although irrigation has been developed since 1990's, rainfed paddies and uplands have produced approximately 80% of overall rice production. However, droughts and floods due to erratic rainfall are significant factors causing unstable production. To clarify the regional rainfall characteristics, monthly rainfall distribution for 1991 to 2002 was estimated by Kriging interpolation using a semi-variogram representing spatial correlation among 72 rainfall stations. The resolution of estimation was 1km. By the result of Principle Component Analysis (PCA) with variables of monthly mean rainfall in provinces, the first and the second components representing rainfall amount and seasonality were obtained, and Laos was classified into four categories, i.e. heavy and early rainfall in central region, heavy and late in south, low and early in north, and low and late in west. Similarly, PCA with variables of rice production indices derived from agricultural statistics represented the categorization by farming type and expansion of production. In addition, correlation analysis between rice production and rainfall showed some particular features, e.g. rainfall in May and June positively affected to lowland rice production but negatively affected to upland rice, the production in major lowland rice production area decreased with increasing rainfall in September and October, etc. The harvestable area of lowland rice for 1991 to 2002 was estimated by Multiple Regression Analysis with rainfall variables. The adjusted R-square value was 0.9470. In the regression, rainfall variables for May, June, and July showed a positive coefficient but rainfall in August and September showed a negative coefficient. It implies that rainfall in the late rainy season has risk causing damage to rice production by decreasing the harvestable area. The regression was also applied to map calculation by GIS using the rainfall distribution maps to illustrate harvestable area per person.

View full abstract