Although old shrine groves are considered as important green spaces thatrepresent the potential natural vegetation of the region, they have not necessarily remained free from human impacts. We clarified historical change in the tree species composition of the shrine grove of Okunitama Jinja on the Musashino Plateau in Tokyo, by comparing the tree census data from 1686 to 2020. The old records indicated that large-diameter Zelkova serrata trees, which was the dominant species in the natural forest along the adjacent cliff line, had been major component of the shrine grove since the early Edo period, though Cryptomeria japonica accounted for the majority in tree number. The shrine grove has not experienced any period when evergreen broadleaved tree species were dominant, because they had removed selectively. After the rapid decline of C. japonica by 1970, the grove has been recovering with the growth of deciduous broadleaved trees, mainly Z. serrata and Aphananthe aspera. These results showed the possibility the shrine grove dominated by Z. serrata has established by preserving the components of the edaphic natural forest, while preventing successional change to evergreen broadleaved forest by planting C. japonica.

We studied to evaluate the effects of small group selective logging (＜0.04 ha) mimicking a “canopy gap” in a secondary beech forest on carabid beetle assemblages. We conducted an environmental factor survey before and after selective logging and a pitfall trap survey in four study sites: a beech selective logging area, a beech retention area adjacent to the beech selective logging area, a secondary beech forest, and a Japanese cedar plantation. The results of the environmental factor surveys showed that the environment such as soil moisture and temperature had changed due to selective logging. The trapping survey showed that in the year following the selective logging, the number of Harpalus vicarius was higher in the beech selective logging area and the beech retention area, and that two species, Chlaenius naevige and Harpalus tridens, were only caught in the beech selective logging area. These results suggest that these three species are sensitive to environmental changes after selective logging and invade quickly, and that selective logging increases the number of species and individuals captured not only in the area where logging was conducted but also in adjacent forests. Alternatively, no species showed a remarkable decrease in the number of captured individuals after selective logging. NMDS results showed that the three study sites in the beech forest were drawn overlapping each other. These results suggest that small group selective logging in secondary beech forest is an effective method for conserving and maintaining the carabid beetle assemblages.