Since the Great East Japan Earthquake, development of barrier forests has been attracting tremendous attention because they are a means of lessening the effects of tsunamis. Originally, artificial forests in coastal areas of Japan except central and northern Hokkaido comprised only Japanese black pine (Pinus thunbergii). However, single-tree-species forests, whether or not on coasts, are susceptible to pests and weather damage. Moreover, because Japanese black pine is a pioneer sun tree, its maintenance over long periods requires additional management by the forestry workers. Therefore, it is believed that one must develop mixed forests of coniferous and broad-leaved species, which include various native species such as coastal forests that can resist natural disasters, are easy to maintain, and can be conserved over a long period of time. However, the technology for developing mixed forests of coniferous and broad-leaved species on artificial embankments on a large scale has not yet been fully developed. The authors have been developing the “Eco-mixed seeding and planting method” for more than 20 years to develop mixed forests with coniferous and broad-leaved species in central and southern Hokkaido, which belongs to the same summer-green forest belt as the Tohoku region This method is a comprehensive system based on backcasting, which includes the setting of objectives, seed gathering, seedling cultivation, planting, record keeping, follow-up studies, and evaluation. Therefore, it is considered to be an effective method for developing barrier forests in the Tohoku region.

In enclosed coastal areas of Japan, volatile sulfur compounds generated from sludge strongly affect the ambient environment. For this study, measurements of volatile sulfur compounds (methyl mercaptan, hydrogen sulfide, methyl sulfide, methyl disulfide) consistency were conducted. Results show that methyl mercaptan, hydrogen sulfide, and methyl disulfide were decreased extreme degree by iron ion releasers “Σ Ball”. Future studies must assess the relation between the consistency of iron ion releasers and volatile sulfur compounds, and must examine changes in bacterial flora over time. Efficient reduction of volatile sulfur compounds must be investigated.

Primula reinii var. rhodotricha is a plant endemic to Mt. Buko (Saitama Prefecture), and belongs to genus Primula (Primulaceae). This species has been classified as endangered on the red list prepared by the Ministry of Environment (2012), because its natural habitat is threatened by anthropogenic activities. Although this species is protected by a mining company, conservation activities have been difficult. In this study, we investigated (1) the rate of blooming, (2) ratio of flower morphs, (3) morphology of flowers, and (4) rate of fruition, and assessed the state of reproduction of a protected population. Our results showed that the cause of decline in fruition rate is not only the loss of pollinators but also the variation of flower morphs, disparity between the height of the stigma and stamen and vermin damage of fruits.

The Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami in March 2011, has resulted in an unprecedented and immense damage in and around Sendai coastal region. In the cause of recovery and conservation in the region, evaluation on the status due to the disaster as well as the land-cover change over a broad scale became an important issue. Accordingly, revealing its influences quantitatively was set as our goal in this paper. Based on landcover classification map from two SPOT HRG-2 photographs (October 2010 and November 2011), landscape characteristics such as patch area and landscape heterogeneity were indexed for revealing landscape change before and after the disaster. As the result, forest along the coast (4.2km² to 0.5km²)almost 90 percent were collapsed. Paddy area, due to the wide scale immersion, had also decreased from 15.8km² to 0.1km² and became uncultivable mostly in the first year after the disaster. Otherwise, with increased fragmentation on the large dominated patches, landscape pattern of the area became more heterogeneous and configured by a densely distributed small size patches.

The Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami disturbed coastal forests along Sendai Bay. A study site was established in May of 2011 to monitor changes in the coastal forest ecosystems. Objectives were to describe the changes in both canopy layer and ground elevation caused by the disturbance, a spatial distribution of biological legacies and the depth of accumulated sand. Polygons of gap before the tsunami, disturbed forest and remnant forest after the tsunami were established from aerial images in an area in the western part of the study site. The area and ground elevation before and after the tsunami were measured for the polygons. In addition, the spatial distribution of biological legacies was described; and depth of accumulated sand was measured in both types of forest. The results showed that 57% of coastal forest was disturbed and fragmented into 62 patches. Pits of uprooted trees were distributed near spots where the ground elevation was observed to have decreased. The depth of accumulated sand in remnant forests was deeper than in disturbed forests.