Range expansion of the bamboo, Phyllostachys pubescens, over a 30-year period was studied using topographic maps, land-use maps and aerialphotographs in the Nishiyama, Ohyamazaki, Tanabe and Yamashiro areas of Kyoto Prefecture, Central Japan. The former two areas, being close to Kyoto City, were densely populated, and the appearance of the bamboo was balanced by its disappearance due to development projects for housing construction, the total bamboo area showing little change. In the latter two areas, the bamboo stands had expanded several times. Plantation and natural expansion of bamboo were considered to be the causes of the range expansion. Until the mid 1970s, both plantation and natural expansion were responsible for the range expansion, but thereafter the bamboo stands expanded without much plantation. Considering the soil conditions in this region and the ecological competition between Phyllostachys pubescens and trees, it seems that bamboo stands will not be replaced by other types of forest, and that range expansion will continue in the future.
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