This paper analyzes the conditions and expansion of crop damage caused by wild Japanese monkeys in the Shimokita Peninsula in northern Japan. In Sai village, in the northwest part of the peninsula, the problem of crop damage has occurred for about the past ten years. Initially, one troop came down from the mountains and damaged only a part of farmland. After 3-4 years, however, the damaged area expanded rapidly in an elliptical shape along the coastline. Today this troop depends heavily on farmland and inhabits an artificial environment, using it not only as a feeding patch, but also as a resting site during the summer season. The monkeys spend more time on the newly damaged areas bordering their home range than on the early damaged area. It is suggested that a primary cause of this behavior is the installation of electric fences, one of the main measures used to prevent further crop damage. As the village is presently expanding the area enclosed by electric fences, it will be important to carry out planning measures based on forecasts of future damage.

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This paper describes a study of the spatial structure and gap dynamics of a beech forest affected by the overbrowsing by sika deer (Cervus nippon) in the eastern part of the Tanzawa mountain zone of Kanagawa Prefecture. Beech (Fagus crenata), walnut (Pterocarya rhoifolia), linden (Tilia japonica) and fir (Abies homolepis) dominate the canopy layer of the forest, but the shrub layer is dominated by epaullete trees (Pterostyrax hispidata), which are pioneer plants and unpalatable for sika deer. All seedlings except these are subject to great stress caused by sika deer overbrowsing. It assumed that epaullete trees invade and grow rapidly in many gaps in the beech forest, without competition from other species. On the other hand, seedlings of other species grow normally in areas protected by fence. In conclusion, control of the sika deer population is required for normal regeneration of the beech forest.

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Since the late-1980s, ecotourism has been attracting many tourists as awareness about the environment has increased. Much debate has occurred about whether ecotourism can be a new tool for environmental protection or just another type of community development. Although many publications examine the potential benefits of ecotourism, little attention has been given to the management of ecotourism. This paper discusses the importance of ecotourism management from the theoretical perspective by examining recent ecotourism publications and debates. From this survey, it becomes clear that the management of ecotourism could be developed into regional ecosystem management by following three steps. First, it is important for persons in the scientific and lay communities to share their different types of knowledge about the ecosystem. Second, ways should be created for ecotourists from outside the region to collaborate with local managers at the planning and monitoring stage of ecosystem management. Finally, ecotourism should be managed in a way that can encourage the creation of regional ecosystem management strategies by utilizing the shared knowledge. If these steps are followed, local communities can play a role in creating their own regional ecosystem management, and the "design process" will contribute to sustainable use of the ecosystem.

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The soil fauna, environment of the egg-laying sites, and habitat vegetation of the salamander Hynobius tokyoensis were investigated in the Boso Peninsula, Chiba Prefecture. The soil fauna expected to be found as a food source of the salamander included Isopoda, Amphipoda, Lithobiomorpha, Haplotaxida, and Geophilomorpha. By individual counts at Chonan town, these fauna accounted for 23.0% of soil fauna individuals in Satsubo and 22.6% in Sakamoto, and 69.5% of total wet weight of soil fauna in Satsubo and 63.3% in Sakamoto. The vegetation around the egg-laying sites was composed of evergreen, coniferous, and mixed forest. Although there was no difference in the abundance of soil fauna between habitat forests at both study sites, a seasonal difference was found: the abundance of soil fauna, especially the Amphipoda, decreased in summer. The most productive waterside environment for egg-laying was the paddy field (more than 30% of total observation sites), followed by waterways (28.6%) and swamp land (19.0%). The number of eggs per clutch averaged 110 throughout the Boso Peninsula, with the geographic variation.

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