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Long-Term Ecosystem Changes in Riparian Forests presents and analyzes the results of more than 30 years of long-term ecological research in riparian forest ecosystems with the aim of casting light on changes in the dynamics of riparian forests over time. The research, focusing on the Ooyamazawa riparian forest, one of the remaining old-growth forests in Japan, has yielded a number of interesting outcomes. First, it shows that large-scale disturbances afford various trees opportunities for regeneration and are thus the driving force for the coexistence of canopy trees in riparian forests. Second, it identifies changes in reproductive patterns, highlighting that seed production has in fact quantitatively increased over the past two decades. Third, it describes the decline in forest floor vegetation caused by deer grazing and reveals how this decline has affected bird and insect populations. Long-Term Ecosystem Changes in Riparian Forests illustrates the interconnectedness of phenomena within an ecosystem and the resultant potential for cascade effects and also stresses the need for long-term ecological studies of climate change impacts on forests. It will be of interest to both professionals and academics in the field of forest science.
Part I. Introduction
Chapter 1. The Ooyamazawa Riparian Forest: Introduction and Overview
Part II. Life History and Regeneration Processes of Riparian Woody Species
Chapter 2. Fraxinus platypoda
Chapter 3. Pterocarya rhoifolia
Chapter 4. Cercidiphyllum japonicum
Chapter 5. Acer Tree Species
Part III. Diversity and Coexistence in Riparian Forests
Chapter 6. Diversity of Herbaceous Plants in the Ooyamazawa Riparian Forest
Chapter 7. Coexistence of Tree Canopy Species
Part IV. Ecosystem Changes in Riparian Forests
Chapter 8. Changes in Forest Floor Vegetation
Chapter 9. Temporal Changes in Browsing Damage by Sika Deer in a Natural Riparian Forest in Central Japan
Chapter 10. Characteristics and Temporal Trends of a Ground Beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) Community in Ooyamazawa Riparian Forest
Chapter 11. Avifauna at Ooyamazawa: Decline of Birds that Forage in Bushy Understories
Part V. Conclusion
Chapter 12. General Conclusion
Hitoshi Sakio is a Professor and Director of Sado Island Center for Ecological Sustainability, Niigata University in Niigata, Japan. He received his PhD from Tokyo Metropolitan University, Japan. Hitoshi worked as a forest researcher in local government before moving to Niigata University. He is the leader of riparian forest research in Japan, and his teaching and research focus on forest ecology, especially riparian forest dynamics, tree life history, and alpine forest vegetation. He has published over 50 articles on field research in peer-reviewed journals, edited seven books and written 20 book chapters. He has received various honours for his outstanding contributions to research and education, including The Ecological Society of Japan’s 12th Oshima Award (2019) and The Japanese Forest Society Award (2019).
