Introduction (A Map of the Study Area)

(Cite: http://www.ease.com/~randyj/japanmap.htm)

Temperate coniferous forest in Japan is mainly located on the island of Hokkaido, the most northern island of Japan. It covers 17700 square miles. A subarctic and subalpine climate containing spruce and fir provides habitat for species not found elsewhere in Japan. (World Wildlife Fund, 2012). There are cold winters and warm summers in Hokkaido (Andersson,2005). This ecoregion consists mainly of central highland area. Hokkaido has an average temperature of eight degrees centigrade and receives an average annual precipitation of 1,150 millimeters. (World Wildlife Fund, 2012).The status of temperate coniferous forest is vulnerable,requiring government to find out solutions to protect this ecosystem. 

日本的温带针叶林主要分布在日本最东边的岛屿，北海道， 大约覆盖了17700平方英里。亚北极的和亚高山带的气候给许多在日本别处无法看见的动物提供了家，寒冷的冬天和温暖的夏天构成了北海道的气候。这块地方主要由高地组成，每年由1150毫米的降雨量。当地的温带针叶林现在的情况是易受伤害的，需要引起人民和政府的注意来找到方案保护生态系统。

일본에서 온대 침엽수 림은 주로 홋카이도, 일본의 가장 북쪽 섬의 섬에 위치하고 있습니다. 그것은 17700 평방 마일을 커버합니다. 가문비 나무와 전나무를 포함하는 북극과 아 고산대 기후는 일본의 다른 곳에서 찾을 수없는 종에 대한 서식지를 제공합니다. (세계 야생 생물 기금, 2012). 홋카이도 (앤더슨, 2005)에서 추운 겨울과 따뜻한 여름이 있습니다. 이 생태 지역을 중심으로 중앙 고원 지역으로 구성되어 있습니다. 홋카이도는 섭씨 여덟 정도의 평균 온도가 1,150 밀리미터의 평균 강수량을받습니다. (세계 야생 생물 기금, 2012). 온대 침엽수 림의 상태는 취약하기때문에 이 생태계를 보호하기위한 해결책을 찾기 위해 정부에 요구합니다.

Historical State

Before the colonization of Hokkaido by the Japanese at the beginning of the 19th century, Ainu people inhabited the whole of Hokkaido, and they mainly used natural products, without changing the natural ecosystems for agricultural purposes (Anderson,2005).

Conifer forests are found up to an elevation of approximately 1,500 m in Hokkaido. (World Wildlife Fund, 2012). Hokkaido contains various species that cannot be found in the rest of Japan. For example, there are over 230 species of birds in the area. There are also red foxes, and an Endemic subspecies of the more widespread Sika deer present (World Wildlife Fund, 2012).  The fauna in this ecoregion includes Japan's largest mammal species: the Yezo brown bear. There is also the Endangered red-crowned crane, which is a symbol for happiness and longevity, lives in the area (World Wildlife Fund, 2012).

white-tailed sea eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla)   

Red Fox

Yezo brown bear

red-crowned crane

Daisetsuzan National Park  (It is found within this ecoregion, is the largest national park in Japan)

Benefits from the ecosystem

People get from the ecosystem natural resources such as grasslands, forests, marine and freshwater ecosystem. And these resource are beneficial for people's lives.

Almost up to 40 percent of the earth's surface is covered by grasslands which gives economic benefits. In grassland, people can keep livestock such as cows, horses, sheep, goat, donkeys and etc. Milk cows provide milk to people, and this industry is economically beneficial. Also, grassland is good for travel industry. People do tour grasslands and they ride horses which make horse owners to make money.

Marine and freshwater is one of benefits from the ecosystem. Japan is surrounded by water on three sides. Therefore, Japanese fishing industry is huge. In the Japanese marine, a variety of fishes are caught and these are consumed not only in Japan but also they import to other countries.Not only that, this Japanese huge fish industry gives job opportunities to Indonesia. According to the news article, it says "As the new century dawned, there was a surge in the number of Indonesians flocking to Japan to work in the fishing industry. This was attributed in part to a scarcity of jobs back home after the financial meltdown that ripped through Asia in 1997 and 1998‪"(FUSAKO GO).

Japan is famous for its hot spring which is freshwater. People love to do bath in hot spring and this is one of Japanese culture that people enjoy. Of course, there are many inns in Japan which have spacious hot spring bath tub and sometimes it is called just "Guest House". Japan earns a large amount of money from this travel industry. The news article says "After being introduced as the exclusive luxury train in Japan, the tickets sold out immediately, and the US tourism industry was already eager to find out the ticket sales schedule for the US market in 2014. “The new luxury train is extremely interesting and perfect for the US luxury travelers, and we would love to get booking information for 2014,” says Ms. Victoria Hiller, the general manager of Remote Land, who attended the event(Akashi, Nori). Therefore,‪ it is also popular to tourists from U.S.

Grassland in Japan, Kusasenri-aso, Japan. Personal photograph by author. 2012

Marine and freshwater, Fukushima sea, Japan. Personal phtograph by author. 2010

Soaking up Japan's Hot Springsby Rachel Farnay, photos Anatol Filin.

People can benefit from this ecosystem by using the softwood of the coniferous forest trees for house foundations, building material, wooden coffins and wooden bathtubs (Andersson, 2005). Besides, there is a large national park, Daisetsuzan National Park, in this area. It is a famous place to visit for its spectacular view. Every year, there are tourists from different nations come and visit this park to see the God-given view.

Human Impacts in Temperate Coniferous Forests

Human impact on the ecosystem is bad since the colonization of Hokkaido by the Japanese in the 19th century. The subalpine coniferous forests that used to have even extended to the northeast hills and plains in coastal areas, for the most part, have been cut down (Ishizuka,1974). However, there still remain relatively intact large tracts of forests in Mt. Daisetsu National Park, which is the largest national park in Japan covering several volcanic mountains with extensive spruce and fir forests on its slopes (Azuma & Torii, 1980). The logging of coniferous species suitable for house foundations, building material, wooden coffins and wooden bathtubs led to degradation of coniferous forest in Japan (Anderson,2005). Habitat loss and degradation, in the form of continued agricultural and industrial development constitute the principal threats to red-crowned cranes in Hokkaido (World Wildlife Fund, 2012). Human’s impact on the ecosystem results in species lost. Brown bears on the island are impacted by hunting for sport and damage control as well as vehicular collisions, but the greatest threat is the conversion of hardwood habitats into conifer plantations (Anderson,2005).  Bear damage to conifer regeneration has apparently increased since 1970(Azuma & Torii, 1980). The bears’ distribution has been contracting and there is evidence that annual harvests exceed sustainable levels(Anderson,2005).

Daisetsuzan National Park

In order to protect valuable wildlife, Japanese government is pushing forward various measurements, thus, impact on the ecosystem is not as bad as that was before. Japanese wildlife protection system provides a variety of measures to conserve wildlife under the Wildlife Protection and Hunting Law, and the Law for the Conservation of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. In addition, two active habitat management measures have allowed the Japanese red-crowned crane population to increase: winter feeding stations and the installation of conspicuous markers on utility lines (World Wildlife Fund, 2012).

Conservation in the Present Time

Preserving biodiversity in temperate regions requires the maintenance of all successional stages. Since early successional stages are typically well represented, a major concern is preserving or recreating old-growth forests. Such old-growth forests typically contrast sharply with early successional stages in composition, structure, and function.

Old-growth Forests

Research presently under way will provide a definitive list of old-growth-dependent species within these temperate conifer forests. This list may include several other birds, several mammals (bat species may be notable), and several amphibians (particularly salamanders). Such forests are also very rich in mosses, lichens, and liverworts, of which at least one species --- a lichen--- is strongly related to old-growth forests. That species, Lobaria oregana, is an important nitrogen-fixing foliose lichen that grows in the crowns of old-growth Douglas-fir trees. Research will almost certainly show that some of the rich invertebrate community is also old-growth-dependent; more than 1,000 species have been identified within a single old-growth stand, the upper bole and crown providing particularly rich habitat. The old-growth forests obviously have a high genetic content and are far from the biological deserts that some game biologists and foresters once suggested.

Mosses

Lichens

Liverworts

Functional differences between old-growth and younger forests are often qualitative rather than quantitative. That is, forests at all stages fix and cycle energy or carbon, regulate hydrologic flows, and conserve nutrients. Some stages carry out these activities more efficiently than others, however. Old-growth forests in the Douglas-fir region are particularly effective at regulating water flows and reducing nutrients losses. Nutrient losses from old-growth watersheds in the Pacific Northwest are, for example, extremely low (Franklin et al.,1981), although this is not always true in other regions. Old-growth forests may contrast with younger forests in their influence on some important hydrologic processes. Old-growth coniferous forests present a very large crown surface and occupy an extensive volume of space, because dominant trees are commonly taller than 75 meters. Such forests are particularly effective at gleaning moisture from clouds and fogs, which can substantially increase precipitation. These forests may also influence the amount and spatial distribution of snowfall thereby minimizing the potential for the damaging rain-on-snow floods that are characteristic of the Pacific Northwest. In addition, the old-growth Douglas-fir forests provide several important sites for nitrogen fixation (e.g., epiphytic lichens and rotting wood), which are more limited or absent in earlier stages of succession.

Future Impacts

It is reported that in the coniferous forests, it is likely to rain with acid which is a problem in Asia, Japan. The reason why the acid rain is bad is that acid rain is mainly made with materials which already deposited in the air with rain and residues. Especially, coniferous forests in Japan that are located in high altitude tend to be damaged its trees. According to this data, it says there is 300 to 900 millimeters of rain per year. This seems like there are pretty much rain per year and that means the amount of acid rain are included in the data we have collected. Because of that, the large amount of acid rain would somehow destroy the ecosystem in the future. The acid rain would cause in climate change and animals living near temperate coniferous forests would continuously disappear because the coniferous trees can be decomposed itself.

Source: "Weather Report." Chart. Temperate Coniferous Forest. WCTA, n.d. Web.

Temperature: -40°C to 20°C, average summer temperature is 10°C

Precipitation: 300 to 900 millimeters of rain per year

Vegetation: Coniferous-evergreen trees (trees that produce cones and needles; some needles remain on the trees all year long)

Location: Canada, Europe, Asia, and the United States

Other: Coniferous forest regions have cold, long, snowy winters, and warm, humid summers; well-defined seasons, at least four to six frost-free months

Table 1: Number of Foreign Visitors to Hokkaido

Source: Tourist Promotion Team of Economic Dept. of Hokkaido Prefecture    

Table 1 provides the number of tourists visit Hokkaido, Japan between 1999 and 2004, and it is clearly shown that there is a steadily increase in number of people visit Hokkaido. Tourism is one of the factor that leads to the degradation of environment. Increase in tourism implies that there may be further degradation  of temperate coniferous forest in Japan in the future.

Solutions

Despite the fact that the temperate conifer forests are being destroyed by the massive amount of tourism, there are still few things that we can make actions to provide them.

First, it is important to inform majority of population the significance of those valuable plantations and habitats present in the area. People need to be informed how their behavior is negatively affecting temperate coniferous forest. In order to get more people informed, Japanese government can set up a TV program to convey these messages. Once people realize how their behavior is impacting the ecosystem, they are more likely to change their behaviors. 

Second, policies such as the Law for the Conservation of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora and Hunting Law should be enacted more strictly. Ecosystem would significantly improved if government push forward more measures that put environment and endangered species as the priorities.

The beautiful temperate coniferous forest that can be preserved through diligent conservation efforts.