ABSTRACT
Japan is surprisingly forested for such a populous country, with 64% of the land area in forests (24.1 million ha in 2000). Forest plantations comprise 43% of the forested area (10.4 million ha); most other forests are naturally regenerated second growth, as the area of old forest decreased substantially during and after World War II (Figure 24.1 and Figure 24.2) (Nagaike and Kamitani 1997, 1999). The climate of most of Japan is suitable for forest development, but by the end of the 19th century, exploitive logging for timber, firewood, and mine props had degraded large areas of forest (Chiba 1973, 1991; Ogura 1992, 1996). For example, forests in Asio, 110 km northeast of Tokyo, were logged intensively to provide fuel for copper smelting, which generated sulfurous acid gas that caused severe withering of trees in the vicinity of the mine (Tanimoto 1990). Other examples abound: a large area in the Kitakami Mountains on Honshu Island was deforested during the 1900s as a result of logging and grazing (Ohsumi, unpublished); the forest of Tanakamiyama, near Kyoto, was intensively logged to establish capital cities following repeated domestic battles in the region, and to build large temples and Buddhist statues during the Nara era, about 1,200 years ago. These degraded or deforested areas were reforested during the 20th century, primarily with conifers.
