Main

The Mitsui & Co. Environment Fund

Introduction to Grant Projects

Yamanashi Forest Research Institute Takuo Nagaike, Lead Researcher

How should sika deer ascending into Japanese alpine regions be handled?

Research grant

Project Description

Climate change is expected to have an even greater effect on the Japanese alpine region than other ecosystems, and the most pressing policy issue that central Honshu needs to tackle is how to handle sika deer ascending into Japanese alpine areas. This project aims to (1) understand changes in vegetation resulting from climate change, (2) assess the current status of sika deer populations, (3) assess the current feeding situation for sika deer, (4) investigate awareness of the issue within society, and (5) publicise the outcome of these efforts through pamphlets and symposiums in order to produce solutions.

Grant year
FY2012 Research Grants
Grant term
3 years
April 2013 - March 2016
Grant amount
10,647,000 yen
Activity region
Minami Alps National Park, Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan
Investigating the impact of sika deer feeding on vegetation.

Overview of the Organization

Takuo Nagaike, Lead Researcher
Representative
Takuo Nagaike, Lead Researcher
Profile
Specialist fields
Forest management, forest ecology
Affiliated academic societies:
The Japanese Forest Society, The Ecological Society of Japan
Background
Born in Kanagawa Prefecture in 1966. Obtained a doctorate in agriculture from Niigata University. Joined the Yamanashi Forest Research Institute in 1999 after time as a researcher with the Nature Conservation Society of Japan, and became a lead researcher in 2010. Although he is a specialist in the sustainable management of forest ecosystems, recently he has been focusing on the impact of sika deer on forests and vegetation.
WEB site
http://www.pref.yamanashi.jp/shinsouken/index.html
Co-researchers
Hayato Iijima and Chiaki Otsu, Yamanashi Forest Research Institute; Shinichiro Hamasaki and Zhao-Wen Jiang, Wildlife Management Office Inc.; Mikio Sugita, Yamanashi Institute of Environmental Sciences
Research record
  • Nagaike T. "A review of ecological studies on plant species diversity in plantation ecosystems." Journal of the Japanese Forest Society 82: 407-416, (2000)
  • Nagaike T. "A review of ecological studies on the effects of forest management on plant species diversity" Japanese Journal of Ecology 52: 35-54, (2002)
  • Nagaike T. (2012) "The current status and issues regarding manmade mixed plantation forests - research on material production functions." Journal of the Japanese Forest Society 94: 196-202, (2012)
  • Nagaike T. "Effects of browsing by sika deer (Cervus nippon) on subalpine vegetation at Mt. Kita, central Japan." Ecological Research 27: 467-473, (2012)
  • Nagaike T., Fujita T.; Dejima S.; Chino T.; Matsuzaki S.; Takanose Y.; Takahashi K. "Interactive influences of distance from seed source and management practices on tree species composition in conifer plantations." Forest Ecology and Management 283: 48-55 (2012)
  • Nagaike T., Ohkubo E., Hirose K. "Vegetation recovery in response to the exclusion of grazing by sika deer (Cervus nippon) in seminatural grassland on Mt. Kushigata, Japan." ISRN Biodiversity (in press)