The Mitsui & Co. Environment Fund
Introduction to Grant Projects
Field Science Center for Northern Biosphere, Agro-ecosystem Research Station, Hokkaido University Associate Professor Hiroko Fujita
Establishment of a method of ascertaining/evaluating the effects of ezo deer on natural vegetation for application to ecosystem management
Research grant
- Project Description
An explosive rise in populations of sika deer (Cervus nippon; "ezo deer" in Hokkaido) has had a serious impact on not only farms, but also on natural vegetation, natural forest rejuvenation, and even nature park scenery. In this research, we survey the impact of ezo deer on natural vegetation and reveal its extent toward a goal of reflecting such findings within ecosystem management plans. More specifically, we survey multiple locations within national forests for damage; and, with regards to high plains and marshes, we utilize remote sensing. We subject this data to time-series analysis. We also build a simulation model to predict changes in deer population, changes in vegetation, etc. By this, we establish methods of data collection, analysis and synthesis for use in ezo deer management planning and in policymaking advisement.
- Fields
- Preservation of biodiversity and ecosystem
- Grant year
- FY2008 Research Grants
- Grant term
- 3 years
April 2009 - March 2012
- Grant amount
- 17,474,000 yen
- Activity region
- Sarobetsu Marsh; Kushiro Marsh; Ishikari Peatland; Koshimizu Wildflower Garden; Mount Taisetsu; etc.
Overview of the Organization
- Representative
- Associate Professor Hiroko Fujita
- Profile
- Specialist fields
Plant ecology, botany
Affiliated academic societies
The Ecological Society of Japan; Society of Vegetation Science; Society for the Study of Phytogeography and Taxonomy; Japanese Society of Forest Environment; Society of Wetland Scientists
Background
1986 Ph.D., Biology Department, Graduate School of Science and Faculty of Science, Tohoku University; 1987 Part-time staff member, National Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries; 1988 Assistant, Faculty of Agriculture, Niigata University; 1989 Assistant, School of Agriculture, Hokkaido University; 2000 Assistant Professor, School of Agriculture, Hokkaido University; 2001 Assistant Professor, Field Science Center for Northern Biosphere, Hokkaido University - WEB site
- http://www.hokudai.ac.jp/fsc/
- Collaborating researchers
- Takashi SAITOH, Professor, Field Science Center for Northern Biosphere, Hokkaido University; Masami MIYAGI, Professor, Department of Regional Environmental Studies, Faculty of Environmental Systems, Rakuno Gakuen University; Hiroyuki UNO, Director, Hokkaido Research Organization, Institute of Environmental Studies; Masayuki TAKADA, Director, Hokkaido Research Organization, Institute of Environmental Studies; Nobuhiro AKASHI, Director, Forest Products Research Institute, Hokkaido Research Organization; Akiko SATAKE, Assistant, Joint Usage/Research Center, Creative Research Institution, Hokkaido University; Yoko NAKATANI, Technician, Faculty of Environmental Systems, Rakuno Gakuen University;
- Research record
-
- (1) Fujita, H. et al. 2009. An inventory of the mires of Hokkaido, Japan–their development, classification, decline, and conservation. Plant Ecology 200:9-36.
- (2) Fujita, H. 2008. Outline of mires in Hokkaido, Japan, and their ecosystem conservation and restoration. Global Environmental Research 11: 187-194.
- (3) Fujita, H., et al. 2008. Ecological and ethical problems, and vegetation change, in a large-scale flooding experiment at Kushiro Mire conducted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Hokkaido Regional Development Bureau 13:237-248.
- (4) Fujita, H. 2002. Wetland forests. Ecology of riparian forest (H. Sakio and F. Yamamoto, editors), 95-137. University of Tokyo Press.