The Mitsui & Co. Environment Fund
Introduction to Grant Projects
Kyushu University, Faculty of Agriculture Assistant professor: Hiroki Sakagami
Elucidation of the natural healing mechanism of bark that has been extensively annellated by deer and proposal for a damage control method based on this mechanism
Research grant
- Project Description
Plant mortality attributed to bark stripping by deer has a major impact on the ecosystem and forestry, and significantly reduces the public benefit function of forests. Prompt and timely resolution of this issue is of critical importance. In this study, we propose an effective method for preventing the death of 100-year-old Enkianthus campanulatus in the Yatsugatake plateau that have been damaged by deer. This method makes use of the specific restoration ability of the bark identified in previous studies. To that end, we will undertake (1) elucidation of the time of formation layer activity that affects peel strength of the bark and the cell morphology at that time, (2) elucidation of the time of easiest bark peeling by means of tensile testing, and (3) elucidation of the specific repair mechanism of the bark that is the core element of this research, and (4) investigate other tree species to which this technology can be transferred, with the ultimate goal of proposing a symbiotic deer damage control method that limits the countermeasure period to the shortest possible timeline. [No. R19-0042]
Mitsui & Co. Environment Fund FY2019 Research Grants List (PDF 508KB)
- Fields
- Ecosystems and the Symbiotic Society
- Grant year
- FY2019 Research Grants
- Grant term
- 3 years (April 2020 to March 2023)
- Grant amount
- ¥4,000,000
- Activity region
- Minamimaki Village, Minamisaku District, Nagano Prefecture
Overview of the Organization
- Project organization
- Kyushu University, Faculty of Agriculture
- Representative
- Assistant professor: Hiroki Sakagami
- Profile
- Specialist field: Wood science
Affiliated academic societies: Japan Wood Research Society, Wood Technological Association of Japan, Japan Wood Protection Association
Background: After graduating from Kyushu University's Graduate School of Bioresources and Environmental Sciences, he worked in a private company before assuming in his current position in January 2011. He earned a doctorate (agriculture) from the same university. - Research record
- Hiroki Sakagami, Microcrack propagation in transverse surface from heartwood to sapwood during drying, Journal of Wood Science, 10.1186/s10086-019-1812-6, 65, 33, 2019.
Hiroki Sakagami, Saki Higurashi, Tetsuya Tsuda, Satoshi Seino, Susumu Kuwabata, Decay resistance of Polymerized ionic liquid modified woods, Bioresources, 13, 3, 5702-5710, 2018.
Hiroki Sakagami, Atsuro Tokunaga, Noboru Fujimoto, Shinya Koga, Isao Kobayashi, Ikuo Momohara, Effects of drying temperature for Cryptomeria japonica on the permeability of wood preservative. II. The permeability of dried, split log pieces, Bioresources, 10.15376/biores.11.3.6896-6908, 11, 3, 6896-6908, 2016.
Hiroki Sakagami, Junji Matsumura, Tetsuya Tsuda, Susumu Kuwabata, Visualization of Wood Cells by Electron Microscopy Using Ionic Liquid, Japanese Society of Electron Microscopy Technology for Medicine and Biology, 29(1), 14-19, 2015.
Others - WEB site
- http://www.agr.kyushu-u.ac.jp