A comparative study of reforestation concepts in Japan: planting for erosion control and planting for timber

There are two kinds of thinking concerning plantation in Japan. One is based on the idea of preventing natural disasters by planting trees; virgin forests on mountains were cut recklessly over a wide area resulting in tree less mountains, a large quantity of earth and sand flowed away, and sediment disasters occurred downstream of rivers, resulting in the loss of many human lives and properties. To prevent such natural disasters, trees have been sequentially planted in disaster prone areas for many years to increase safety in downstream areas. The other is based on the idea of raising trees as building timber. After cutting virgin forests, saplings, selected for their usefulness are planted and cultivated for many years until they grow to a certain size suitable for cutting as building timber. Taking Mt. Tanakami in Shiga prefecture and the Kitayama area of Kyoto prefecture as representative examples of planting for erosion control and disaster prevention, and planting for timber with a commercial purpose, this study aims to compare sociological and engineering significance from the point of view of history, method, and types of tree and their effectiveness, in order to clarify the co existence of human beings and nature from the viewpoints of nature conservation and cultural value and to shed light on the importance of nature conservation.