Assessment of the effects of sika deer (Cervus nippon yakushimae) on secondary lucidophyllous forests and an evaluation of forest naturalness in lowland areas of Yakushima Island, Japan

• ISHIDA Hiroaki

  Institute of Natural and Environmental Sciences, University of Hyogo

• HATTORI Tamotsu

  Institute of Natural and Environmental Sciences, University of Hyogo

• KURODA Asumo

  Institute of Natural and Environmental Sciences, University of Hyogo

• HASHIMOTO Yoshinobu

  Museum of Nature and Human Activities, Hyogo

• IWAKIRI Koji

  Iwakiri Environmental Research Co., Ltd.

Bibliographic Information

Other Title

• 屋久島低地部の照葉二次林に対するヤクシカの影響とその樹林の自然性評価
• ヤクシマ テイチブ ノ テリハ ニジリン ニ タイスル ヤクシカ ノ エイキョウ ト ソノ ジュリン ノ シゼンセイ ヒョウカ

Abstract

Secondary lucidophyllous (evergreen broad-leaved) forests with different population densities of sika deer (Cervus nippon yakushimae) were investigated in lowland areas of Yakushima Island, Japan, to clarify the effects of deer feeding pressure on such forests and to evaluate the naturalness of these forests. The vegetation structure, species composition, and species richness of secondary forests with a low population density of deer (deer-scarce forests) were compared with those of the secondary forests with a high deer density (deer-abundant forests). The vegetation cover of the ground layer (approximately 2 m high) was significantly lower in the deer-abundant forests than in the deer-scarce forests. The species composition of the ground layer greatly differed between the deer-scarce and the deer-abundant forests; many species occurred less frequently in the latter. These findings indicate that deer feeding pressure can simplify the species composition in secondary lucidophyllous forests to a considerable extent. The ground-layer species richness (number of the component species of lucidophyllous forest per 100 m^2) was significantly lower in the deer-abundant forests than in the deer-scarce forests, and it was negatively correlated with deer density. Many species consisting of primeval lucidophyllous forests with a low population density of deer were found to be absent or rare in the deer-scarce forests. In addition, the species richness of the deer-scarce forests was much lower than that of the primeval forests. On the basis of these results, it was concluded that the naturalness of the secondary lucidophyllous forests in lowland areas of Yakushima Island is very poor, and that deer feeding pressure has a great negative impact on forest naturalness.

Journal

• Vegetation Science

  Vegetation Science 29 (1), 49-72, 2012

  The Society of Vegetation Science

Keywords

• deer feeding pressure
• ground layer
• primeval forest
• species composition
• species richness

Details

• CRID: 1390001204487420800
• NII Article ID: 110009470624
• NII Article ID: 10031085454
• NII Book ID: AA11347548
• DOI: 10.15031/vegsci.29.49
• ISSN: 21894809
• ISSN: 13422448
• NDL BIB ID: 023851159
• Web Site: https://ndlsearch.ndl.go.jp/books/R000000004-I023851159
• Text Lang: ja
• Data Source:
  • JaLC
  • NDL
  • CiNii Articles
  • KAKEN
• Abstract License Flag: Disallowed