Change of the distribution and management of avalanche prevention forest in Taira, Gokayama, Japan

Abstract

Located in Gokayama, Toyama Prefecture, Japan, Taira is a village with precipitous terrain and heavy snowfall, thus causing snow damage to occur frequently. In order to protect the village from disasters caused by avalanches, avalanche prevention forests (APF) has been maintained and managed since 1600s. However, due to the decline and aging of the rural population in mountainous areas in recent years, APF maintenance has become an important issue. Thus, this study aims to provide basic data for searching maintenance methods for APF, by clarifying the distribution, forest stand, management, and those changes. As a result, the distribution of APF changed after 1940s. To be specific, the APF distributed on the steep slopes behind each village has been preserved, while the conventional functions have been taken over. However, there has been still increasing the number of planted forests, scatter, and grass in the APF, which made the distribution of conventional APF decreased. In terms of the forestry laws, lots of parts of APF were designated according to the Protection Forest System of Forest Act step by step, which provides legal protection for part of APF. In short, it’s important to integrate sustainable maintenance solutions from multiple perspectives (disaster prevention, ecosystems, and landscapes, etc.) and to adjust measures according to different conditions of conventional APF and the part being protected by law.