Do golf courses provide a refuge for flora and fauna in Japanese urban landscapes?

Abstract

Golf courses have historically been seen as places of heavy pesticide and fertilizer use, however, there are few scientific studies on the ecology of golf courses. The aim of this study was to assess the value of golf courses for conserving forest biota in urban landscapes. The biota occurring in 12 Japanese golf courses and their surrounding areas was investigated. Investigations were done at golf course sites located on the green, fairway, rough, green belts between holes, and the out of bounds forest. Roadside, paddy fields, park and forest sites were investigated outside the golf courses. Presence/absence data for plants, arthropods and vertebrates in each sample habitat were analysed by TWINSPAN. As a result, communities in golf courses were classified by the part of course (e.g. green, fairway), and not by the location of the course nor chemical use. However, differences between golf courses in urban and rural landscapes were detected in the biota of the whole course. The out of bounds forest of golf courses was similar to forests that exist outside the courses, and this area held more flora and fauna than turf vegetation and artificial biotopes outside the course such as roadside and paddy. This suggests that golf courses in urbanised areas can be a refuge for flora and fauna, since forest cover occurs in only limited proportions in urban landscapes. Furthermore, the application of regulations for golf course construction seemed to be useful in maintaining forest species on golf courses. This may contribute to the conservation of native forest biota within Japanese urban landscapes.