Evaluating landscape improvement scenarios from the perspective of biomass production: a case study of peri-urban satoyama woodland in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area

Abstract

Through a case study of peri-urban satoyama woodland in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area, this present paper discusses the benefits and challenges of small-scale wood biomass utilization aimed at landscape improvement in local communities. In this study, a unique methodology that combines the assessment of biomass availability with landscape improvement was first developed and then applied to the case study. In total, 10,213 trees were identified, and its aboveground biomass was estimated. The available biomass per year was estimated based on three landscape improvement options: (1) “thinning trees alongside path”, (2) “thinning trees in dense stand”, and (3) “creating coppice with standard”. Then, the number of local households exposed to wood biomass as renewable energy was estimated under both ordinary and emergency situations (e.g., earthquake). The results of the woodland case study show that 61.4–163.2 Mg year−1 of wood biomass can be provided by the landscape improvements, resulting in wood energy for 9.7–55.6 households in an ordinary situation and heating and cooking energy for 896–4761 nearby households in an emergency. In spite of many economic, social, and environmental challenges, this small-scale restoration of satoyama woodland as a local bio-resource can be a starting point for the consideration of the reconstruction of urban–rural relations. Further conceptual and practical studies are needed to strengthen and scale the approach.