Population dynamics of Japanese serow in relation to social organization and habitat conditions. II. Effects of clear‐cutting and planted tree growth on Japanese serow populations

Abstract

AbstractPopulation responses of Japanese serow (Capricornis crispus) to clear‐cut logging and planted tree growth were studied by a direct count of the number observed in three areas, Takiyama (305 ha), Gentouziro (270 ha), and Tanokashira (324 ha), near Wakinosawa Village, Aomori Prefecture, Japan, during 1976–89. At Takiyama, a mature mixed forest of Thujopsis dolabrata var. hondai and Fagus crenata decreased from 73 to 39% coverage of the area due to clear‐cutting during 1978–83. The serow population maintained a relatively low stable density (3–6 individuals per km2) until 1985–87, and increased 5–10 years after the clear‐cutting, reaching 9–10 km−2 in 1988. At Gentouziro and Tanokashira, young plantations of Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica) covered about half of each area. The population densities between 1980 and 1983 were relatively high (14–19 km−2), but declined thereafter, reaching 10–14 km−2 in 1988–89. These results indicated that the density increase resulted from an improvement of food supply due to growth of scrub following the clear‐cutting, and that the density decline resulted from a habitat change due to growth of planted Japanese cedar and a decrease in the food supply. In Wakinosawa Village, serow density began to increase 5–10 years after forest cutting, and the high population density, about three‐ or six‐fold larger than that in mature forest, is expected to be maintained for about 20 years after logging.