The present state of tree planting and removal types of tree planting activities at urban shinto shrines

Abstract

As a semipublic green space, the sacred forest of the urban Shinto shrine serves as a traditional space, a base for urban ecosystems, and as a place for communities. Its management is entrusted to the priesthood, and tree-planting activities depend on the manager's thinking. The purpose of this study was to understand the purpose and process of tree planting and extermination activities in the sacred forests during the last few decades, and to help determine a policy for the conservation of the sacred forests. We conducted a questionnaire survey of 290 managers in Nagoya City, and the number of responses was 92 (collection rate 31.7%). From this survey we report that there were 43 species of tree planted and 23 species removed—mostly Cinnamomum camphora, Phyllostachys spp., and Pinus spp. Depending on their purpose and planting process, the main tree species planted are Cleyera japonica, Ginkgo biloba, Cinnamomum camphora, Prunus spp., Cerasus spp., Pinus spp., Chamaecyparis obtusa, Rhododendron spp., and Camellia spp. It was possible to categorize these species into three types of arboriculture systems: use type, traditional type, and landscape type. These types can be used to understand the status of current sacred forests and to formulate conservation policies.