Suburban Agricultural Area Research Articles

Impact of suburban cropland intensification and afforestation on microbial biodiversity and C sequestration in paddy soils

AbstractRapid urbanization drives changes in suburban cropland and afforestation, but the impact on soil microbes and carbon (C) dynamics remains unclear. Using genetic sequencing (16S rRNA sequence and functional prediction), we assessed the effects of cropland intensification and afforestation on the soil microbial communities and C sequestration potential in a suburban agricultural area. Traditional rotation (rice–wheat) homogenized microbial diversity along soil depth (0–100 cm). Cropland intensification (rice–wheat to rice–vegetables) and afforestation (rice–wheat to forest) decreased fungal diversity below 20 cm, while bacterial diversity and dominant taxa were less affected, due to the advantages of bacterial diversity and dominant taxa distribution. Cropland intensification increased profile C accumulation, mainly due to excessive fertilization (obviously decreased aerobic_chemoheterotrophy below 20 cm in bacterial function), but not C stability (significantly increased permanganate oxidizable C (POXC), and microbial‐dependent C sources tend to from crop litter to soil sources). Afforestation offset C accumulation through no fertilization and inundation, but increased saprophytic function for C sequestration. In addition, pH and C had opposing effects on dominant microbial taxa, mitigating extreme differentiation. Subsoil was more sensitive to changes than topsoil. Altogether, soil C stability decoupled from C accumulation in the suburban agricultural area. Cropland intensification increased C accumulation yet decreased bacterial C sequestration potential and C stability; cropland afforestation facilitated fungi‐derived C accumulation and its C sequestration. Deep soil C sequestration was more vulnerable to suburban agriculture practices, emphasizing the need to consider subsoil C‐cycling in agricultural practices amid urbanization.

Assessment of the level of pollution of the snow cover with chemical compounds and elements in the territory of the Shelekhov district in Eastern Siberia

Introduction. In the zone of large industrial clusters of the Irkutsk region, pollution tracers are formed, which are characteristic of each territory. The study of the snow cover makes it possible to make an approximate assessment of the level of atmospheric air pollution in the winter period, as well as to determine the areas of dispersion of emissions. Materials and methods. In samples of melted snow, the main anions and cations characteristic of emissions from aluminum production were determined by photometric and titrimetric methods, turbidimetric, ionometric and atomic absorption analysis. A quantitative granulometric analysis of the composition of suspensions was carried out using a laser analyzer. Results. The distribution of particles according to the fractional composition in the districts of the city, differing in anthropogenic load, was studied. Submicroscopic particles up to 1 µm were found in all samples, while their share in the total number of particles was up to 2%. The proportion of particles up to 10 μm was 7-11%. The most predominant particle size is 10-50 microns, they account for 50% of suspensions in residential areas and up to 80% near the industrial area. It is shown that in the zone of influence of the transport highway, the content of sulfates, nitrates, calcium, and magnesium in the snow is increased. The content of fluorides, aluminum and beryllium in the snow cover is determined by the direction of the prevailing winds. Limitations. The limitation of the study is due to a samples located only in residential areas of the city and suburban agricultural territory for a one-year period (winter 2018-2019). In this article, we limited ourselves to the analysis of inorganic compounds only; the content of organic compounds is presented in another article. Conclusion. The study of the chemical composition of the snow cover in various functional zones of the city of Shelekhov allows us to conclude that the melt water of snow precipitation can be attributed to the hydrocarbonate-chloride calcium class with a high concentration of fluorides and nitrates. The nature of pollution of the urban environment is greatly influenced by emissions from industrial enterprises, vehicles and the economic activities of urban organizations. The overall pollution of the suburban agricultural area, despite the high frequency of wind in this direction, is significantly lower than in the residential area of the city. The prevailing winds contribute to the transfer of harmful substances over long distances, adversely affecting the ecosystems of the region.

Combination of UNMIX, PMF model and Pb-Zn-Cu isotopic compositions for quantitative source apportionment of heavy metals in suburban agricultural soils

Quantitative identification of heavy metals (HM) sources in soils is key to prevention and control of heavy metal pollution. In this study, UNMIX, PMF (Positive matrix factorization) model and Pb-Zn-Cu isotopic compositions were combined to quantitatively identify heavy metal sources in a suburban agricultural area of Kaifeng, China. Using multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS) and ICP-MS, we measured Pb, Zn and Cu stable isotopic compositions, HM concentrations and HM chemical fractions in studied soils, as well as potential sources around the highly polluted site, including total suspended particle, compound fertilizer, irrigated river water and sediments. The results showed that total contents and chemical fractions of heavy metals, as well as Pb-Zn-Cu isotopic compositions presented great variation in different sites, which implied that heavy metal accumulation was obviously affected by local anthropogenic pollution source. UNMIX and PMF presented good agreement on source apportionment that industrial and agricultural activities (61.74% and 60.75% for UNMIX and PMF, respectively) were the major contributors to heavy metal accumulation in the study area. Especially, sewage irrigation and atmosphere deposition accounted for a large proportion (28.14% and 41.03% for UNMIX and PMF, respectively). Moreover, isotopic compositions of Pb, Zn and Cu in highly polluted soils and environment media gave further confirmation that sewage irrigation and atmosphere deposition were primary anthropogenic source. Therefore, combination of UNMIX, PMF model and Pb-Zn-Cu isotopic compositions showed good coordination in quantitative and specific source identification of heavy metals in agricultural soils.

Effects of integrated rice-duck farming on weed pressure, herbivore-predator interactions and economic benefits

ABSTRACT This study was conducted to evaluate whether conventional farming can be replaced by a lower chemical pollution farming system, integrated rice-duck farming in a suburban agricultural area in northern Zhejiang, Southeast China. We comprehensively assessed the impacts of integrated rice-duck farming on weeds and herbivorous insects along with their natural enemies during the rice-growing season. We found that the rice-duck system effectively controlled weeds within the paddy fields. Nevertheless, the abundance of herbivores, particularly planthoppers and leafhoppers was increased in the duck-roaming paddy fields compared to the control and conventional fields, indicating the inefficiency of the rice-duck system in the control of rice main herbivore pests. Rice-duck farming significantly reduced the abundance of predators, especially spiders and dragonflies, therefore an ‘enemy-free space’ was created for herbivores which might be responsible for the observed herbivore increase in the rice-duck fields. Despite the inefficiency of rice-duck farming in the control of rice main herbivore pests, the net income of the rice-duck treatment with an organic certification was 7.6 and 1.4 times higher compared to the conventional and control treatments, respectively. In the view of the favourable results obtained in this study, the integrated rice-duck farming system might be suggested as a high economic return organic farming method suitable for modern farmers.

Optimal Land Use Structure for Sustainable Agricultural Development—A Case Study in Changsha County, South Central China

Environmental and social problems caused by overfertilization, excessive pesticides, and encroachment on farmland are increasingly serious in agricultural settings, especially in suburban agricultural areas and highly intensive agricultural areas. Hence, modern agriculture not only pursues economic benefits, but it also pays more attention to ecological functions and social stability. This paper proposes a set of methods which are designed to realize optimal agricultural benefits and sustainable development by scientifically adjusting the land use structure. Taking Changsha County in South Central China as a case study, this paper first built an index system and adopted the information entropy-TOPSIS method to assess the economic, social, and ecological benefits of agricultural land use. Next, a coupled coordination model and an obstacle model were chosen to diagnose those factors that remained as obstacles to achieving the sustainable and coordinated development of the benefits of agricultural land use. Finally, based on the analysis of the changes in the benefits and obstacles over time, socio-economic and ecological constraints were established, and the multi-objective linear programming method (MOLP) was used to determine the comprehensive benefits and optimal land use structure. The results indicate that: (1) The agricultural benefits were stably increasing from 0.20 in 1996 to 0.79 in 2016. (2) The economic benefit index is no longer the main obstacle, while the social benefit index, which includes components such as the food security index, has become the principal influencing factor. (3) The optimal land use structure and comprehensive benefits were presented by taking into consideration the economic development, environmental protection, and social needs. This study emphasizes economic development, but it also seeks coordinated development with comprehensive benefits. The results of the study could provide scientific recommendations for optimizing the agricultural land use spatial patterns and sustainable land use.

When Lisbon met the Team 10 Cluster City

In the aftermath of the Doorn Manifesto (1954), Team 10 members synthesize their earlier projects into a new urban model: the Cluster City. In 1961, the Lisbon Technical Office for Housing (Gabinete Técnico de Habitação) – GTH was established to support the Portuguese government in solving an ongoing housing shortage. Soon, this new office planned the urbanization of the Chelas Valley, a large suburban agricultural area situated in the East area of Lisbon. This plan tested approaches to neighbourhood planning unprecedented in the municipality. The Zone I of the Plan, by Francisco Silva Dias and Luís Vassalo Rosa (1966) was the first to be implemented, echoing in practice the principles of the Doorn Manifesto.
 In this essay, we identify the urban forms used in this Plan, and the ‘ground rules’ which structured it and influenced its change over time. Furthermore, we ask how sustainable this Cluster City is, and whether it can shed some light in the recent demise of emblematic examples like Toulouse-Le Mirail and Robin Hood Gardens.

Trends in urban storm water quality in Tallinn and influences from stormflow and baseflow

Temporal trends provide a good interpretation of change in stormwater quality over time. This study aimed to analyse trends and influences due to stormflow and baseflow. Grab samples of 18-19 years from 1995 to 2014 recorded at outlets of 7 Tallinn watersheds were analysed for monotonic trend through seasonal Mann Kendall test for long-term, short-term, baseflow and stormflow. Statistically significant downward trends (P-value (p) < 0.05) were found for 6 – hydrocarbon (HC), 1 – suspended solids (SS), 3 – biological oxygen demand (BOD), 4 – total nitrogen (TN) and 2 – total phosphorus (TP) out of 7 sampling outlets over the last 10 years. Less significant decreasing trends (p > 0.05 and < 0.2) for 3 – SS, 1 – BOD, 1 – TN and 1 – TP were identified. Statistically significant long-term upward trends of pH were re-vealed in 5 basins, which reduced to 2 with 5 less significant upward trends over the 10 year period, indicating improve-ments in pH reduction. Härjapea has the highest pH without trend but it includes an upward trend of TN at p = 0.051. The highly possible causes for downward trends are street sweeping, sewer network improvement, decline in sub-urban agri-cultural areas, etc. The upward trend results of pH are related to increased alkalinisation due to acidic rain, weathering of carbonate rocks, sewage discharge and alkaline road dust. In most of the basins, stormflow has more influence on trends than baseflow.

Assessment of long-term wastewater irrigation impacts on the soil geochemical properties and the bioaccumulation of heavy metals to the agricultural products

An extensive field survey was employed for assessing the impacts of long-term wastewater irrigation of forage crops and orange orchards in three suburban agricultural areas in Cyprus (areas I, II, and III), as compared to rainfed agriculture, on the soil geochemical properties and the bioaccumulation of heavy metals (Zn, Ni, Mn, Cu, Co) to the agricultural products. Both ryegrass fields and orange orchards in areas I and II were continuously wastewater irrigated for 10years, whereas clover fields in area III for 0.5, 4, and 8years. The results revealed that wastewater reuse for irrigation caused a slight increase in soil salinity and Cl(-) content in areas I and II, and a remarkable increase, having strong correlation with the period in which wastewater irrigation was practiced, in area III. Soil salinization in area III was due to the high electrical conductivity (EC) of the wastewater applied for irrigation, attributed to the influx of seawater to the sewage collection network in area III. In addition, the wastewater irrigation practice resulted in a slight decrease of the soil pH values in area III, while a subtle impact was identified regarding the CaCO3, Fe, and heavy metal content in the three areas surveyed. The heavy metal content quantified in the forage plants' above-ground parts was below the critical levels of phytotoxicity and the maximum acceptable concentration in dairy feed, whereas heavy metals quantified in orange fruit pulp were below the maximum permissible levels (MPLs). Heavy metal phytoavailability was confined due to soil properties (high pH and clay content), as evidenced by the calculated low transfer factor (TF).

エネルギー収支・経済性・環境負荷からみたバイオマス利活用シナリオの評価

Two biomass utilization scenarios in a suburban agricultural area were evaluated from the points of energy, profitability and greenhouse gas emission. One scenario was energy crop cultivation for ethanol production at idle paddy field which was compared to preservation of the field. The other was methane fermentation to generate electricity and liquid fertilizer which was compared to composting of livestock manure. The biomass use system was divided into stages of production, transportation, conversion and utilization of energy and materials originated from biomass. This evaluation methodology could clarify the effects of the scenarios and remarks.

水鳥の飛来地の環境に関するＣＨＡＩＤによる住民意識の分析

This paper analyze residents' attitudes toward the mangrove vegetation, which affects a habitats for waterfowls in Lake Man, Okinawa, and toward the volunteer activities to conserve the environments in and around the lake. Lake Man, which is on the list of the Ramsar Convention with other twelve wetlands in Japan, is highly admired as a habitat of waterfowls. In recent years, the mangrove area there has been expanding too rapidly, and the wetland area has been decreasing. In the opinion of the experts, the expansion of the mangrove forest is undesirable to the conservation of the habitat of waterfowls, and the mangrove area should at least be kept at the present level. The purposes of this paper are to verify whether the attitude of the residents is consistent with that of the experts, and to analyze which kinds of residents' attributes including their place of residence make the difference of the attitudes. We use CHAID to segment residents' attributes statistically and to verify the characteristics of each group in the attitudes toward the conservation of Lake Man.The main results of the CHAID analysis are as follows. (1) Although the experts suggest the rapid expansion of the mangrove area decrease habitat of waterfowls, more than half of the residents wish to maintain the mangrove area at the present level. (2) the residents in suburban agricultural area (Tomigusukushi) think more highly on the mangrove than urban area (Naha-shi), and then they are more inclined to wish the expansion of the mangrove swamp. (3) Those who set a lower valuation on the mangrove and appreciate the lake as a habitat of waterfowls are tend to have higher WTP for supporting the volunteer activities to clean Lake Man.This paper show that the residents attitude toward the environmental conservation in Lake Man is not always consistent with the opinion of the experts. It is necessary to make a consensus among the residents by the enlightenment about the importance of the lake as a habitat of waterfowls and the present state of the mangrove swamp

Coyote (Canis latrans) Habitat use and Mortality in Grand Teton National Park and Suburban-Agricultural Areas of Jackson Hole, Wyoming

A study of coyote (Canis latrans) habitat use and mortality in Grand Teton National Park and the suburban-agricultural land surrounding Jackson, WY was conducted between September 1999 and August 2000. This research focused on the influence of human development, habitat type, topography, and simulated wolf presence on coyote habitat use and on coyote mortality patterns in undeveloped and suburban-agricultural land. The overall goal of this project was to provide baseline information on the coyote population in Jackson Hole that can be used in the future to determine what, if any, impact wolves and human developments may have on coyotes. There were a total of fifteen radio-collared coyotes in the suburban-agricultural area and fourteen radio collared coyotes in Grand Teton National Park and adjacent areas in the National Elk Refuge and Bridger-Teton National Forest. Marked coyotes were tracked weekly using short interval telemetry relocations and triangulation to determine habitat use patterns. During the winter, track transects were skied weekly and coyote trails were backtracked and mapped using hand held GPS units to determine fine scale habitat use patterns. Coyote mortality was determined via telemetry and direct observation. Preliminary data analyses suggest that coyotes use mainly sagebrush-grasslands or forest-shrub-grass edge areas and avoid forest interior areas. Coyotes frequently use trails and roads in the undeveloped area when moving long distances. Preliminary analysis also indicates that roads and trails are used in a greater proportion than their abundance on the landscape. Coyotes were frequently observed using riparian corridors to move between open meadows in the suburban-agricultural area. There is some evidence that suggests coyotes selectively travel fences and irrigation ditches for long distances in agricultural areas. The movement data also suggests that coyotes avoid developed areas during the day and travel in these developed areas at night. The data on coyote locations suggests some avoidance of wolf urine scent grids in the undeveloped area, but not in the developed area. Coyote mortality was primarily human caused, and coyotes that were male, transient, and lived in the suburban-agricultural area were the most commonly killed animals.

Antibodies to Arboviruses in House Sparrows (Passer domesticus) in the Czech Republic

Antibodies to Arboviruses in House Sparrows (Passer domesticus) in the Czech Republic

都市近郊農業地域における平地林の減少要因

In suburban agricultural area, woods called as ‘Heichirin’ have been maintained on the strong tie with agriculture and rural lifestyle, but today deforestation is occurring with changing agricultural structure and urbanization. This study analyses decreasing woods in Ami-town (Ibaraki Pref.) for 20 years and identifies factors influencing this phenomenon. Ami-town is a plain village and its land has increasingly become residential and industrial in recent years. Area of woods is diminished by about 170 hectare in the 20 years between 1970 and 1990. The diminishing rate is remarkably high especially in urbanization promotion area.In order to analyse determinants of diminishing woods, first, the 42 settlements in Ami-town are classified into 4 groups according to their socio-economic conditions as of 1970; Groupl is an agricultural district, Group2 has a large residential area in early times, Group3 has a large industrial area in farmland, Group4 is a developed area.Second, on the ground of the above classification, we analyse correlation between changein socio-economic condition and diminishing rate of total area of woods in each settlement. Then three changes in condition are pointed out; (1) Development in agricultural side in 1960's, (2) Conversion of woodsinto industrial park and increase in farmers with a side job, (3) Population growth since 1980.Third, multiple regression analysis is used in order to find the factors in each forest unit's character. We examine positive and negative correlation between the vanished forest units and their characters. Mainly, factors such as designation of specific areas (urbanization promotion area), spatial mass (larger scale), road accessibility (nearer to the roads) and topographical condition (artificial landform) have positive correlation.In conclusion, the main factors of decreasing woods are 1) Demands of land parallel with the shift in industrial conditions, 2) Spatial conditions of each forest unit covering designation of specific areas, topographical condition, and so on.Thus in order to conserve woods, public support is necessary. In Group2 and 4, which have been urbanized earlier, public support to prevent conversion of woods into built-up area is needed. In groupl and 3, people own woods as property and are not willing to pay for the management. Public supports motivating woods management for the owners are needed.

市民農園を契機とした村づくりのプロセスと効果 神戸市西区松本地区

Reorganization of village is advanced in Matsumoto district, Kobe City located in the suburban agricultural area starting with the work in the allotment garden. In this paper, we clarified the process of reorganization of village mainly composed of the allotment garden, and considered the effects which it accomplished and the problem in the future. The following five points were pointed out as a condition that reorganization of village was able to be approved and promoted in this district. 1) The leader who had advanced consideration existed, and thry worked on reorganization of village positively, 2) Effective role which land improvement district and land improvement project played, 3) Publicrelations to resdent by organization magazine, 4) Promotion system of reorganization of village in the administration, 5) Conditions of location and social condition this district is given.

The Development of Diamond Hill From Village to Squatter Area

This article will attempt to explain how and why Diamond Hill, which was a suburban agricultural area in New Kowloon, Hong Kong until 1945, became a squatter area in the late 1940s and 1950s. In order to do this, I will examine not only the specific events that occurred in Diamond Hill, but also the organization of the state, particularly the practices of land administration in New Kowloon. It is also necessary to place the developments in Diamond Hill in the context of the post-war and the government's solution of public housing combined with toleration of squatting under certain circumstances. These analyses of the wider history of Hong Kong are crucial in understanding what happened in Diamond Hill because they help to explain the specific type of urbanization that occurred. However, the way in which residents reacted also played a major role in the final outcome. The advantage of examining one particular area in the wider context is that it allows us to examine the specific processes that produced one of the many squatter areas still existing in Hong Kong. These processes are not exactly the same as those that occurred elsewhere in the territory. For example, certain parts of New Kowloon were extensively urbanized before 1941, and have since developed very differently. Other parts of New Kowloon have still, even now, limited development potential and have also developed in quite different ways. Through a re-examination of the housing problem in the crucial post-war period of 1945 to 1954, I will challenge the view that the Hong Kong government had no choice but to launch the public housing programme. The evidence suggests that there was another viable alternative consisting of removing a wide array of obstacles — created by the government itself — to the production of affordable, if not sanitary, housing by the private sector. A major piece of evidence for this argument is that much of the housing actually produced in Diamond Hill and other squatter areas was

CHANGES OF LAND TENURE AND AGRICULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS IN LAND READJUSTMENT PROJECTS—A CASE STUDY OF THE HORIE LAND READJUSTMENT PROJECTS IN EDOGAWA-KU, TOKYO—

Land readjustment projects have had a great influence on providing urban areas with subdivisions in Japan as they are said to be a mother of town planning. In a suburban area, these projects have been used as a method of preventing urban sprawl. Put the projects are not always supported by those who live where the projects are planned. The major reasons of this are these two: one is that the people have to bear the expenses for operating the project and offer some of their land for public facilities such as parks, schools and roads, and the other is that houses are built close to the farmland, making the farming conditions worse rapidly. In this paper, the writer summarizes land readjustment projects in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area, and focuses on changes of land tenure, destruction of agriclture, and environmental problems consequent to the projects, through the case study of the Hone Land Adjustment Project which was planned for the south end district, facing Tokyo Bay, in Edogawa-ku, Tokyo. And through the study, the following tendencies can be recognized. 1. Projects promoted by an individual or an association account for the largest percentage in case and area of all the land adjustment projects in Tokyo which are based on the Land Readjustment Project Act. Cases of the Projects are often found in the Tama district (especially in the Tama Hilly district) after 1970, thought they were found in the special ward area (especially in Adachi-ku, Katsushika-ku, Itabashi-ku, and Edogawa-ku) before then (Fig. 1). The area of roads accounts for the largest area in all the public facilities constructed by these land readjustment. 2. Hone, once a marsh, was reclaimed in the middle of Edo Period by the inhabitants of Urayasu adjacent to Hone, Chiba Prefecture. The inhabitants of Hone cultivated layer and grew vegetables, and they sold these products to wholesellers in Tokyo. But in 1960's, land subsidence had been occurring continually, and the cumulative subsidence (from 1960 to 1973) amounted 1.703 m, so the farmland became a marsh again (Fig. 3). Moreover in 1963, the reclamation of Tokyo Bay deprived the Hone inhabitants of the right of layer cultivation. These two facts made it difficult for the inhabitants to earn their living only by agriculture and fishing. 3. The enterprises and real estate agents bought these marshes as a speculation (Fig. 4). 4. As urbanization was going on with the construction of the Tozai Subway Line, the Hone Land Readjustment Project was planned in 1968. Most of the leaders of the project were chosen from people who had some land in Hone, but who lived outside Hone. They owned the land as a speculation. 5, In the process that farmers in Hone were leaving agriculture the project was planned, and all the farmers were determined to leave agriculture through the project. 6. The area of roads which were included in the Tokyo Metroporitan Town Planning is larger in all the area of the roads built by the project. After the completion of the project, small houses are being built densely in Hone (Fig. 5). 7. Some industries and individuals who bought these marshes filled up the marshes with various industrial wastes. Especially sexivalent chrome among them caused soil pollution and it affected the operation of the project (Figs. 3 and 5). Soil pollution caused the price of the land temporarily to fall. Unless the method of handling the soil with such industrial wastes is made clear, it would be difficult to solve the problem of soil pollution in Hone. The high price of land potentialized by the project can be realized when it is sold, so the people who owned the land as a speculation got the most benefit of the project. The Hone Land Readjustment Project changed the suburban agricultural area to a residential section. This residential community is far from a well-established one.

Maintenance and Reallocation of Green Belts and Urban Environments

1. Basic Viewpoint on the Maintenanace and Reallocation of Urban Environments(1) Concept of the Urban Environmental SystemAn urban environment with its organic relations of natural, social and economic facilities constitutes a system of its own. Consequently an urban environmental system should be defined not only by its ecological and natural conditions, but social and economic conditions, and its efficiency and safety should be guaranteed for the total of these conditions.(2) Analysis of Indicators of Urban EnvironmentsIn order to grasp the conditions of an urban environmental system, indicators of urban environments were set and their overall analysis was attempted. First, the situation of air pollution was analyzed by means of indicator plants, and the degrees of pollution were classified into several ranks for the analysis of local ecological conditions.Secondly, the socio-economic conditions centering around the supply conditions of public goods were compared between various localities (with a city, town, or village, as a unit of comparison) to examine the levels of distribution of public goods.Thirdly, the degree of urbanization and the distribution of the residual green belts in various localities were surveyed and analyzed.2. Classification of Green Environments(1) Evaluation and Classification of Urban EnvironmentsThe indicators of urban environments were observed, and their overall results were used to classify the environmental conditions in the areas within a radius of 50 kilometers from the center of the metropolitan zone.Urban areas with more than average levels of artificial environmental goods but with deteriorated conditions regarding green belts and ecological environment were found more often in the old urban area, while those areas with less than average levels of artificial environmental goods but with relatively good levels of green belts and ecological environment were frequently found in the rural areas outside the urban area. The newly developed urban areas between these two types of areas were found fraught with environmental difficulties because of inadequate methods of development. Their levels of artificial environmental goods were inadequate, and many of them faced such disruptions as rapid destruction of green belts and increasingly smaller segmentalization in the use of land. The congestion in urbanization was represented in these areas, which were urgently required to make overall solutions of the development of the urban environmental system.(2) Evaluation and Classification of Green EnvironmentsThe levels of green environmental goods in various localities were determined through the classification of the areas by the environmental indicators, and then the functions and distribution of the green environmental goods were examined.The green environments are largely classified into parks, farms and forests. The parks in the zone studied were generally limited in number, and their levels were far lower than those in the urban areas in the developed countries of the West. In the newly developed urban areas, farms and forests were destroyed, and their irregular developments interfered the proper progress of the land utilization. For the green areas in the zone between 30 and 50 kilometers from the metropolitan center, steps of conservation should be taken urgently in the orderly development and utilization of land.The development and distribution of urban parks and green areas are needed as the daily area of recreation for the urban inhabitants. Regarding the green belts for agriculture and forestry as found in the Tama highland range, Miura and Boso peninsulas, steps of preservation should be taken for the green belts connecting woods in old mansions, forests in Shrines, and green areas in river beds along with the development as the suburban agricultural areas.