Species composition and soil erosion on a ski area in Hokkaido,northern Japan |
| |
Authors: | Shiro Tsuyuzaki |
| |
Institution: | (1) The Institute of Low Temperature Science, Hokkaido University, 060 Sapporo, Japan |
| |
Abstract: | In 1986 and 1987, a study on factors governing revegetation on ski grounds was conducted at Teine ski ground (built in 1971)
located near the city of Sapporo in northern Japan. Soil movement, slope gradient, distance from forest edge, vegetation cover,
and number of species on the ski ground were examined. Although artificial sowing of exotic plants was undertaken in the whole
ground surface at the time of opening, bare land occurred in ca. 50% of surveyed plots and the ski ground was mostly covered
with native plants. The number of species was positively correlated to vegetation cover, which was low in the sites where
intensive soil erosions occurred in winter. A principal component analysis of plant species distinguished three major groups
of factors, i.e., vegetation cover (first axis, contribution rate 30.3%), soil erosion in winter and slope gradient (second,
23.1%), and distance from forest edge (third, 16.3%). The vegetation characteristics on the ski ground were not determined
by a single environmental gradient but by the combination of factors described above. In particular, soil movements, which
are mostly derived from snowmelt, are considered to be the initiator of vegetation changes. |
| |
Keywords: | Distance from forest edge Ski area Slope gradient Principal component analysis Soil erosion Vegetation cover |
本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录! |
|