Human-Induced Soil Degradation in the Kitakami Mountains, Northeast Japan.

Takachi Celia Yoshimi, Inoue Katsuhiro

doi:10.4116/jaqua.38.365

There is a large degraded area of about 350ha on the ridge portion of the Kitakami mountains, especially on the windward, west-facing slope. The area has volcanic ash overlying an angular gravel layer. The soils in the area are formed of Holocene tephras, Iwate-b from Iwate volcano and Chuseri pumice from Towada volcano and Pleistocene tephras, Akita-Komagatake-g and Yanagisawa pumice, from Akita-Komagatake volcano. The degradation phenomenon is believed to have been triggered by the felling of the native beech (Fagus crenata) forest to create grassland initially for the breeding of horses and later on cattle followed by bad pasture management or mere abandonment of the land. Removal of the native forest exposes the unprotected soil to the severe periglacial environment. The exposed soil is then subjected to repeated freezing and thawing during winter which promotes wind erosion and rain out-wash. The degradation process is also enhanced by the unique properties of weathered tephric materials such as high allophane content. The ¹⁴C dating of the buried A horizon shows that degradation phenomenon started from around the Edo (270±80yrs BP) to the Meiji (100±70yrs BP) eras. Development of the degradation phenomenon in the Kitakami mountains is a result of a chain of events. After the felling of the native forest to create grasslands, the severe environmental conditions coupled with mismanagement, gave rise to the formation of the bare lands. The degradation phenomenon in the Kitakami mountains also shows the influence of the interaction between climate, topography and human activity.

Human-Induced Soil Degradation in the Kitakami Mountains, Northeast Japan.

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