Creation and Maintenance of Woodland in the Revegetation Technology - History of Environmental Woodland and its Importance in Japan -

녹화분야(綠化分野)로부터 본 수림(樹林)의 조성(造成)과 보전(保全) - 일본(日本)에 있어서 환경림(環境林)의 역사(歷史)와 그 필요성(必要性) -

In recent Japan, the demand for woodland creation on revegetation sites is increasing. In the forests and woodlands, we can find many functions of environmental conservation, in addition of biomaterial production, and all of these existences with such functions are defined as environmental woodlands. Many woodlands has been created from old times for the purpose of forest conservation and flood control, and most of these technology are handed down to present time. After Edo era (from the beginning of Meiji era, 1867), some valuable examples of woodlands were created, like Meiji shrine woodland in Tokyo. After the World War II, a lot of technology for woodland revegetation, such as ecological tree planting, have been developed. At present, many revegetation sites are aiming at woodland creation, like on man-made slope, etc.. In the great change of social structure, revegetation technology is also required to keep in close relationships to the restoration of devastated existing forests and woodlands, and to provide many technology for the restoration of secondary woodland, preservation of soil, mitigation, reclamation, etc.. Now in Japan, the improvement of environment including all the member of biosphere is demanded on a large scale. Therefore, revegetation technology should also try to make an activity taking a broad view of the restoration of natural vegetation in addition to the traditional and new woodland creation.