Traditional ecological knowledge of natural resource management in satoyama vegetation as source of building materials of traditional farmhouses in Japan

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25340107
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Environmental and ecological symbiosis
• Research Institution: Shinshu University
• Principal Investigator: IDA Hideyuki 信州大学, 学術研究院教育学系, 准教授 (70324217)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): TSUCHIMOTO Toshikazu 信州大学, 学術研究院工学系, 教授 (60247327) ; HOYANO Shigeo 信州大学, 学術研究院工学系, 准教授 (70377646)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 伝統的生態学的知識 / 木造民家 / 自然資源 / 里山林 / ブナ林 / 茅場 / 中山間地 / 持続利用

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We examined traditional knowledge of sustainable natural resource use associated with the traditional farmhouses in central Japan from an ecological perspective. We found that tree species composition in nearby forests determined how wood is used, and that wood strength in structural timber is important. Satoyama forest is used as a timber source and is characterized by the patchy distribution of trees; it is managed sustainably, using the regeneration traits of varying tree species. In semi-natural grasslands that produce thatching material, annual burning and mowing are used to maintain a high quality of thatching grass. Thus, people living in traditional farmhouses are a rich source of traditional ecological knowledge that can be used to sustainably manage natural resources.

Free Research Field

景観生態学