Shizuka Hashimoto

Analysis of the ability of water resources to reduce the urban heat island in the Tokyo megalopolis

Simulation procedure integrated with multi-scale in horizontally regional-urban-point levels and in vertically atmosphere-surface-unsaturated-saturated layers, was newly developed in order to predict the effect of urban geometry and anthropogenic exhaustion on the hydrothermal changes in the atmospheric/land and the interfacial areas of the Japanese megalopolis. The simulated results suggested that the latent heat flux in new water-holding pavement (consisting of porous asphalt and water-holding filler made of steel by-products based on silica compound) has a strong impact on hydrologic cycle and cooling temperature in comparison with the observed heat budget. We evaluated the relationship between the effect of groundwater use as a heat sink to tackle the heat island and the effect of infiltration on the water cycle in the urban area. The result indicates that effective management of water resources would be powerful for ameliorating the heat island and recovering sound hydrologic cycle there.

A GIS-based evaluation of the effect of decontamination on effective doses due to long-term external exposures in Fukushima.

Despite the enormous cost of radiation decontamination, there has been almost no quantitative discussion on how much it would reduce the long-term external radiation exposure in the Evacuation Zone and Planned Evacuation Zone (restricted zone) in Fukushima. The aim of this study is to assess the effectiveness of decontamination and return options and to identify important parameters for estimating the long-term cumulated effective dose (CED) during 15, 30 and 70 year period using data on land-use, population and decontamination in the restricted zone (about 1100 km(2)) in Fukushima. Decontamination of the land is assumed to have a certain efficacy in terms of the reduction of CED. The EeCC (external exposure conversion coefficient) is the parameter having the greatest effect on the percentage of area having CED during the 30 years above 100 m Sv after decontamination, ranging from 13% (EeCC=0.2) to 55% (EeCC=0.6). Therefore, we recommend a detailed investigation of the EeCC in Japan.

Rice-related greenhouse gases in Japan, variations in scale and time and significance for the Kyoto Protocol

The contribution of rice production to the three major greenhouse gases CO2, CH4 and N2O in 1990, the base year of the Kyoto protocol is investigated for Japan. For the CO2 assessment, we use a top-down life cycle approach, CH4 is assessed using the Japanese GHG emission inventory and N2O is assessed according to the ratio of rice area divided by the total area of agricultural soils. In total, 1.6% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 1990 originated from rice production. Next, we assess regional variations in nine rice-producing regions, based on the CO2 data of 1990. General trends in rice production from 1960 to 2000 and data from the Japanese GHG emission inventory since 1990 are used to assess variations in time. The rice-related GHG emissions decreased to 1.05% of the total GHG emissions in 2001 and will be less than half the 1990 level in 2012, mainly due to the decrease in rice production. Contrary to the trend in GHG emissions of rice, overall GHG emissions increased as rice production fulfils important roles, in mitigating global warming and in adapting to changing climates. The protection of rice production is required to counter the increase of GHG emissions in transportation, waste and domestic sectors and to minimize problems related to landscape, water and natural hazard management.

Mapping and characterizing ecosystem services of social–ecological production landscapes: case study of Noto, Japan

Improving our understanding about ecosystem production, function, and services is central to balancing both conservation and development goals while enhancing human well-being. This study builds a scientific basis for conservation and development planning by exploring the types, abundance, and spatial variation in ecosystem services in the Noto Peninsula of Japan, a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems. Although the Noto Peninsula is recognized as an important social–ecological production landscape, limited quantitative information about ecosystem services is available. This study evaluates and maps ecosystem services and explores their spatial variation using original data obtained through questionnaire surveys and secondary data from literature, statistics, and geographic information systems. The hilly and mountainous geography of the Noto Peninsula and its remoteness from large consumption markets work as constraints for agricultural provisioning services by limiting water resources, labor productivity, and choice of economically viable crops. However, the rich forests, and marine and coastal resources provide various economic opportunities for forest-, fishery-, and livestock-related provisioning services. Geographical conditions such as land use and cover type also play an important role in differentiating the spatial variation of regulating services, a variation that starkly differs to distribution patterns in other areas. Unlike provisioning and regulating services, natural and artificial landscape components including traditional and cultural constructions such as shrines and temples work as an anchor to help people appreciate intangible and tangible cultural services, linking different services to specific locales across the Noto Peninsula.

Fostering biocultural diversity in landscapes through place-based food networks: a “solution scan” of European and Japanese models

Many Japanese and European landscapes harbor biocultural diversity that has been shaped by human agency over centuries. However, these landscapes are threatened by widespread land abandonment, land-use changes, and urbanization. The aim of this study is to use a “solution scanning” method to identify place-based food networks in Europe and Japan that reinforce linkages between biological and cultural diversity in landscapes. In our analysis of 26 European and 13 Japanese cases, we find that place-based food networks are typically located in heterogeneous landscapes, are driven by civil society (and less by markets), and act at a local scale. Regional identity is the most frequently addressed societal issue. Scenery, rural tourism, and nature conservation are more important motivations in Europe, and physical well-being and revitalization of local economies are more relevant in Japan. European models are typically associated with achieving biodiversity conservation and socio-cultural tradition outcomes, and Japanese models more with public health and nutrition outcomes. We discuss the potential for transfer of approaches from Japan to Europe (e.g., models that tackle the aging of rural societies), and from Europe to Japan (e.g., models that build explicit connections between food production and biodiversity conservation). We conclude with a list of recommended policy measures, e.g., the creation of a flexible legal framework that protects the interests of and reduces political constraints for collaborative efforts to biocultural diversity in landscapes.

Forest stewardship council certificate for a group of planters in Vietnam: SWOT analysis and implications

A group of smallholders in Vietnam has obtained Forest Stewardship Council certification (FSC) for their Acacia plantation forest. Although the certification aims to improve livelihoods via economic, social, and environmental benefits, there are concerns amongst smallholders regarding the outcomes from their certification decision as well as difficulties in maintaining the certification. This article assesses the benefits and challenges of forest management certification from the perspective of small household groups who have achieved FSC certification. The FSC has brought new opportunities for farmers, such as increased selling price and extended trade networks, but is also associated with significant obstacles such as high initial and annual surveillance audit fees, difficult paper work, and complicated procedures for selling wood. Additionally, the small size of the plantations and low expertise in forest management make it more difficult and costly for farmers to achieve certification. There is a heavy dependency on donors for financial and technical support. Because subsidies from organizations like the World Wide Fund for Nature Vietnam are unlikely to continue indefinitely, the benefit of certification for smallholders is uncertain. Feasible actions to increase the sustainability of the group are suggested, including increasing the responsibility of the group members, enhancing the awareness and capacity of the local people, and searching for additional support from other organizations and wood processing companies. From the macro level, a national forest stewardship council should be established so that the audit cost for certification would be reduced.

Co-design of national-scale future scenarios in Japan to predict and assess natural capital and ecosystem services

Although the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services has revealed that the development of scenarios is crucial for helping decision makers identify the potential impact of different policy options, there is a lack of reported scenario approach studies in Asia. A new 5-year research project (PANCES) has been developed for predicting and assessing the natural capital and ecosystem services in Japan using an integrated social–ecological system approach via the participation of 15 research institutions and more than 100 researchers. PANCES conducts the development of national-scale future scenarios for exploring potential changes in natural capital and ecosystem services, as well as human well-being, up to 2050 using key direct and indirect drivers including climate change, depopulation, and super-aging, as well as globalization and technological innovation. The Delphi method is employed to generate key drivers that determine different future pathways. Based on the two drivers for scenario axes identified by the Delphi survey and extensive discussion with project members and policy makers, four future scenarios are created, “Natural capital-based compact society”, “Natural capital-based dispersed society”, “Produced capital-based compact society”, and “Produced capital-based dispersed society”, respectively, in addition to the business-as-usual scenario. This study describes a novel approach for collectively designing national-scale future scenarios with qualitative storylines and a visual illustration of the developed scenarios in Japan.

Spatially explicit residential and working population assumptions for projecting and assessing natural capital and ecosystem services in Japan

In scenario studies of biodiversity and ecosystem services, the population distribution is one of the key driving forces. In this study, we developed a coupling method for narrative scenarios and spatially explicit residential and working population designs for all of Japan as a common dataset for ecosystem scenario analysis implemented by 5-year project entitled “Predicting and Assessing Natural Capital and Ecosystem Services (PANCES)”. Four narrative scenarios were proposed by the PANCES project using two axes as major uncertainties: the population distribution and the capital preference. The residential population and the working population in primary industries were calculated using a gravity-based allocation algorithm in a manner consistent with the storylines of the PANCES scenarios. Using the population distribution assumption by scenario, the population was overlaid with the natural capital and the supply potential of ecosystem services. The results supported to understand the gaps between natural capital and maintainability, and the potential of ecosystem services and realizability. The spatially explicit population distribution data products are expected to help design the nature conservation strategy and governance option in terms of both social system and ecological system.

Interactions of knowledge systems in shiitake mushroom production: a case study on the Noto Peninsula, Japan

This paper examines the relationships between traditional and modern scientific knowledge regarding shiitake mushroom production in the Ishikawa Prefecture of Japan. In the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture, the success of a new variety of shiitake, the Noto-Temari brand, has boosted the number of farmers, the majority of whom are new to mushroom production. Looking at the production of raw and dried mushrooms of the Noto-Temari brand, the paper compares the knowledge systems of conventional farmers and the newcomers to mushroom production. In the case of the premium-quality Noto-Temari brand, the newcomers achieve a higher rate of production than the conventional mushroom producers do. We apply the knowledge conversion framework of Polanyi (1966) to understand the dynamics of the knowledge system, and find that, in our case, traditional knowledge and techniques can be productive but can also represent obstacles to the adoption of new technology. In other words, it is possible that a knowledge of conventional technology interferes with the utilization of modern knowledge to grow the premium-quality Noto-Temari brand.

Development of land-use scenarios using vegetation inventories in Japan

Abstract Changes in land use and land cover (LULC) have major effects on biodiversity and ecosystem services. Land change models can simulate future trends of ecosystem services under different scenarios to inform the actions of decision makers towards building a more sustainable society. LULC data are essential inputs for predicting future land changes. It is now possible to derive high-resolution LULC maps from satellite data using remote sensing techniques. However, the classification of land categories in these maps is too limited to sufficiently assess biodiversity and ecosystem services. This study aims to develop land-use scenarios, using an appropriate LULC map, to enable assessment of biodiversity and ecosystem services at the national scale. First, we developed an LULC dataset using vegetation inventories based on field records of vegetation collected throughout the country in the periods 1978–1987, 1988–1998 and 1999–2014. The vegetation maps consist of over 905 vegetation categories, from which we aggregated the most prevalent categories into 9 LULC categories. Second, we created a business-as-usual scenario and plausible future scenarios on the land use change maps using the Land Change Model tool. In the process of developing the model, we considered key drivers including biophysical and socio-economic factors. The results showed some key land changes as consequences of intensive/extensive land-use interventions. These derived scenario maps can be used to assess the impacts of future land change on biodiversity and ecosystem services.