About Staff

Swidden cultivation, also known as shifting cultivation, is still practiced by many people in the mountainous areas of Southeast Asia. I have been studying the plant diversity in patchy forest cover ranging from undisturbed forest to various ages of regrowth around two villages in northern Thailand and one village in Myanmar. The comparative study conducted in the villages revealed that secondary fallow forests exhibited commonality within the vast variety of potential vegetation: 1) increase of fire-tolerant species; 2) differentiation of plant species depending on land use history; and 3) creation of habitats for short-living pioneer species. Swidden farmers use a variety of plant species appearing in fallow forests of various ages. More species were used for food and tools in young secondary fallow forests within the swidden cultivation cycle. However, forest succession after the cessation of swidden cultivation clearly alters the availability of plant resources.

Currently I am working in the mountainous areas of Shimane prefecture, Japan. Because of the remoteness and “difficulty” in living, together with the reduced opportunities for income generation, a considerable amount of out-migration occurred since the 1960s. Many cultivated areas have been abandoned since then. In addition, the decline in domestic timber prices has resulted in the abandonment of plantation areas. Data on the history, culture, agriculture, environment, historical relationships of local people and natural resources are being collected with local people, in order to reexamine the attractive potential resources in the area and identify appropriate forest management plans in the area.