Overview of Kansai Research Center

Introduction

The Kansai Research Center performs research on forests and forestry in the Kinki and Chugoku districts and in a part of the Hokuriku district.

Many excellent forest plantations have been maintained for a long time because of the establishment of ancient capitals in the region. However, urbanization and industrialization are progressing in these districts, Satoyama* and suburban forests have been degraded, and valuable natural forest ecosystems have been fragmented. Furthermore, recent years have brought about more advanced and diversified demands on forests, reflecting people' s yearning for comfortable and safe lives as well as a spiritual connection to the land.

Thus, our goal at the Kansai Research Center is the development of integrated forest management practices by resolving the mechanisms of the various functions of the Satoyama and suburban forests. As we seek to establish ideal relationships between nature and human society, these aims include the maintenance of biodiversity, conservation of the environment, formation of scenic landscapes, and production of timber.

Moreover, through collaborations with the Headquarter , the other Regional Research Centers and the Forest Tree Breeding Centers in the Institute, the Kansai Research Center is studying national and worldwide problems, such as global warming.

*Satoyama; Traditional rural forest landscapes integrated with village and cultivated areas