Land use change from traditional to modern eras: Saitama prefecture, Japan

Abstract

This study investigated changes in land use from the traditional era(1880s) to the modern era (1990s) in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. Shortly after Japan opened their country to foreign trade, but before outside influence had affected land use, the first mapped survey of Japan was undertaken. These original 1880s maps, which revealed traditional land use patterns, were compared with modern land use through geographic information system analysis. The amount of paddy field remained essentially unchanged between the 1880s and the 1990s, but forest vegetation decreased from 39% to 20%, and urban development land increased from 5% to 24% of the area. A comparison of land use change on each landform type indicated that land use patterns were determined more by the capability of the land in the 1880s than in the 1990s. An analysis of the transition in vegetation revealed that natural succession was underway in much of the woodland © 2007 Springer Netherlands.