Crises of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in Satoyama Landscape of Japan: A Review on the Role of Management

Abstract

Satoyama is a Japanese term used to describe the traditional rural landscape in Japan. It has changed continuously from overuse to underuse stages under the development of economy and society, which caused the loss of both biodiversity and ecosystem services. In this paper, we summarized the interactions of biodiversity and ecosystem services affected by human management in Satoyama landscape. The results indicate: (1) the concepts of Satoyama forests and Satoyama landscape varied with researchers and their objectives. The most popular one is a mosaic landscape consisting of Satoyama (secondary) forests, rice paddies, grassland, ponds, irrigating systems, and rural settlements; (2) traditional management regimes on Satoyama landscape were the disturbing mechanisms to provide multiple ecosystem services, as well as a series of semi-natural habitats for species; (3) due to significant progress in economy and technology in Japan, the aging problems of farmers, industrialized agriculture, the import of ecosystem services and goods from international markets, and global climate changes eventually caused the simplification of crop plants, the invasion of alien species, the fragmentation of habitats, and the decreasing of ecosystem services;(4) future research should pay more attention to the complex mechanisms of biodiversity crises and ecosystem services at the landscape scale, considering pattern-process relationships.

Sustainability through landscapes: natural parks, satoyama, and permaculture in Japan

“…This ecological connectivity allows the joint maintenance of a diversity of natural habitats, while enabling many species to navigate across ecosystems and flourish (Grass et al 2017;Hirschfeld and Van Acker 2020). With the fragmentation of the territory by urbanisation and intensification of agriculture, the eco-hydrological connectivity is being hampered, causing biodiversity to dwindle rapidly (Jiao et al 2019). Adopting a more integrated management at the regional level, with measures such as ecological corridors between wildlife habitats and cultivated fields would overall support greater biodiversity (Watanabe et al 2012;Jiao et al 2019).…”

“…With the fragmentation of the territory by urbanisation and intensification of agriculture, the eco-hydrological connectivity is being hampered, causing biodiversity to dwindle rapidly (Jiao et al 2019). Adopting a more integrated management at the regional level, with measures such as ecological corridors between wildlife habitats and cultivated fields would overall support greater biodiversity (Watanabe et al 2012;Jiao et al 2019). On top of this regional connectivity, the sustainability of the three studied landscapes depends upon global dynamics.…”

“…Satoyama originally designates community-based landscapes consisting of upland villages and their adjacent forests cultivated for subsistence ( Figure 4). Depending on the way satoyama is defined, satoyama areas are estimated to cover between 18% and 67% of Japan's national land (Jiao et al 2019). The concept of dates back to the Edo period (1603-1868) and was revived in the 1960s by a forest ecologist -at the exact time when these landscapes and their unique biodiversity were on the verge of disappearing as a result of Japan's industrial growth, suburban development, intensive deforestation and rural exodus (Tsing 2015).…”

“…In the context of the global environmental crisis, the Japanese culture of satoyama became considered as valuable guidance to inspire ways of living that would contribute to restoring wildlife habitat connectivity (Jiao et al 2019). In 2007, the MoE hence defined Japan's 'Strategy for a Sustainable Society', drawing upon satoyama traditional wisdom and know-how of community management and sustainable use of resources.…”

Human–Nature Relationships in East Asian Animated Films

“…Humans co-exist with nature in the film, showing agricultural landscapes alongside undisturbed forests. This depicts traditional Satoyama landscapes in Japan, where agricultural landscapes, semi-natural and natural ecosystems exist side by side in a mosaic landscape [22]. Satoyama landscapes support multiple ecosystem services (i.e., benefits that humans obtain from nature), but they are disappearing in modern times due to intensive agriculture.…”