Long‐term and interdisciplinary research on forest ecosystem functions: challenges at Takayama site since 1993

Abstract

EditorialForest ecosystems cover approximately 30 % of the terrestrial area of the Earth, and are expected to play crucial roles in regulating our environments including biodiversity and atmospheric CO 2 concentration. As the structure and functions of the forest ecosystems are consists of multiple interactions of organisms, soil chemistry and meteorological conditions, which are quite variable in time and space, challenges to understand their processes and resulting dynamics of the functions have been made by various scientific disciplines/techniques such as ecology (including ecophysiology and biogeochemistry), hydrology, micrometeorology, simulation models and remote sensing.This research has focused particularly on carbon, which is one of the ''common'' elements of ecological processes involved in ecosystems such as photosynthesis, respiration, and biomass growth, and of the interaction between the atmosphere and ecosystems, as the carbon cycle regulates biological aspects of ecosystems and hence determines the exchange of CO 2 between the atmosphere and ecosystems. In recent decades, the carbon cycle and budget have been the central theme of environmental sciences by reflecting the ongoing climate change partly due to the rise in atmospheric CO 2 . In order to achieve deeper understanding of the dynamics of the structure and functions of forest ecosystems over time and space, it is essential to conduct investigations on (1) the detailed ecological processes in the carbon cycle, (2) their interactions with the climate, (3) integrated analysis of ecological and meteorological process, and (4) observations of such structure and functions over time and space.This special issue involves such multidisciplinary and long-term challenges at the ''Takayama site'' (Fig. 1) during the last 20 years since 1993, which is located on a mountainous region in central Japan. The site mainly consist of a cool-temperate deciduous broadleaf forest (TKY) and an evergreen coniferous forest (TKC), which are part of the AsiaFlux (http://www.asiaflux.net/) and Japan Long-Term Ecological Research (JaLTER, http://www.jalter.org/) networks. The history of the Takayama site (Fig. 2) was initiated by the long-term observation of CO 2 exchange between the atmosphere and the deciduous forest, and ecological research for the carbon cycle processes in the forest, by numbers of scientists and students from several research institutes and universities Yamamoto and Koizumi 2005;

Assessment of Carbon Stock of Tree Vegetation in the Kolli Hill Forest Located in India

“…Forest ecosystems cover approximately 30 % of the terrestrial area of the world (Muraoka et al, 2015), and they are greatly recognized as important elements of global carbon as well as various other greenhouse gases that are believed to considerably affect climate (Teobaldelli et al, 2009). Trees exchange carbon dioxide with the atmosphere through biological processes and act as a major carbon sink by stocking carbon as fixed biomass, hence, assessment of tree carbon stock in forest systems is necessary to understand the potential of forests as carbon sinks.…”

The Asia‐Pacific Biodiversity Observation Network: 10‐year achievements and new strategies to 2030

“…A model case can be seen at the “Takayama site,” which is a forest research site located on a mountainous landscape in central Japan. Simultaneous measurements of the canopy phenology, photosynthesis, and spectral reflectance allow us to translate the information of ecological structure and functions to spectral information gained by in situ spectral radiometer and airborne remote sensing, followed by application to the satellite data for upscaling (Muraoka et al, 2012; Muraoka et al, 2015). We further review various monitoring activities in AP region to exploring potential for the site.…”

“…To facilitate the coordination toward concerted in situ observation networks, a new project should be initiated to (a) observe and review the findings from each plot, network and contributing research group by mapping the information by focusing on key aspects of ecosystem structure and functions such as phenology and carbon cycle; (b) catalog these findings by referring to EBVs, EOVs and Essential Climate Variables from biological perspective by considering the ecosystem integrity of the components (Haase et al, 2018); (c) analyze observation gaps in thematic and geographical means and (d) design ideal and cost‐effective observation system for operational and long‐term monitoring in the region. Multidisciplinary observation platforms would realize the plan of long‐term and collaborative observations and analysis (Mirtl et al, 2018; Muraoka, Saitoh, & Nagai, 2015).…”

Plant ecophysiological processes in spectral profiles: perspective from a deciduous broadleaf forest

“…1 ). We focused on the seasonality of a deciduous broadleaf forest at Takayama, where long-term and multidisciplinary studies on the carbon cycle have been conducted since 1993 (see Muraoka et al 2015 for details of the research focus and publications). Takayama is located on a mountainous landscape in a cool-temperate region in central Japan and the forest is dominated by oak and birch.…”