About Ogawa Forest Reserve

Overview

  • Located in Oshoyama National Forest, Ibaraki District Forest Office, Kanto Regional Forest Office of the Forestry Agency, northern Ibaraki Prefecture, Central Japan.
  • The surrounding area is a gentle hill, and it is considered that there has been human disturbance such as cattle grazing, burning, and collecting fallen leaves since ancient times, but as of 2022, there has been no human disturbance for nearly 100 years.
  • A mature deciduous broad-leaved forest is formed with many tree species. Dominant tree species are konara oak (Quercus serrata), Japanese beech (Fagus crenata), and Japanese blue beech (Fagus japonica).
  • Since 1969, it has been designated as a protected forest by the Kanto Regional Forest Office of the Forestry Agency (currently called "Ogawa Beech" protected forest).
  • In 1987, the Ogawa research site (6 ha) was established in the central part of the protected forest to study the long-term dynamics of the forest.
  • Since 2004, it has been registered as one of the Ministry of the Environment's Monitoring Sites 1000.
  • Since 2006, it has been registered as a core site of JaLTER (Japan Long Term Ecological Research Network).
  • Grand design of Ogawa Forest Reserve
  • Seed traps
  • Seedling census
  • Current year seedling of Japanese beech (Fagus crenata)
  • Current year seedling of Japanese oak (Quercus crispula)
  • Fruits of Japanese bird cherry (Padus grayana)
  • Spring ephemeral: Dogtooth violet (Erythronium japonicum)
  • Gap due to the fall of large beech
  • Flowers of Japanese wisteria (Wisteria floribunda)