Spatial Distribution of Local Forest Products at the End of the 19th Century: A Case Study of Former Villages in Iwate Prefecture

Abstract

Recent research in Japan has investigated how local people historically utilized natural resources, using geographic information systems (GIS). These works have helped to clarify the role of forest provisioning services in the past, and have shown how modern landscapes were formed. The aim of this study was to elucidate the utilization of plant resources in forest landscapes of both fields and mountains, in the late 19th century in Iwate Prefecture, located in northeastern Japan. This study focused on a different area and a larger scale than previous studies, and included information from 642 villages. This study specifically focused on what kinds of forest products were historically used and shipped, which species were used, and how these uses were distributed around the prefecture. A combination of historical documents and GIS mapping, named MANDARA, was employed. The primary historical document was “The topography of Iwate Prefecture” that was published from 1876 to 1885, and recorded the products used in each village. A wide range of forest products were recorded, which contained both edible and inedible plants further split into 10 primary categories: edible wild plants, mushrooms, nuts and berries, medical herbs, timber, agricultural and construction materials, fuel, tree sap, bark, and others. Many villages also produced various secondary processed goods. Fifty-two species were specified as forest products, which included some estimation, and were composed of 19 herbaceous and 23 arboreal species. GIS mapping of each village indicated that firewood and charcoal were shipped to towns located in southern Iwate, from around Kesen County. People might trade these fuel woods on markets. On the other hand, chestnut (Castanea crenata S. et Z.) and acorn were produced in the low-density populated area all around Iwate.