Recent
Progress and activities on LTER in Japan
Nakashizuka,
Tohru
Center for
Ecological Research, Kyoto University, Japan
Several
activities as bellows have been conducted in these two years to establish the
network of long-term ecological researches and research sites both domestically
and internationally.
1) Working Group on LTER in Ecological Society of Japan
The
working group above was established at the annual meeting of the Ecological
society of Japan in Kyoto, March 1998. The working groups are to have
discussion to promote LTER and international correspondence.
2) New Institute on Global Environment Studies
The
ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture (MESSC), Japan is planning
to have a new institute on global environmental studies. The plan includes the
field stations for long-term researches, and networks among the existing field
research sites.
3) US-Japan Young Scientists Exchange Programs
In
1998 and 1999, US graduate students and senior researchers visited several
Japanese sites of long-term ecological researches, and had seminars in CER,
Kyoto University (1998) and Tomakomai Experimental Forests (1999). Also,
Japanese graduate students visited several US LTER sites in the both years.
These activities were funded by National Science Foundation (NSF, US) and
Japanese Society for Promotion of Science (JSPS).
4) Domestic meeting on promotion of LTERs in Japan
The
Ministry of Education has funded to have a domestic meeting on the promotion of
LTERs. In September 1999, we summarize the present condition of the Japanese
LTERs ongoing in the field stations of various institutions and discuss on the
future progress.
5) DIVERSITAS in Western Pacific and Asia (DIWPA)
As
a regional organization to promote biodiversity studies in Western Pacific and
Asia, DIWPA was established in 1993. It plans to have Biodiversity Observation
Year in 2001 inviting many LTER sites in this region.