A STUDY OF THE DISTRIBUTION OF BEECH FORESTS IN NORTHERN JAPANUSING AERIAL PHOTOS AND SATELLITE IMAGES

摘要

To examine the genetic consequences of the habitat isolation of Fagus crenatarnBlume (Japanese beech), we established a study site on the southeast slope of Mt. Kurikoma.rnWe extracted DNA samples from the leaves of seedlings and mature trees. Then, we used thernmicrosatellite technique to analyze 5 polymorphic isozyme loci. So far, we have found nornsignificant decrease in allele frequency or heterozygosity. The combination of aerial photos and satellite images enabled us to detect how the research site's isolation would affect gene flow. We geometrically corrected and geo-coded materials from existing maps of forests, panchromaticrnaerial photos and LANDSAT/TM, TERRA/ASTER data using ERDAS IMAGINE and GIS. Werndetermined changes of land cover across time by the texture analysis, the brightness analysis,rnthe multi-temporal analysis, and interpretive techniques. We also created a the vegetationrncover map to visualize remnant beech forests around Mt. Kurikoma.