Regeneration process of climax beech forests. II. Structure of a forest under the influences of grazing.

At Mt. Moriyoshi, Akita Prefecture, NE Japan, beech Fagus crenata saplings were abundant on the floor because of grazing on the dwarf bamboo Sasa. Small and middle size trees had a contagious distribution; most of them in the same contagion seemed to have emerged with a 20-50 yr period before or after gap formation. This partial regeneration of the forest took place in gaps which originated from the falling down of a single or a few trees. Beech seedlings can survive c.10 yr, but scarcely grow under a well closed canopy.-from Authors