The Relationships between Flowering of Forest Floor Plants and Forest Management at Michinoku Lakewood National Government Park

Diversity in plant species on the floor of coppice forest forms beautiful forest floor scenery. The purpose of this study was to examine conservation measures to maintain the flowering of forest floor plants. A case study was conducted to understand the relationships between forest management and flowering of forest floor plants in the Michinoku Lakewood National Government Park in Kawasaki Town, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. Flowering ratios of Disporum smilacinum, Ainsliaea acerifolia var. subapoda, Tricyrtis affinis, etc. were increased in plots with thinning and brush cutting, and in plots with brush cutting. Flowering ratios of Rhododendron obtusum var. kaempferi, Epimedium grandiflorum var. thunbergianum and Veratrum maackii var. maackioides were increased in plots only with thinning and brush cutting. These results showed that thinning is necessary to increase flowering of R. obtusum var. kaempferi etc. Brush cutting without thinning was also effective to increase flowering of D. smilacinum, A. acerifolia var. subapoda, T. affinis, etc.