NAKASHIMA Naohisa Assistant Professor

ThemeThe study on the relationship between human disturbance related to agricultural activity and the species living in agricultural fields

My DreamTo reveal the hidden mechanism of the rural ecosystem underpinning the abundant nature in Japan.

Belongs

Research Department/Department of Agro-environmental Science/Division of Environmental and Agricultural Engineering/Section of Environmental and Agricultural Engineering
Field Ecological Engineering, Remote Sensing, Irrigation and Drainage, Hydrology
Keyword Amphibian and reptile, Avian species, Paddy ecosystem, Farm irrigation, Image analysis

Introduction

Island ecology is known worldwide as a biodiversity hotspot. Naturally, Japan is one of these islands. The number of endemic species that can be seen only in Japan surpasses those of the US or the European continent (e.g., amphibians and reptiles). What supports the richness of the Japanese ecosystem is that what we call “the Land of Abundant Reed Plains and Rice Fields”, the rural and agricultural environment created and protected by our ancestors. It is not a virgin-state-nature, but a fertile ecosystem created by the human hands, where the balance between human activities and the survival of plants and animals existed.
However, the post-WWII energy revolution and the declining birthrate and an aging population have exhausted rural society itself, and at the same time, biodiversity has been rapidly disappearing. The investment in infrastructure aiming to recover the exhausted rural communities has led to a vicious cycle of further deterioration of the species habitat. As a result, the once harmonious relationship between humans and plants has turned hostile.
We will research to clarify the actual conditions of the organisms that live in rural societies and find a way to coexist with us once again.

The overwintering individual frog that breeds in paddies. They are found to prefer vegetation fields as a hibernation site to paddies.
The investigation on rice growth. It is necessary to consider the impact of human disturbance in agricultural activity on the habitats through the whole ecosystem.
In areas such as the Obihiro and Tokachi Plains with vast agricultural lands, remote sensing technology, including UAVs and satellite images, is a strong effective way of understanding the environment.

List of current research topics

  • Reproductive status of Ezo salamanders in artificial wetlands
  • Conservation effects of artificial corridors for Siberian flying squirrel
  • Replication of the distribution of fishes nation-wide the period from the Edo era to the present
    A Study on the impact of the "Survey on Lives in Paddy Fields and Surrounding Environment" on the local community
  • Ecological research on the Hokkaido domestic invasive species, Tokyo daruma pond frog
  • Real-time monitoring using UAV of vegetation recovery after a disaster
Affiliated academic society The Japanese Society of Irrigation, Drainage and Rural Engineering, Ecology and Civil Engineering Society, The Ecological Society of Japan
Academic degree D.Agr.
License Professional Engineer trainee, Land Surveyor trainee
Self introduction

I was born and raised in Fukuoka prefecture in Japan. Although most of my researches and jobs were related to the eingineering field, my Ph.D thesis was about ecological engineering. With involving in agricultural civil engineering, my research focuses on the species living in the paddy field, rural area, and so on.

Room addressGeneral Research Building I
Room numberN1302-6
Mail address nnakashima atmark obihiro.ac.jp