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Shiro TSUYUZAKI
Plant community ecology / Environmental conservation

Mount Usu / Sarobetsu post-mined peatland
From left: Crater basin in 1986 and 2006. Cottongrass / Daylily

(Update on Jan. 26, 2004. Revised at May 20, 2008)

What is KOMA?

KOMA

Location = 42º03'48''N, 140º40'38''E. Elevation = ca 1140 m (1131 m)

O-numa Quasi-National Park

History of major eruptions
Year (Era) M * Eruption type(s) Damage
1640 (Kanei 17) 5.4 collapse, blast, plinian
(Ko-d)		 Kurumi-slope debris avalanche
ca 700 persons killed by tsunami
1694 (Genroku 7) 2? pumice fall, pyroclastic flow
(Ko-c2)
1765 (Meiwa 2) small eructation?
1784 (Tenmei 4) 4.2 small eructation
Sept 25 1856 (Ansei 3) pumice fall (by eastern Hokkaido),
pyroclastic flow
(Ko-c1)		 2 killed by pumice fall,
> 20 killed by pyroclastic flow
created Ansei Crater and lava dome
1888 (Meiji 21) small eructation
1905 (Meiji 38) small eructation
1919 (Taisho 8) small eructation ceased in 1924 (Taisho 13)
June 17 1929 (Showa 4) 4.5 pyroclastic flow, mudflow
(Ko-a)		 2 were killed,
Showa-4 Crater
1942 (Showa 17) ash fall, fissure formed Showa-17 Crater and
Showa Huge-rift (1.6 km long)
1996-2000 See below

*: M = magnitude

rift rift
Showa huge-rift formed by the 1942 eruption (Photos: November 21 2005).

Hisotry of eruptions on Mount Koma after 1996

(Data from Mori Climatological Observatory)

Eruption type = Phreatic explosion
Damaged area: Restricted to the summit

Date Mar 5, 1996 Oct 25, 1998 Spt 4, 2000 Spt 28, 2000 Oct 28, 2000 Nov 8, 2000
Ejecta (ton) 12,000 > 1,000 Several 10,000 < 1,000 4,700-12,000 < 1,000
References
Web pages
Species and vegetation
  • Titus, J.H. & Tsuyuzaki, S. 2003. Distribution of plants in relation to microsites on recent volcanic substrates on Mount Koma, Hokkaido, Japan. Ecological Research 18: 91-98
  • Tsuyuzaki, S. & Hase, A. 2005. Plant community dynamics on the volcano Mount Koma, northern Japan, after the 1996 eruption. Folia Geobotanica 40: 319-330
  • Tsuyuzaki, S. & Miyoshi, C. 2009. Effects of smoke, heat, darkness and cold stratification on seed germination of 40 species in a cool temperate zone, northern Japan. Plant Biology 11: 369-378
Biological invasion
  • Akasaka, M. & Tsuyuzaki, S. 2005. Tree seedling performance on microhabitats along an elevational gradient on Mount Koma, Japan. Journal of Vegetation Science 16: 647-654
  • Akasaka, M. & Tsuyuzaki, S. 2009. Comparisons of recruitment, survival and growth in invasive and native tree saplings on a volcano. Plant Ecology 202: 235-245
  • Kondo, T. & Tsuyuzaki, S. 1999. Natural regeneration patterns of the introduced larch, Larix kaempferi (Pinaceae) on the volcano Mount Koma, northern Japan. Diversity and Distributions 5: 223-233
  • Titus, J.H. & Tsuyuzaki, S. 2003. Influence of a non-native invasive tree on primary succession at Mt. Koma, Hokkaido, Japan. Plant Ecology 169: 307-315
Facilitation
  • Uesaka, S. & Tsuyuzaki, S. 2004. Differential establishment and survival of species in deciduous and evergreen shrub patches and on bare ground, Mt. Koma, Hokkaido, Japan. Plant Ecology 175: 165-177
Interactions
  • Akasaka, M., Tsuyuzaki, S. & Hase, A. 2007. Annual growth of invasive Larix kaempferi seedlings with reference to microhabitat and ectomycorrhiza1 colonization on a volcano. Journal of Plant Research 120: 329-336
  • Nishi, H. & Tsuyuzaki, S. 2004. Seed dispersal and seedling establishment of Rhus trichocarpa promoted by a crow (Corvus macrorhynchos) on a volcano in Japan. Ecography 27: 311-322
  • Titus, J.H. & Tsuyuzaki, S. 2002. Arbuscular mycorrhizal distribution in relation to microsites on recent volcanic substrates of Mt. Koma, Hokkaido, Japan. Mycorrhiza 12: 271-275
  • Tsuyuzaki, S., Hase, A. & Niinuma, H. 2005. Distribution of different mycorrhizal classes on Mount Koma, northern Japan. Mycorrhiza 15: 93-100

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