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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 July 9 2007. Revised on Oct. 11 2007)

Microtopography (微地形)

Microhabitat

A fine-scaled habitat with different environmental conditions from those of the surrounding area, e.g., wihtin-tussocks, and near-rocks. Microhabitat is often created by diverse microtopography.

Microtopography

micro- (prefix): extremely small
topography (un): the shape of an area of land, including its hills, valleys etc.

Usu MSH
[Left] Microtopography created by a rill on volcanic ash in Mount Usu after the 1977-78 eruptions Polygonum sachalinense seedlings established more in rill inside.
[Right] Microtopography, e.g., rill, determines plant distribution. Plants established mostly in the rill inside. Photo taken on Mount St. Helens on August 1993.

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References
  • Haruki, M. & Tsuyuzaki, S. 2001. Woody plant establishment in the early stages of volcanic succession on Mount Usu, northern Japan. Ecological Research 16: 451-457
  • 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

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