Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Potential Effects of Grassland Restoration on the Water Resources in Nango-Dani, Aso, Japan

Amano, Hiroki LU ; Nakagawa, Kei LU orcid ; Ichikawa, Tsutomu and Berndtsson, Ronny LU orcid (2025) In Water (Switzerland) 17(16).
Abstract

The semi-natural grasslands of the Aso Caldera, Japan, have historically played a key role in maintaining biodiversity, tourism, and water resources. However, they are now in decline due to a decrease in the number of agricultural workers and an aging workforce, as well as structural changes and stagnation in the agricultural and livestock industries. This study focused on the water resource maintenance function of grasslands by applying a water balance model to quantify the potential impact of grassland restoration on water resources in Nango-Dani, located in the southern part of the Aso Caldera. We simulated groundwater recharge, storage, spring discharge, and baseflow under multiple scenarios involving the conversion of coniferous... (More)

The semi-natural grasslands of the Aso Caldera, Japan, have historically played a key role in maintaining biodiversity, tourism, and water resources. However, they are now in decline due to a decrease in the number of agricultural workers and an aging workforce, as well as structural changes and stagnation in the agricultural and livestock industries. This study focused on the water resource maintenance function of grasslands by applying a water balance model to quantify the potential impact of grassland restoration on water resources in Nango-Dani, located in the southern part of the Aso Caldera. We simulated groundwater recharge, storage, spring discharge, and baseflow under multiple scenarios involving the conversion of coniferous trees to grasslands. According to the calculation results, replacing 10% of coniferous trees with grassland increased groundwater recharge by approximately 0.86 million m3. This increase is due to grasslands having a higher groundwater recharge capacity, owing to their higher canopy permeability and lower evapotranspiration. The storage volume increased by approximately 0.54 million m3, which is equivalent to the annual water usage of 6700 people. Furthermore, grassland restoration increased spring discharge and baseflow. These results quantitatively demonstrate a significant enhancement of regional water resource sustainability and provide scientific evidence to inform land-use policies.

(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Aso Caldera, Japan, land use change, water balance, water resource
in
Water (Switzerland)
volume
17
issue
16
article number
2466
publisher
MDPI AG
external identifiers
  • scopus:105014316102
ISSN
2073-4441
DOI
10.3390/w17162466
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Publisher Copyright: © 2025 by the authors.
id
ed6f55e8-dd4a-4c8d-a991-09f66eaba3d3
date added to LUP
2025-09-08 22:15:27
date last changed
2025-09-11 12:08:28
@article{ed6f55e8-dd4a-4c8d-a991-09f66eaba3d3,
  abstract     = {{<p>The semi-natural grasslands of the Aso Caldera, Japan, have historically played a key role in maintaining biodiversity, tourism, and water resources. However, they are now in decline due to a decrease in the number of agricultural workers and an aging workforce, as well as structural changes and stagnation in the agricultural and livestock industries. This study focused on the water resource maintenance function of grasslands by applying a water balance model to quantify the potential impact of grassland restoration on water resources in Nango-Dani, located in the southern part of the Aso Caldera. We simulated groundwater recharge, storage, spring discharge, and baseflow under multiple scenarios involving the conversion of coniferous trees to grasslands. According to the calculation results, replacing 10% of coniferous trees with grassland increased groundwater recharge by approximately 0.86 million m<sup>3</sup>. This increase is due to grasslands having a higher groundwater recharge capacity, owing to their higher canopy permeability and lower evapotranspiration. The storage volume increased by approximately 0.54 million m<sup>3</sup>, which is equivalent to the annual water usage of 6700 people. Furthermore, grassland restoration increased spring discharge and baseflow. These results quantitatively demonstrate a significant enhancement of regional water resource sustainability and provide scientific evidence to inform land-use policies.</p>}},
  author       = {{Amano, Hiroki and Nakagawa, Kei and Ichikawa, Tsutomu and Berndtsson, Ronny}},
  issn         = {{2073-4441}},
  keywords     = {{Aso Caldera; Japan; land use change; water balance; water resource}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{16}},
  publisher    = {{MDPI AG}},
  series       = {{Water (Switzerland)}},
  title        = {{Potential Effects of Grassland Restoration on the Water Resources in Nango-Dani, Aso, Japan}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/w17162466}},
  doi          = {{10.3390/w17162466}},
  volume       = {{17}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}