Present state of rivers and streams in Japan
The Japanese Archipelago (land area: 377 880 km 2 ) extends over a distance of c . 2000 km, with a maximum width of 300 km. Geologically, it is a young and tectonically very active area. Japan is a mountainous, wet and forested country, with its people concentrated in densely populated urban areas a...
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fteawag:oai:dora:eawag_4929 2024-09-15T18:38:02+00:00 Present state of rivers and streams in Japan Yoshimura, Chihiro Omura, Tatsuo Furumai, Hiroaki Tockner, Klement 2005 https://doi.org/10.1002/rra.835 eng eng Wiley River Research and Applications--River Res. Appl.--journals:2524--1535-1459--1535-1467 eawag:4929 journal id: journals:2524 issn: 1535-1459 e-issn: 1535-1467 ut: 000227795800002 local: 10179 scopus: 2-s2.0-15544381423 doi:10.1002/rra.835 biodiversity anthropogenic impact restoration pollution East Asia Text Journal Article 2005 fteawag https://doi.org/10.1002/rra.835 2024-08-05T03:04:29Z The Japanese Archipelago (land area: 377 880 km 2 ) extends over a distance of c . 2000 km, with a maximum width of 300 km. Geologically, it is a young and tectonically very active area. Japan is a mountainous, wet and forested country, with its people concentrated in densely populated urban areas along the coast and on alluvial plains. Rivers are short (max. length: 370 km), steep, and exhibit flashy flow regimes. The river regime coefficient ranges from 200 to 400, which is up to an order-of-magnitude higher than that of most continental rivers. Japan has a rich freshwater fauna and flora with a high proportion of endemic species. A distinct latitudinal gradient (subarctic to subtropical climate) in combination with the radial character of the river network results in high spatial differentiation of the freshwater fauna. While water quality has improved remarkably during the past decades, Japanese rivers are still heavily impacted by canalization, loss of most dynamic flood plains, flow regulation, invasion by exotic species, and intensive urbanization. Currently 49% of the entire human population concentrates on 14% of the land, and the annual flood damage is the highest worldwide. As a consequence, major recent restoration initiatives aim to protect people and property against floods as well as simultaneously improving the ecological integrity of river ecosystems. Article in Journal/Newspaper Subarctic DORA Eawag River Research and Applications 21 2-3 93 112 |
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biodiversity anthropogenic impact restoration pollution East Asia |
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biodiversity anthropogenic impact restoration pollution East Asia Yoshimura, Chihiro Omura, Tatsuo Furumai, Hiroaki Tockner, Klement Present state of rivers and streams in Japan |
topic_facet |
biodiversity anthropogenic impact restoration pollution East Asia |
description |
The Japanese Archipelago (land area: 377 880 km 2 ) extends over a distance of c . 2000 km, with a maximum width of 300 km. Geologically, it is a young and tectonically very active area. Japan is a mountainous, wet and forested country, with its people concentrated in densely populated urban areas along the coast and on alluvial plains. Rivers are short (max. length: 370 km), steep, and exhibit flashy flow regimes. The river regime coefficient ranges from 200 to 400, which is up to an order-of-magnitude higher than that of most continental rivers. Japan has a rich freshwater fauna and flora with a high proportion of endemic species. A distinct latitudinal gradient (subarctic to subtropical climate) in combination with the radial character of the river network results in high spatial differentiation of the freshwater fauna. While water quality has improved remarkably during the past decades, Japanese rivers are still heavily impacted by canalization, loss of most dynamic flood plains, flow regulation, invasion by exotic species, and intensive urbanization. Currently 49% of the entire human population concentrates on 14% of the land, and the annual flood damage is the highest worldwide. As a consequence, major recent restoration initiatives aim to protect people and property against floods as well as simultaneously improving the ecological integrity of river ecosystems. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Yoshimura, Chihiro Omura, Tatsuo Furumai, Hiroaki Tockner, Klement |
author_facet |
Yoshimura, Chihiro Omura, Tatsuo Furumai, Hiroaki Tockner, Klement |
author_sort |
Yoshimura, Chihiro |
title |
Present state of rivers and streams in Japan |
title_short |
Present state of rivers and streams in Japan |
title_full |
Present state of rivers and streams in Japan |
title_fullStr |
Present state of rivers and streams in Japan |
title_full_unstemmed |
Present state of rivers and streams in Japan |
title_sort |
present state of rivers and streams in japan |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2005 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1002/rra.835 |
genre |
Subarctic |
genre_facet |
Subarctic |
op_relation |
River Research and Applications--River Res. Appl.--journals:2524--1535-1459--1535-1467 eawag:4929 journal id: journals:2524 issn: 1535-1459 e-issn: 1535-1467 ut: 000227795800002 local: 10179 scopus: 2-s2.0-15544381423 doi:10.1002/rra.835 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/rra.835 |
container_title |
River Research and Applications |
container_volume |
21 |
container_issue |
2-3 |
container_start_page |
93 |
op_container_end_page |
112 |
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1810482374311411712 |