Kaminagawa, Yamagata University Research Forest - Japan

YURF is located 26 km south of Tsuruoka city in Yamagata Prefecture. It is characterized by very steep slopes as well as heavy snowfall in the Asahi Mountains where YURF is located. Almost half of the 753 ha of YURF territory is occupied by natural beech forests and almost 25 % is occupied by Japanese cedar forests, the rest is made of mixed broad-leave forests and small patches of larch and spruce. The Laboratory of Watershed Preservation carries long-term monitoring of water and biochemical cycles in different forest-ecosystems. In order to farther promote joint activities within the Faculty of Agriculture of Yamagata University, YURF collaborates with the Eco-Agriculture Laboratory by joint research on Agro-forestry in the forest using the slash and burn technique to grow Atsumi Turnip. The application of silviculture and agriculture as a single unit is one of the main educational topics of what is called Agro-forestry.