Special feature: ecology and management of conifer plantations in Japan: control of tree growth and maintenance of biodiversity.

The article introduces a series of articles on the ecology of conifer plantations in Japan. The papers were presented at the session titled "The Ecology of Conifer Plantations" during the 115th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Forestry Society on April 3, 2004. The plantation-based forest industry faces difficulty due to increasing competition from cheaper imported timber and the intensiveness of local forest management. In order to acquire more timber, plantations are planning to do ecological and other functions such as conserving biodiversity and protecting water supply structures. The authors point some of the need to achieve development in plantations including retaining trees, maintaining of biodiversity and interrelationships in aiming management objectives.