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This paper describes the species occurrence record of zooxanthellate reef‐building corals at 1047 sites on the Japanese coast, recorded from 1929 to 2017. The dataset includes 484 confirmed scientific species names compiled from 152 literature sources, most of which were written in Japanese and published as gray literature in local journals or individual reports. Scientific names were consolidated under currently accepted nomenclature based on the World Register of Marine Species. Further revision of species names was made by referring to monographs on temperate coral species of Japan, along with expert knowledge. The dataset includes the coral species recorded each year at each study site, the geographical location of each site, and the scientific names of the corals. Three supporting datasets were created, containing a list of literature, the names of the sites and synonymization and confirmation of the coral names. This up‐to‐date collection of data is a contribution to the study of coral biogeography and conservation planning, as well as long‐term changes in coral species distributions in response to climate change. The complete data set for this abstract published in the Data Paper section of the journal is available in electronic format in MetaCat in JaLTER at http://db.cger.nies.go.jp/JaLTER/metacat/metacat/ERDP-2020-08.1/jalter-en. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the flora of habitat-forming seaweeds (fucoids and temperate kelps) at 7673 sites of the Japanese coast encompassing its warm to cold temperate zone, recorded from 1887 to 2014. The data set includes 86 species (21,168 presence and 20,845 absence records), compiled from 355 literature sources, most of which were written in Japanese and published as grey literature in local journals or individual reports. Scientific names were consolidated under currently-accepted nomenclature based on Algaebase (). The data set compiled the seaweed flora at each study site each year, the geographical location and the scientific names. Additionally, three supporting data sets were created respectively including name of each site, synonyms of the seaweeds, and the corresponding literature list. This rich collection of data can be used to study the biogeography and long-term changes of particular species and the diversity of habitat-forming seaweeds of the Japanese coast. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This data paper reports litter fall data collected in a network of 21 forest sites in Japan. This is the largest litter fall data set freely available in Japan to date. The network is a part of the Monitoring Sites 1000 Project launched by the Ministry of the Environment, Japan. It covers subarctic to subtropical climate zones and the four major forest types in Japan. Twenty-three permanent plots in which usually 25 litter traps were installed were established in old-growth or secondary natural forests. Litter falls were collected monthly from 2004, and sorted into leaves, branches, reproductive structures and miscellaneous. The data provide seasonal patterns and inter-annual dynamics of litter falls, and their geographical patterns, and offer good opportunities for meta-analyses and comparative studies among forests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evergreen oak Quercus glauca often dominates secondary broadleaved forests in Western Japan. It is regarded as a mid-successional species, whose diameter and height growth fall between those of early- and late-successional species. Despite the ecological importance of this evergreen oak in the secondary succession of the evergreen broadleaved forest zone in Japan, tree-felling data that allow estimations of tree mass and leaf area from non-destructive measurements are lacking. This paper provides stem growth data, read from tree rings on disks sampled from 13 Q. glauca stems, and their allometric data. The samples were collected in 1994 from the Ginkakuji-san National Forest, Kyoto City, Japan. Allometric data comprised data on stem age, diameter at breast height, diameter at 10% height, tree height, height of the lowest living branch, height of the lowest living leaf in the crown, volume of the main stem, squared stem diameter just below the lowest living branch, total leaf area of the stem, dry weight of the total leaves, dry weight of all branches, dry weight of the main stem, total aboveground dry weight, mean relative photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) above the crown, mean relative PPFD below the crown, crown projection area, and specific leaf area. These data can be helpful for estimating the biomass and leaf area index of a Q. glauca stand by enabling the derivation of allometric relationships between non-destructive measurements (such as stem diameter at breast height, and tree height) and tree mass or leaf area. Diameters (including bark thickness) at ground height and above (at 0.5- or 1-m intervals) for each stem are also provided. Stem growth data were based on tree-ring reads from disks taken from heights of 0.0 and 0.3 m, and at 0.5-m (stem height <7 m) or 1.0-m (stem height ≥7 m) intervals above that. Stem volume growth derived from these tree-ring data can be converted into stem mass growth if combined with an analysis of the allometric data, which may serve as a useful resource for the estimation of carbon fixation by evergreen oaks in relation to global climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cryptomeria japonica is a very important and useful forestry tree in Japan and there are vast areas of plantation area that occupy 44% of the total man‐made forest in the country. Natural populations have declined as a result of logging and overexploitation for more than a thousand years. The natural distribution of C. japonica is from Aomori Prefecture to Kagoshima Prefecture and it has adapted to widely different environments in Japan. In China, the variety C. japonica var. sinensis is distributed. The genetic diversity is higher in Japanese Cryptomeria than in the Chinese variety, and within Japan, western populations have higher genetic diversity than northern populations. Genetic structure of C. japonica within Japan was clear, with isolation by distance (IBD), and the omote‐sugi on the Pacific Ocean side and ura‐sugi group on the Sea of Japan side were clearly separated by STRUCTURE analysis. Genetic structure was also clear in the Chinese population but there was no IBD, which suggested considerable human disturbance in the past. Local adaption is apparent in this species, in, for example, morphological traits among the three groups such as omote‐sugi, ura‐sugi, and Chinese population. The time of divergence among the three groups was at least before last glacial maximum. Global climate change largely affects species distributions and local adaptation, which play important roles in adaptation and speciation. A suitable conservation strategy for natural populations of C. japonica is ex situ conservation of large trees and applying a zoning method to the remaining natural forests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The upper distribution limit of tall tree species Abies mariesii is the timberline in central Japan, and dwarf pine Pinus pumila dominates above the timberline to near the summit. My previous studies suggested that the main cause of the timberline formation is the increase in mortality due to strong wind in winter rather than low growth due to low summer temperature. This study evaluated how wind velocity affects timberline formation and if the altitude of timberline moves upward due to high thermal conditions, by using a lattice model. Increase in wind velocity throughout the altitude lowered the altitudes of upper distribution limits of the two species. On the contrary, prolonged growth period due to high thermal conditions increased the upper distribution limit of P. pumila, and the upper distribution limit of A. mariesii was hardly affected by the change of growth period. However, the upward shift of the upper distribution limit of P. pumila due to the prolonged growth period in the model would not be realistic because P. pumila had already distributed up to near the summit. This study concludes that A. mariesii is a superior competitor to P. pumila at low altitudes with low wind velocity, but dwarf pine P. pumila can dominate at higher altitudes because A. mariesii suffers severe mechanical damage due to strong wind in winter, and that the altitude of the timberline does not move upward even under high thermal conditions due to global warming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Observations made largely from summer breeding sites in Europe and North America have been used to document the effects of climate change on many bird species. We extend these studies by examining 23 years of observations between 1986 and 2008 of six winter bird species made by citizens at a city park in Yokohama, Japan. Bird species arrive in autumn and spend the winter in the area, before departing in the late winter or spring. On average, birds species are arriving 9 days later than in the past and are departing on average 21 days earlier, meaning that the average duration of their stay in Yokohama is about 1 month shorter now than in the past. Patterns of changes over time varied among species, but departure dates changed for more species than did arrival dates. Dates of departure and arrival were sometimes correlated with monthly average temperatures-later arrivals and earlier departures were associated with warmer temperatures. In addition, interannual variation in arrival and departure dates were strongly correlated across species, suggesting that species were responding to the same or similar environmental cues. This study provides a clear demonstration of the value of using citizens to make observations that contribute to research in climate change biology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]