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The requisite for the succeeding local specialty was verified in the approach of Samekawa village as a case study. The administration, the chamber of commerce and industry, and the social welfare corporation were developed original local specialty, and had succeeded in of each. The feature is to start both of three sectors developments with the problem solving in the village. The care about delicious and handmade was enabled because it had paid attention for a life of villagers. As a result, popularity was obtained not only in the village but outside the village, and they were established as a local specialty.

We investigated the density of Rana japonica on the grassland of levee in the rice terrace called “Oyama-Senmaida” in Boso Hills. The number of individuals on the grassland of levee was counted once at each month from April to October, 2005. For juveniles, the seasonal change was clarified that they stay temporary in levee after metamorphosis, and afterwards disperse all together. For adults, it was 1.6-1.9 times density in slope compared with levee top in irrigation period. It is thought that the habitat of Rana japonica has been formed by maintaining semi-natural grassland according to the cultivation management.

In this study, we clarified the horizontal migration ability of the forest dependant salamander Hynobius tokyoensis into the terrace paddy field as non forest landscape for the breeding period. The breeding of 140-400 individuals was recorded at 3 years from 2004 through 2006 in the target paddies called "Oyama-Senmaida", Boso-hills. According to the result that calculated the distance from surrounding forest, the average of moved distance for the salamander was 50m or more, and the value of 90% was from 80 to 100m. We considered the range of connective space between paddy field and forests as the Biotopverbund.

In this paper, the image of small animals at waterside for children of today was discussed, by the investigation of play and wildlife experience of them in waterside. It was not difference clearly to playing on waterside between schoolchildren living in rural area and in residential urban area, because children had hardly played on waterside. But, children had enjoyed the catching of aquatic small animals even now, and most of them had the experience in meeting frog on paddy fields. It was considered that conservation of biotope for small animals such as frog was needed in wetland environment improvement and restoration, from view point of the play of children.

In this research, in order to clarify ecological significance of the levees in flatland paddy fields, the habitat density of the frog, Rana porosa porosa on each levee type was investigated. The investigation was conducted in the Isawa area in the southern part of the Iwate pref. in the early summer in 2002. The number of Rana porosa porosa in the paddy fields that were rearranged to large units in the recent years, has decreased. It has been suggested that the disappearance of traditional earth waterways and the reduction of levees might have caused the decrease of the frog species in the paddy fields. Our research shows that on the levees attached to waterways the number of the frog species significantly varies according to the material that is used for the waterway. That is, the number becomes smaller when it was altered to concrete from the naked soil. At the same time, we did not find any significant difference in the amount of food for this frog species between in the concrete waterways and in the earth waterways. This suggests that the amount of food does not cause the discrepancy between the number of the frog species in the concrete waterways and the number of one in the earth waterways. On the levees between the paddy fields in the area that was consolidated before the recent consolidation, the number of the frog species considerably varies according the moisture condition of the area. This indicates the importance of levees as pieces of land in water, narrow walkways between paddy fields that are filled with water. As opposed to the levees between paddy fields, the levees attached to earth waterways hold high density of the frog species. This verifies that Rana porosa porosa have an affinity to the levees attached to the earth waterways. The significant factors of how this frog species choose what kind of levees to frequent, are more structural, i.e., the structural changes of the paddy fields that are caused by the modern farmland consolidation, the existence of attaching waterways and the material of the waterways, than administrative, i.e., water management and weeding. Also, we verified that the amount of food is not especially a regulative factor in terms of the density of the frog species on the levees.

In order to grasp Influence to the vegetation of the Terraced Paddy Field Embankment by the management in which is an ownership program, vegetation investigation was performed in Oyama Senmaida. It found that the species diversity of the vegetation on the Terraced Paddy Field Embankment is preserved in the owner system enforcement ground. About the species composition, there was no influence of the management in which is an ownership program not much. However, in the owner system enforcement ground, the rate of naturalized plants was high a little, and became a subject in preservation of indigenous plant species.

Isawa is a town in the Iwate prefecture, famous for its homestead woodlands which surround dispersed settlements. Despite its renown, it has been decreasing rapidly. A study was conducted on the following. The structures of the homestead woodlands, the residents' awareness of the woodlands and the policy of the local government to conserve the woodlands.In this district, the woodlands are primarily located in the northern and western sides of the houses to protect them from the wind and snow. The predominant tree species are the evergreen conifers such as Cryptomeria japonica. The structures of the woodlands were divided into four categories.Type I: The numbers of trees are less and usually planted in a single row where the low branches are pruned frequently.Type II: The numbers of trees are more than type I, and planted closely in multiple rows.Type II includes type II-1, where tree's height is higher than the roof, and type II-2, where tree's height is lower.The species of trees are less and usually limited to conifers as mentioned in Type I and II.Type III: The trees are planted in eastern side, in addition to the northern and western sides. Here, several broadleaved species of trees have been planted in addition to the conifers.There are a variety of trees, which include several broadleaved species, in addition to the conifers. The layer of trees between the arbor and shrub layers was missing. To increase the volume of homestead woodlands, the planting pattern determined by our investigations may be utilized as a reference. In addition, it may easily be promoted by seeking financial assistance from an organization. On the other hand, homesteads, which do not require such financial assistance, the maintenance and management options that would not destroy the landscape's function, were suggested within the tolerance level.Most residents are proud of the homestead woodlands. They are of the view that the woodlands have great value in making up the original landscape and have an addition role in the protection of houses from disasters. However, the younger generation displayed less interest than the elder generation.The town's government has been providing subsidies for the plantation of homestead woodlands, since 1996. The above categories indicate the values of homestead woodlands. These indexes may be useful in promoting the subsidy system.The homestead woodlands are decreasing rapidly throughout Japan. It is very important to raise this awareness and also improve the subsidy system. Furthermore, the total strategies to conserve the woodlands by land use and landscape regulations are still not in place. The local government must seriously consider these.

We discussed about habitation of the pond frog Rana porosa porosa, and correspondence of the structure of a ditch in the side of a paddy field in the Isawa alluvial fan. As the result of count census on a levee, the density of this frog was high in ditches of a ground material, and remarkably low in ditches of the concrete material. And density of this frog was the highest in the ditch, which had the moderate biomass of grass on a levee. It was guessed that two points had operated to plus on an abundance of this frog. The points were that there are a great many ditch of ground material, and the |and consolidation paddy field of old time is maintained in this area.

This study focuses on the case of dispersed homestead landscape in which the relevance of visual distance and landscape cognition to a homestead woodland were examined. The study also aimed at clarifying the feature of landscape cognition of residents.From the results of the analysis, it was found that residents could recognize their own homestead woodland from a distance of 250m. The recognition of the landscape details in a homestead woodland is related to ‘a feeling of how close one is to a homestead woodland’. From the view point of boundary awareness, residents felt that a homestead was about 100m apart.

The distribution of a ditch around a paddy field in the Isawa alluvial fan was investigated and considered. The lattice-like waterway network was accepted in the northern flat area. Among those, ditches of ground material were an average of 135.5 m/ha (N=4). In a little rolling southern past area, although regularity was not accepted in the distribution form of a ditch, ditches of a ground material showed an average of 196.6 m/ha (N= 3) and a high value. The wide ground ditches with the flow, which becomes important in the scene and habitats in the spring, existed mostly (25-57 m/ha) in the southern area.

Frog is one of most popular rural animals in paddy fields. We studied the relationship between rural landscape structure and frog inhabitation in Tonami area where was famous as landscape of dispersed hamlet (houses surrounded by stands of trees dot the entire plain). The surveys conducted in paddy fields of three types conditions (mountain area, hilly area, plain area), and on transect lines with a grid of 250 by 250m cells. The number of eggs deposited and the density of each species calling were recorded as the relative abundance of frogs.In result, the paddy fields on plain area have poor species composition (1-3 species). In contrast, the paddy fields on mountain and hilly area have rich species composition (4-6 species). It is considered that the absent of frog species is occurred by land consolidation involving formation of landscape structure which block frog migration and dispersal route. The entering distance from the foot of mountain and hillside to inner plain area, were maximum 1km on Rana japonica, Rana ornativentris and Rhacophorus arboreus, about 4km on Rhacophorus schlegelii, about 10km on Rana nigromaculata. And Hyla japonica was observed commonly on all types of paddy fields. It has not related the abundance of frogs to density of homesteads in cells. However, it seems that Rhacophorus schlegelii is observed only cells presenting homesteads on inner plain area.We discussed the model of rural landscape structure for frogs and improvement of rural environment with rich biota. Especially, paddy fields of foot area have importance on the spatial arrangement to conserve frog. Because the concept of frog conservation in Tonami plain, which read the dispersal of frog from foot area to inner plain area. Therefore it is necessary to clear the dispersal route for frog of barriers in various scale level.