Stability of Subalpine Forest-Meadow Boundary Inferred from Size and Age Structure ofAbies mariesiiThickets on a Japanese Snowy Mountain

Subalpine forest zone in the Japanese snowy mountains is characterized by a mosaic of coniferous forests and meadows.Abies mariesii thickets surround mesic meadows, forming a forest-meadow ecotone. Size and age structure of the thickets were studied to examine the stability of the forest-meadow boundaries on Mount Aizukomagatake in central Japan. The age structure indicates that the small height ofA. mariesii in the thickets was not due to the early stage of succession but due to adverse site conditions. In spite of their small stem height, they were as old as canopy trees in neighboringA. mariesii forests. Snow settling pressure madeA. mariesii thickets with broken main stems on the crest slopes, while snow glide pressure formed those with bending stems on leeward slopes. No evidence was found to show any major changes in the position of the forest-meadow boundaries in the size and age structure. The boundary position appears to have been almost steady for at least this century.