River system in Japan from a landscape ecological aspect

Issue title: Landscape change and human activity — Selected papers from the 2nd International Conference on Landscape Ecology of Asia and Pasific Region, Lanzhou, China, Sept. 22–25, 2001

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Nakagoshi, Nobukazu | Inoue, Masahito

Affiliations: Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation, Hiroshima University, 1-5-1 Kagamiyama, Higashi-Hiroshima, 739-8529, Japan

Abstract: The objective of this study was to elucidate characteristics associated with rivers by classification of major rivers in Japan into several types based on riparian conditions. As the results of principal component analysis (PCA) with use of parameters reflecting forms and artificial alterations of respective rivers, four major components such as "comprehensive riparian size", "intactness of water front", "continuity of streams" and "simplicity of landform in river basin" were extracted. Subsequently, cluster analysis was performed based on principal component scores, leading to successful classification of major rivers into 6 types. These findings disclosed that (1) the extracted principal components provide effective viewpoint for classification of rivers; (2) distribution of respective classes indicates area properties; and (3) the employed quantitative procedures were found effective for classification of major rivers.

Keywords: river system, landscape ecological aspect, Japan

Journal: Journal of Environmental Sciences, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 160-166, 2003