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Student training at Okutama Practice Forest of Tokyo University of Agriculture
Iwao UEHARA (Tokyo University of Agriculture)
Department of Forest Science (former name: Forestry established in 1947) of Tokyo University of Agriculture (TUA)
practices “Forest training” for freshman and sophomore students every year. 140 students annually attend on the training.
Forest training on sophomore is consisted of silviculture curriculum and programs. The training is practiced by dividing three
schedules (3 days 2 nights each) and groups (45 students each) during annual summer vacation. Students study every tree
survey (tree height, diameter at breast height: DBH), canopy projection drawing, soil cross section drawing, tree identification,
and thinning on the training days. Questionnaire results after practices showed the most impressive training for students was
thinning and the most difficult training was tree identification. Male students tended to weak at calculation and female
students tended to weak at forest walking on gender difference. Many students recognized their lack of physical strength and
being insect weak.
Keywords: silviculture, sophomore, thinning, tree identification
ϨIntroduction
Forest training is one of the important programs in the
forest science departments (1, 5, 6). Department of Forest
Science (former name: Forestry established in 1947) of
Tokyo University of Agriculture (TUA) practices “Forest
training” for freshman and sophomore students every year
(2, 3). About 140 students annually attend the each training.
Forest training on sophomore is mainly consisted of
silviculture curriculum. The training is practiced by dividing
three schedules (3 days 2 nights each) and 3 groups (45
students each) during summer vacation. Students study
every tree survey (tree height, diameter at breast height:
DBH), volume calculation, canopy projection drawing, soil
cross section drawing, tree identification, and thinning cut
on the training days (Fig.1) (4).
Fig. 1 Training at Okutama Practice Forest (2019)
This study aimed to survey sophomore students’ reactions
and consciousness about the forest training by a
questionnaire in August of 2019.
ϩQuestionnaire for the students
I asked the questions listed below after the practice (Table
1). In addition, I asked how students feel about the practice
elements by rank estimation. Totally 137 (97males and
38females) valid answers were retrieved. I considered the
gender difference on training elements, too.
Table 1. Questionnaire
1. What was the most interesting training?
2. What was the most understandable training?
3. What was the most difficult training?
4. How many people are suitable for a single group?
5. Which training best applies to your department?
Ϫ Results of the questionnaire
The result of “what was the most interesting training?” is
shown in Fig.2.Students answered that the thinning cutting
practice was the most interesting training out of the
performed trainings. Before the practice, I asked all
participants their experiences of cutting trees and the
number of the students who had the experiences was only 9.
Next, the result of “the most understandable training” is
shown in Fig.3. Students mainly identified four trainings,
which were thinning practice, tree identification, canopy
projection, soil cross-section drawing were easy to
understand. On the contrary, volume calculation was not
estimated understandable so much.
UEHARA Iwao, 156-8502 Tokyo University of Agriculture
bigrock1964@hotmail.com
中森研 No.68 【ሗ文】 2020
17
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Third, “the most difficult training” is shown in Fig.4. Tree
identification was identified as the most difficult training.
Approximately half of the students answered that this
training was difficult. Nobody estimated every tree survey
was difficult.
Gender difference about the difficult training is shown on
Fig.5. Male students identified tree identification was more
difficult than female students did.
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Next, gender difference on practice elements are shown on
Fig. 6 to 12. Each figure shows that 5 ranks from the bottom
to the top on the graph bands. Low numbers indicate
difficulty and high number indicate easiness.
Horizontal distance conversion is shown on Fig.6 and
surveying with coordinate survey plot is shown on Fig.7.
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Gender difference about conversion for hector is shown on
Fig.8. Male students identified difficult slightly more
females did.
Next, gender difference about stand density figures is
shown on Fig.9. Male students identified more difficult than
females did.
Gender difference about thinning practice is shown on
Fig.10. Female students identified more difficult than males
did.
Gender difference about forest walking is shown on Fig.11.
Percentage of positive identify was almost same. Male
identified neither of positive and negative was more than
twice than female did.
Gender difference about group life during forest training is
shown on Fig.12. Female students identified more positive
than males identify.
The number of suitable group members is shown in Fig.13.
Most of students answered that 4 or 5 members are suitable
for a group.
“Which training best applies to your department” is shown
in Fig.14. Tree identification was the biggest response and
more than half of the students reported it was useful.
Students identified volume calculation was lower than
10 %.
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ϭ Discussion
Students answered that the thinning cutting practice was
the most interesting training out of the performed trainings
(Fig.15). However, this result also suggested that most of the
students had no experiences of tree cutting. They also
identified thinning practice, tree identification, canopy
projection were easy to understand and volume calculation
was not understandable easily.
Fig. 15. Practice of thinning cutting
The most difficult training” was tree identification (Fig.
16). Half of the students answered this training was difficult.
However, half of the students estimated tree identification
was very useful in forest science department, too. These
contradictory results suggested that tree identification was
easy to understand but also difficult to practice.
Fig.16. Tree identification training
Free answer writing showed that many students recognized
their lack of physical strength and being insect weak
On instructors’ views, individual differences in learning
were not so small. It is always necessary to stimulate
students’ motivation.
On revised practice views, it should consider to introduce
planting, weeding, and pruning (4). However, on same time,
it needs to keep certain forest area that is suitable for
students training.
In addition, two teachers and three senior students have
guided and practiced this training. This small instruct group
always has to be careful for preventing sudden accidents and
injuries.
It needs to deal with these problems and keep attempting to
practice better training.
Literature cited
(1) Japan Practice Forest Society (1996) Let’s go to forest
–Guide of University Forests-. Maruzen. Tokyo.
(2) Department of Forestry, Tokyo University of Agriculture
(2016) 70th years memorial book of Department of Forestry,
Tokyo University of Agriculture.
(3) Tokyo University of Agriculture (2019) Tokyo
University of Agriculture Syllabus of lectures of 2019.
Tokyo University of Agriculture.
(4) Uehara, I, Sugawara, I., Tanaka, M. (2016) Prospect and
subjects of silviculture training at practice forest of Tokyo
University of Agriculture. Chubu Forest Science. 64: 21-24.
(5) Zenkoku-ringyo-kairyo-fukyu-kyokai (1994) How to
manage forest education. Zenrinkyo. Tokyo.
(6) Zenkoku-ringyo-kairyo-fukyu-kyokai (1998) Practical
guide of forest and forestry education. Zenrinkyo. Tokyo.
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