Miscanthus sinensis grassland is an indicator plant community to predict forest regeneration and development on ski slopes in Japan

Most ski slopes in Japan are established by forest clearcutting, scraping off the ground surface and thereby artificial seeding in well-developed forests. Recently, some ski slopes have been abandoned owing to economical failure, and more skis resorts will go bankrupt. To restore abandoned ski slopes, therefore, we have to find out appropriate indicators to restore forest cover with low cost. Vegetation data were collected in Yuzawa, central Honshu, Japan (500–760 m elevation), where ski slopes are over-concentrated. To predict the possibility of forest development, relationships between tree stem density and vegetation characteristics were examined. Trees did not establish in areas where the introduced plant cover was more than 40%. Of native grasslands, Miscanthus sinensis grassland showed the highest stem density but did not show high species richness. In particular, stem density increased with increasing M. sinensis cover. To indicate advanced successional sere towards forests, therefore, M. sinensis cover is a more appropriate indicator rather than species richness.