Rapid shrinkage of Kushiro Mire, the largest mire in Japan, due to increased sedimentation associated with land-use development in the catchment

The suspended sediment discharge in the Kuchoro River, a tributary of the Kushiro River, showed that wash load was about 90% of the yearly total suspended load carried into the wetland from the entire watershed. Seasonal floods associated with typhoons and snowmelt carried a large volume of wash load, 44% and 37%, respectively, of the yearly total wash load. The deposition of suspended sediment in the channelized section has aggraded the riverbed by 2 m in the past two decades, which has reduced the cross-sectional area of the channel, so that turbid water spills over and carries wash load and suspended sediment deep into the wetlands. Flooding of turbid water, in association with aggradation of the riverbed, was detected by using a Water Turbidity Index. The flooding and turbidity have significantly increased between 1984 and 1994. Similarly, a Normalized Difference Vegetation Index map showed that forest establishment has continued from the wetland margins and in areas adjacent to the river channel. The suspended sediment carried and deposited by floods and sediment-associated nutrients should alter the edaphic environment from wet nutrient-poor soil to dry nutrient-rich soil providing regeneration habitats for tree species. The vegetation in turn adds resistance and friction against flows and contributes to additional sedimentation. However, flooding and the associated high water table causes stress for trees and may lead to premature decay. Environmental variables, such as water level, water content, organic content and grain size, varied significantly along cross-sectional distance, and are likely regulated by deposition of fine sediments transported by floods. Electrical conductivity and total nitrogen in groundwater varied significantly along the longitudinal distance. Basal areas of willow and alder stands correlated with variables related to spread of turbid water, which indicates that eutrophication of groundwater indirectly affects marsh forest expansion.