Department of Forest and Biomaterials Science
Excessive and non-sustainable use of resources drives many global environmental problems. The Department of Forest and Biomaterial Sciences is working to set new social and research priorities toward sustainable and environmentally friendly uses of natural resources along with harmonious coexistence between nature and humankind. Forests cover 31% of the earth’s land area, providing various ecosystem services such as production of renewable resources. Conservation of forest ecosystems and sustainable use of forest-based resources are necessary for survival of the humankind. More than ever, we need talented young people who can develop innovative strategies based on scientific understanding of forests and forest resources in order to tackle global environmental issues.
The Department of Forest and Biomaterials Science promotes research and education to nurture young researchers. As basic research topics, we study biodiversity and ecosystem matter cycles in forests and analyze chemical and physical properties of wood, cellulose and various organic substances. As applied research topics, we study greenhouse gas emission and sustainable resource cycle options. In addition to natural science approaches, we use sociological and economic approaches. Through collaboration among researchers from diverse fields of specialization, we promote integrative science on forests and biomaterials. In educational activities, we aim to nurture broad perspectives on forest science and investigative minds.
The Department of Forest and Biomaterials Science has 17 laboratories, covering a wide range of research topics. They can be grouped roughly into three areas. Six laboratories in the first area, “Forest Biology”, “Forest Ecology”, “Tropical Forest Resources and Environments”, “Forest Hydrology”, “Forest Utilization”, and “Biosphere Informatics”, conduct basic and applied research on forest ecosystem. The eight labs in the second area, i.e., “Wood Processing”, “Biomaterials Design”, “Fibrous Biomaterials”, “Tree Cell Biology”, “Chemistry of Composite Materials”, “Chemistry of Biomaterials”, “Forest Biochemistry”, and “Energy Ecosystems”, conduct basic and applied studies on biomaterials. The three labs in the third area, i.e., “Forest Resources and Society”, “Landscape Architecture”, and “Erosion Control”, study management of forests and landscapes, as well as disaster preventions in forested hills and mountains. In addition to these 17 core laboratories, the Field Science Education and Research Center and the Research Institute for Sustainable Humanosphere support our research and education through their field research centers in Hokkaido and northern Kyoto, or through their large and advanced experimental facilities.
During the first three years of our curriculum, undergraduate students build foundational and comprehensive knowledge on forest and biomaterials science through lecture courses, and through field and lab courses. During the senior year (4th year), students join one of the 17 laboratories to conduct thesis research. Through our 4-year undergraduate curriculum, students obtain knowledge on forests and biomaterials, high ethical standard, and a capacity toward research innovations.
Keywords for Each Field of Affiliation
| Field | Keywords |
| Forest Resources and Society | Sustainable forest management, forest commons, production and distribution of timber and non-timber forest products, forest planning, forest certification scheme, political ecology, forest culture, forest space utilization, livelihood transformation, community forestry, social impact assessment |
| Tropical Forest Resources and Environments | Tropical trees, forest ecosystems, plant functional traits, forest stand structures, light utilization, seedling regeneration, plant-soil interactions, ecosystem matter cycles, sustainable forest management, climate-change mitigation and adaptation |
| Forest Utilization | Carbon cycle, forest production, gas exchange, methane flux, phloem function, dynamics and function of woody root, forest management, stable isotopes, GIS |
| Forest Biology | Forest structure and dynamics, biodiversity conservation, phylogenetic and ecological analysis of forest organisms based on genetic/genomic information, prevention of forest damage caused by wildlife, interaction between forest insects and trees, insect damage control |
| Landscape Architecture | History of gardens, landscape planning and design, urban parks, nature parks, landscape ecology, urban forestry, nature restoration, revegetation technology |
| Erosion Control | Prevention and mitigation of sediment disasters, impact of forest management on rainwater discharge, impact of forest management on sediment discharge, rainwater holding capacity of forest soil, prediction and forecast of debris flow, mechanisms of slope failure and landslides, warning and evacuation system against sediment disasters |
| Forest Ecology | Forest ecosystems, biodiversity, ecosystem functions, plant adaptations and evolutions, forest production sciences, ecophysiology, landscape ecology, plant-soil interactions, plant-animal interactions, tree breeding, nature conservation, sustainable forestry, remote-sensing, global ecology from the arctic to the tropical |
| Forest Hydrology | Hydrological cycle, carbon cycle, gas exchange, ecosystem fluxes, plant-water relations and eco-physiology, methane dynamics, precipitation-runoff response, water quality formation, longterm monitoring |
| Biosphere Informatics | Geographical information systems, remote sensing, ecosystem modeling, conservation ecology, ecosystem service evaluation, environmental observation methods, ecological/environmental information systems and database, forest-human relationships |
| Biomaterials Design | Physical and mechanical properties of wood, internal stress of wood, image analysis of wood surfaces, wood and human relations |
| Wood Processing | Technologies of wood processing, nondestructive evaluation of wood property and degradation of wood, automatic recognition of wood, utilization and processing technology of wood-based materials |
| Fibrous Biomaterials | Structure and properties of cellulose and other polysaccharides, synthesis of polysaccharides by genetically engineered enzymes, functionalization of polymers by magnetic field orientation, development of novel NMR/MRI methods, image analysis and machine learning for understanding wood and cellulose structure |
| Tree Cell Biology | Structural diversity and systematic and quantitative anatomy of woody plants, formation and ultrastructure of plant cell walls, development of specific immunocytochemical probes for detecting cell wall components |
| Chemistry of Composite Materials | Elaborate design of macromolecular structure, block/graft copolymers, polymer blends, liquid crystalline polymers, biodegradable plastics, nanocellulose-based functional materials, structure-property-performance relationships |
| Chemistry of Biomaterials | Organic chemistry of biomass, elucidation of structure, properties, physiological bioactivity, and functions of cellulose, hemicelluloses, lignin, and extracts (tannin) and their utilization, efficient use of tropical forest produce |
| Forest Biochemistry | Material cycle of forests, molecular biology of wood-rot fungi, genetic engineering, genome editing, biodegradation mechanism of wood, biotechnology of fungi, genetic pollution, sporeless cultivar, cell wall engineering of mushrooms, mycelial materials, mushroom leather, vegan meat, mycelial composite, sustainable biomaterials |
| Energy Ecosystems | Biomass, bioenergy, biochemicals, bioethanol, biodiesel, high temperature wood chemistry, molecular level thermal degradation mechanism, reaction control of pyrolysis/gasification, supercritical fluids, plasma treatment |
