Historical development of the agrarian landscapes and rural settlements in the jori grid area : a case study of the kinai (central kinki), japan

The author attempts in this paper to clarify some relations between the reorganization of estate settlements and the formation of oaza. At first glance it appears that an estate settlement developed during the ancient and medieval periods has no relation with the territory of an oaza in the Meiji period. There is a gap of about eight to nine hundred years between them. But from investigating the distribution of arable lands assigned to estates in the eleventh to twelfth centuries, it is clear that they coincide with the territories of the oaza. Many estate names also coincide with hanseison names in the Edo period or oaza names. Therefore, the origin of the boundaries of the oaza can be traced back to the late Heian or early Kamakura periods (ca. eleventh to twelfth centuries) at least

Progress of settlement in the semi-arid region of south australia : a case study of the hundreds of pekina and black rock plain, county dalhousie

In the study of the environmental changes due to human activities, it is very important to clarify the detailed processes on the progress of settlement and land use in the semi-arid regions corresponding to the marginal zone for stable agriculture. Human activities in the marginal zone are influenced by even slight changes in the physical environment, and on the other hand the physical environment is also influenced by the impact of man. In the hundreds of Pekina and Black Rock Plain, the study area, the sale of land began in August 1873, and the settlement in the early years, 1873-1877, was advanced with amazing rapidity. The standard allotment was 640 acres (1 mile^2, 259 ha) to each settler. But its area was not enough to maintain stable agriculture in the semi-arid region of South Australia. Consequently many settlers had to abandone their lands. Since the first settlement the holder of land has changed many times because of severe droughts. But the new farming system called "ley farming" was introduced in the 1930s and farmers were able to maintain their lands

Traditional Festivals Held in the Heiankyo and Historical Disasters since the Heian Period, Kyoto, Japan

This report analyzes the relation between festivals and disasters from the beginning of Heian period. The festivals held in the Heiankyo, such as the Inari, the Imamiya, the Gion, the Kitano and the Goryo festivals have been generically called the "Goryoe". Each festival was held in sequence from early summer to autumn every year. It was shown clearly that the fi ve festivals were carried out exactly in accordance with the season of frequent disasters

Land and vegetation degradation by soil erosion and salinization in the western australian wheat belt

In the W.A. Wheat Belt, there are serious soil erosion and salinization in farmlands. Field studies were carried out in 1983 to observe soil erosion, salinization and related environmental changes caused by European settlement and to consider their interrelationships. Soil erosion seems to be related to the spread of soil salinity. Both effects have been caused by the replacement of native vegetation with agriculture. Soil erosion appears to begin with the instability of the surface layer on relatively gentle slopes with high content of cations and phosphorus, which suggests a link between salinization and fertilization by the application of fertilizer to promote growth. The distribution of dead trees standing along small streams indicates that a road embankment over the valley has changed the hydrology and salinity. Such changes have caused retrogressive plant succession. Land and vegetation degradation on the lunette is also significant