Guiding Young Scholars in Order to Integrate Their Various Research into Landscape Ecology

The scientific contributions especially landscape ecological efforts of the author were described in three significant periods. The three periods were symbolized as “stone,” “scissors,” and “paper” ecology, respectively. The first period was a challenging time for new findings on soil seed banks in forests. In the later periods, the author and his colleagues and students attempted to publish research efforts in landscape ecology. As for the recollections of these scientific contributions, the author explained several important publications and classified them into fields of subjects separated from landscape ecology. The total number of selected publications was 147, including 6 books, 13 chapter articles, and 128 journal papers. The last period continues up to present. However, its early years strongly depended on big financial support by the Japanese government. The author made several comments on these two big projects in relation to graduate school education programs and ecological efforts. Finally, future aspects of landscape ecology were suggested from the author’s view.