10
Kyushu and Okinawa Regions
Yusuke Arakawa, Takashi Kusaba, Hideo Kubotera, Ichiro Uezono,
Naoko Miyamaru, Yuichi Saeki, Hiroshi Niimi, Keiko Nakano,
Nobuhisa Koga, Yoshitaka Hara, Yasunao Yamada, Katsuhiro Inoue,
Hirotaka Ihara, Makoto Nagatomo, Koichi Yoshida, Noriko Yamaguchi,
Hiroaki Hayashi, Tomohiro Kondo, Tsuyoshi Yamane, Isao Akagi,
Kazutoshi Kinjo, Takeo Shima, and Kojiro Mitsugi
Abstract
Kyushu is the most southerly island among Japan’s main
islands. The landscape of Kyushu has been formed through
volcanic activity where volcanic soils (Andosols) are widely
distributed in the central and southern part of the island.
Okinawa is the southern half of the Nansei Islands, which
extends approximately 1200 km from Kyushu to Taiwan.
The soils of Okinawa are far different from the soils of
Japan’s mainland. The three main soils are Red-Yellow
soils, Calcareous Eutrosols, and Terrestrial Regosols, all
having low soil fertility. Kyushu has a warm and rainy
climate, while Okinawa has a subtropical oceanic climate.
However, typhoons and torrential rains are frequent in both
regions during summer and autumn, leading damage to
fields and crops behind them. Kyushu is the second largest
food producer on a monetary basis next to Kanto including
Y. Arakawa (&) Á H. Niimi Á T. Shima
Division of Upland Farming Research, Kyushu Okinawa
Agricultural Research Center, NARO, Miyakonojo City, Miyazaki
Prefecture, Japan
e-mail: arakaw@affrc.go.jp
T. Kusaba
Division of Agro-Environment Research, Kyushu Okinawa
Agricultural Research Center, NARO (Retired), Koshi City,
Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan
H. Kubotera
Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences, NARO, Tsukuba City,
Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan
I. Uezono
Kagoshima Prefectural Institute for Agricultural Development
Osumi Branch, Kanoya City, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan
N. Miyamaru
Sugarcane and Ordinary Crops Section, Okinawa Prefectural
Agricultural Research Center, Itoman City, Okinawa Prefecture,
Japan
Y. Saeki
Faculty of Agriculture, University of Miyazaki, Miyazaki City,
Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan
K. Nakano
Division of Lowland Farming Research, Kyushu Okinawa
Agricultural Research Center, NARO, Chikugo City, Fukuoka
Prefecture, Japan
N. Koga
Headquarters, NARO, Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan
Y. Hara
Kyushu Okinawa Agricultural Research Center, NARO, Koshi
City, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan
Y. Yamada Á K. Inoue
Nagasaki Agricultural & Forestry Technical Development Center,
Nagasaki Prefectural Government, Isahaya City, Nagasaki
Prefecture, Japan
H. Ihara
Division of Agro-Environment Research, Kyushu Okinawa
Agricultural Research Center, NARO, Koshi City, Kumamoto
Prefecture, Japan
M. Nagatomo
Kagoshima Prefectural Institute for Agricultural Development,
Minamisatsuma City, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan
K. Yoshida
Okinawa Agricultural Technology & Development Co., Ltd.,
Itoman City, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan
N. Yamaguchi
Division of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, Central Region
Agricultural Research Center, NARO, Tsukuba City, Ibaraki
Prefecture, Japan
H. Hayashi
The Kunisaki Peninsula Usa GIAHS Promotion Association,
Kunisaki City, Oita Prefecture, Japan
T. Kondo
Faculty of Regional Innovation, University of Miyazaki, Miyazaki
City, Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan
Present Address:
T. Kondo
Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kyoto City,
Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
T. Yamane
Division of Agro-Environmental Research, Hokkaido Agricultural
Research Center, NARO, Sapporo City, Hokkaido, Japan
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
R. Hatano et al. (eds.), The Soils of Japan, World Soils Book Series,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-8229-5_10
327
Kyushu and Okinawa Regions
Yusuke Arakawa, Takashi Kusaba, Hideo Kubotera, Ichiro Uezono,
Naoko Miyamaru, Yuichi Saeki, Hiroshi Niimi, Keiko Nakano,
Nobuhisa Koga, Yoshitaka Hara, Yasunao Yamada, Katsuhiro Inoue,
Hirotaka Ihara, Makoto Nagatomo, Koichi Yoshida, Noriko Yamaguchi,
Hiroaki Hayashi, Tomohiro Kondo, Tsuyoshi Yamane, Isao Akagi,
Kazutoshi Kinjo, Takeo Shima, and Kojiro Mitsugi
Abstract
Kyushu is the most southerly island among Japan’s main
islands. The landscape of Kyushu has been formed through
volcanic activity where volcanic soils (Andosols) are widely
distributed in the central and southern part of the island.
Okinawa is the southern half of the Nansei Islands, which
extends approximately 1200 km from Kyushu to Taiwan.
The soils of Okinawa are far different from the soils of
Japan’s mainland. The three main soils are Red-Yellow
soils, Calcareous Eutrosols, and Terrestrial Regosols, all
having low soil fertility. Kyushu has a warm and rainy
climate, while Okinawa has a subtropical oceanic climate.
However, typhoons and torrential rains are frequent in both
regions during summer and autumn, leading damage to
fields and crops behind them. Kyushu is the second largest
food producer on a monetary basis next to Kanto including
Y. Arakawa (&) Á H. Niimi Á T. Shima
Division of Upland Farming Research, Kyushu Okinawa
Agricultural Research Center, NARO, Miyakonojo City, Miyazaki
Prefecture, Japan
e-mail: arakaw@affrc.go.jp
T. Kusaba
Division of Agro-Environment Research, Kyushu Okinawa
Agricultural Research Center, NARO (Retired), Koshi City,
Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan
H. Kubotera
Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences, NARO, Tsukuba City,
Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan
I. Uezono
Kagoshima Prefectural Institute for Agricultural Development
Osumi Branch, Kanoya City, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan
N. Miyamaru
Sugarcane and Ordinary Crops Section, Okinawa Prefectural
Agricultural Research Center, Itoman City, Okinawa Prefecture,
Japan
Y. Saeki
Faculty of Agriculture, University of Miyazaki, Miyazaki City,
Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan
K. Nakano
Division of Lowland Farming Research, Kyushu Okinawa
Agricultural Research Center, NARO, Chikugo City, Fukuoka
Prefecture, Japan
N. Koga
Headquarters, NARO, Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan
Y. Hara
Kyushu Okinawa Agricultural Research Center, NARO, Koshi
City, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan
Y. Yamada Á K. Inoue
Nagasaki Agricultural & Forestry Technical Development Center,
Nagasaki Prefectural Government, Isahaya City, Nagasaki
Prefecture, Japan
H. Ihara
Division of Agro-Environment Research, Kyushu Okinawa
Agricultural Research Center, NARO, Koshi City, Kumamoto
Prefecture, Japan
M. Nagatomo
Kagoshima Prefectural Institute for Agricultural Development,
Minamisatsuma City, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan
K. Yoshida
Okinawa Agricultural Technology & Development Co., Ltd.,
Itoman City, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan
N. Yamaguchi
Division of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, Central Region
Agricultural Research Center, NARO, Tsukuba City, Ibaraki
Prefecture, Japan
H. Hayashi
The Kunisaki Peninsula Usa GIAHS Promotion Association,
Kunisaki City, Oita Prefecture, Japan
T. Kondo
Faculty of Regional Innovation, University of Miyazaki, Miyazaki
City, Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan
Present Address:
T. Kondo
Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kyoto City,
Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
T. Yamane
Division of Agro-Environmental Research, Hokkaido Agricultural
Research Center, NARO, Sapporo City, Hokkaido, Japan
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
R. Hatano et al. (eds.), The Soils of Japan, World Soils Book Series,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-8229-5_10
327