Mapping a Mountain

From the alteration of the Mississippi River to the destruction of the amazon rainforest, resource demands and global commerce have led to landscape modifications. Among these changes lie biophysical constraints, which limit land use and land cover opportunities. Little has been studied about how these global patterns impact volcanic landscapes, where steep slopes and soils with low water retention limit land use capabilities. This thesis documents land cover change on Mt. Fuji by quantifying and analyzing land cover change over the past century in between four different time periods: 1898, the 1930’s, the 1950’s and 1992. Land cover data were obtained by digitizing historic land cover maps of Fuji. These land cover mosaics were intersected with a digital map of the bedrock geology of Mt. Fuji to explore how geology has influenced observed land cover changes. Croplands are concentrated in the few areas with water retention capabilities, and forests and grasslands dominate areas with low soil fertility and soil permeability. In the face of shifts in global resource demands, land uses that are more flexible to geologic constraints have led to dead ends. With limited land use alternatives, a recent increase in tourism may lead to land cover transitions that are more visitor friendly, and consequently, more profitable.