Prof. Atsushi Tsunekawa


Research Themes

  • Process-based ecosystem: interaction between terrestrial ecosystem and climate.
  • Monitoring and modeling of biological productivity using remote sensing and GIS
  • Establishment of integrated environmental science: clarification of the nature-society system based on natural resources
  • Development of environmental planning methods using GIS
  • Clarification of habitat selection processes used by endangered ungulates and verification of the fragmentation of their habitat
  • Landscape ecological evaluation of the spatial habitat of large terrestrial mammals

Brief CV

［Educational background］ 1983 B.Sc.Agric. (The University of Tokyo, Japan)
1985 M.Sc.Agric. (The University of Tokyo, Japan)
1989 Ph.D. (The University of Tokyo, Japan)
［Professional background］ 1990 Senior Research Scientist, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Japan Environment Agency
1992 Senior Systems Analyst, United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP)/Global Resource Information Database (GRID), Bangkok, Thailand, dispatched by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)
1995 Visiting Scholar, Graduate School of Design, Harvard University, U.S.A.
1996 Associate Professor, The University of Tokyo, Japan, dispatched by Japan Science and Technology Agency
2001-2002 Deputy Director for Environment and Energy, Bureau of Science and Technology Policy, Cabinet Office, Government of Japan
2005 Professor, Arid Land Research Center, Tottori University, Japan

Selected publications

  • Haregeweyn N, Fikadu G, Tsunekawa A, Tsubo M, Meshesha DT. 2012. The dynamics of urban expansion and its impacts on land use/land cover change and small-scale farmers living near the urban fringe: A case study of Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. Landscape and Urban Planning. doi: 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2012.02.016 (in press)
  • Kinugasa T, Tsunekawa A, Shinoda M. Increasing nitrogen deposition enhances post-drought recovery of grassland productivity in the Mongolian steppe. Oecologia doi: 10.1007/s00442-012-2354-4 (in press)
  • Han L, Tsunekawa A, Tsubo M. 2012. Active and passive microwave remote sensing of springtime near-surface thaw at midlatitudes. IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letters. 9(3): 427- 431.
  • Haregeweyn N, Melesse B, Tsunekawa A, Tsubo M, Meshesha D, Balana B. 2012. Reservoir sedimentation and its mitigating strategies: a case study of Angereb reservoir (NW Ethiopia). Journal of Soils and Sediments. 12(2): 291-305. (Online available since 2011/Nov doi:10.10007/s11368-011-0447-z)
  • Meshesha DT, Tsunekawa A, Tsubo M, Haregeweyn N. 2012. Dynamics and hotspots of soil erosion and management scenarios of the Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia. International Journal of Sediment Research 27: 84-99.
  • Han L, Tsunekawa A, Tsubo M. 2011. Effect of frozen ground on dust outbreaks in spring on the eastern Mongolian Plateau. Geomorphology 129: 412-416.
  • Meshesha DT, Tsunekawa A, Tsubo M, Haregeweyn N. JUL-OCT 2011. Spatial analysis and semi-quantitative modeling of specific sediment yield in six catchments of the central rift valley of Ethiopia. Journal of Food, Agriculture & Environment 9(3&4): 784-792.
  • Peng F, Tsuji W, Wang T, Tsunekawa A. 2012. Effects of sand burial and water regimes on seed germination and seedling emergence of two desert species. Advanced Materials Research Vols. 356-360, 2465-2472. Online available since 2011/Oct?07. doi:10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.356-360.2465.
  • Duan H, Yan C, Tsunekawa A, Song X, Li S, Xie JL. 2011. Assessing vegetation dynamics in the Three-North Shelter Forest region of China using AVHRR NDVI data. Environmental Earth Sciences 64(4): 1011-1020. (DOI: 10.1007/s12665-011-0919-x)
  • Han L, Tsunekawa A, Tsubo M. 2012. Radar remote sensing of springtime near-surface soil thaw events at mid-latitudes. International Journal of Remote Sensing 32(23): 8555-8574.
  • Han XW, Tsunekawa A, Tsubo M, Li S. 2011. Aboveground biomass response to increasing nitrogen deposition on grassland on the northern Loess Plateau of China. Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica, Section B - Plant Soil Science 61(2): 112-121. DOI:10.1080/09064710903544201.
  • Meshesha, DT, Tsunekawa A, Tsubo M. 2012. Continuing land degradation: its cause-effect in Ethiopia's Central Rift Valley. Land Degradation and Development 23(2): 130-143.
  • Li L, Tsunekawa A, Tsubo M, Koike A, Wang J. 2010. Efficiency and its determinant factors for smallholder farms in the Grain for Green Program on the Loess Plateau, China. Journal of Food, Agriculture & Environment 8(3&4): 772-778.
  • Han L, Tsunekawa A, Tsubo M. 2010. Monitoring near-surface soil freeze-thaw cycles in northern China and Mongolia from 1998 to 2007. International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation 12(5): 375-384.
  • Han X., Tsunekawa A., Tsubo M. and Li S. 2010. Effects of land-cover type and topography on soil organic carbon storage on Northern Loess Plateau, China. Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica, Section B - Plant Soil Science 60(4): 326-334. DOI: 10.1080/09064710902988672.
  • Li L, Tsunekawa A, Tsubo M, Koike A, Wang J. 2010. Assessing total factor productivity and efficiency change for farms participating in Grain for Green program in China: A case study from Ansai, Loess Plateau. Journal of Food, Agriculture & Environment 8(2): 1185-1192.
  • Zhang B, Tsunekawa A, Tsubo M. 2008. Satellite monitoring and synoptic analysis of dust storms from China and Mongolia: a case study during 6-11 April 2001. Sand Dune Research 55(1): 13-23.
  • Zhang B, Tsunekawa A, Tsubo M. 2008. Contributions of sandy lands and stony deserts to long-distance dust emission in China and Mongolia during 2000-2006. Global and Planetary Change 60: 487-504.
  • Mu H, Kurozawa Y, Kotani K, Liu G, Liu P, Tsunekawa A, Nishino S, Ito T. 2008. Health-related Quality of Life and recognition of desertification in inhabitants among the Loess Plateau region of China: findings for city and village communities. Journal of Environmental Health 70(6): 38-43.
  • Ito TY, Okada A, Buuveibaatar B, Lhagvasuren B Takatsuki S, Tsunekawa A. 2008. One-sided barrier impact of an international railroad of Mongolian gazelles. Journal of Wildlife Management 72(4): 940-943. DOI: 10.2193/2007-188.
  • Iijima Y, Kawaragi T, Ito T, Akshalov K, Tsunekawa A, Shinoda M. 2007. Response of plant growth to surface water balance during a summer dry period in the Kazakhstan steppe. Hydrological Processes DOI: 10.1002/hyp.6870.
  • Irshad M, Inoue M, Ashraf M, Faridullah, Delower HKM, Tsunekawa A. 2007. Land desertification: an emerging threat to environment and food security of Pakistan. Journal of Applied Sciences. 7(8): 1199-1205.
  • Ito TY, Miura N, Lhagvasuren B, Enkhbileg D, Takatsuki S, Tsunekawa A, Jiang Z. 2006. Satellite tracking of Mongolia gazelles (Procapra gutturosa) and habitat shifts in their seasonal ranges. Journal of Zoology 269: 291-298.
  • Tsunekawa A, Ito TY, Shinoda M, Nemoto M, Suhama T, Ju H, Shimizu H. 2005. Methodology for assessment of desertification based on vegetation degradation using net primary productivity (NPP) as a key indicator. Phyton 45(4): 185-192.
  • Yamanishi A, Tsunekawa A, Kiyohara Y, Kamijo T, Higuchi H. 2005. Monitoring of vegetation damage caused by the 2000 Miyake Island volcanic eruption using satellite remote sensing and field surveys. Journal of Agricultural Meteorology. 60(6): 1183-1188.
  • Miura N, Tsunekawa A, Takeuchi K. 2005. Evaluation of forest fragmentation in Japan. Phyton 45(4): 25-32.
  • Ito TY, Miura N, Lhagvasuren B, Enkhbileg D, Takatsuki S, Tsunekawa A, Jiang Z. Preliminary evidence of barrier effect of a railroad on the migration of Mongolian gazelles. Conservation Biology 19(3): 945-948.
  • Parikesit D, Takeuchi K, Tsunekawa A, Abdoellah OS. 2005. Kebon tatangkalan: a disappearing agroforest in the Upper Citarum Watershed, West Java, Indonesia.. Agroforestry Systems 63(2): 171-182.
  • Komatsu Y, Tsunekawa A, Ju H. 2005. Evaluation of agricultural sustainability based on human carrying capacity in drylands-a case study in rural villages in Inner Mongolia, China. Agriculture, Ecosystems, & Environment. 108: 29-43.
  • Murakami A, Zain A M, Takeuchi K, Tsunekawa A, Yokota S. 2005. Trends in urbanization and patterns of land use in the Asian mega cities Jakarta, Bangkok, and Metro Manila. Landscape and Urban Planning, 70: 251-259.
  • Parikesit D, Takeuchi K, Tsunekawa A, Abdoellah OS. 2005. Resource analysis of small-scale dairy production system in an Indonesian village - a case study. Agriculture, Ecosystems, & Environment 105:541-554.
  • Gunawan B, Takeuchi K, Tsunekawa A, Abdoellah OS. 2004. Community dependency on forest resources in West Java, Indonesia: the need to re-involve local people in forest management. Journal of Sustainable Forestry, 18(4): 29-46.
  • Tsunekawa A, Zhu B, Abe K, Saito C, Takeuchi K. 2003. Modeling the production and uses of biological resources from the viewpoint of energy flow in a rural village in Sichuan, China. Environmental Management 32(1), 47-61.
  • Harashina K, Takeuchi K, Tsunekawa A, Arifin HS. 2003. Nitrogen flows due to human activities in the Cianjur-Cisokan watershed area in the middle Citarum drainage basin, West Java, Indonesia: a case study at hamlet scale. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 100: 75-90.
  • Parikesit D, Takeuchi K, Tsunekawa A, Abdoellah, OS. 2000. Non-forest fuelwood acquisition and transition in type of energy for domestic uses in the changing agricultural landscape of the Upper Citarum Watershed, Indonesia. Agric Ecosystem Environ 1672: 1-15.
  • Anantha Ram K, Tsunekawa A, Saha DK, Miyazaki T. 1999. Subdivision and fragmentation of land holdings and their implication in desertification in the Thar Desert, India. J Arid Environ 41: 463-477.
  • Tsunekawa A, Kar A, Yanai J, Tanaka U, Miyazaki T. 1997. Influence of continuous cultivation on the soil properties affecting crop productivity in the Thar desert, India. J Arid Environ 36: 367-384.
  • Tsunekawa A, Zhang X, Zhou G, Omasa K. 1995. Predicting responses to climatic change of the potential vegetation distribution in China. J Agr Meteorol 51: 245-257.
  • Tsunekawa A, Ikeguchi H, Kainuma M, Tobe K., Omasa K. 1993. Effects of climatic change on the vegetation distribution in Japan. J Agr Met 48: 867-870.