Long-term fauna and flora records of the experimental forests of the Forest Research Station of Hokkaido University, Japan

The Forest Research Station of Hokkaido University owns a vast area of experimental forests, which are composed of a large variety of ecosystems ranging from aquatic ecosystems, such as wetlands and river basins, to various types of forests, such as primary, secondary and artificial forests. Additionally, these forests are representative of numerous climatic zones, such as warm temperate, cool temperate and subarctic. Since the initial establishment of the Forest Research Station in 1901, huge efforts have been devoted to recording the vegetation structure and vertebrate assemblages of these experimental forests. Thus, a large body of literature and long-term data on fauna and flora of these forests has been accumulated in our archives. However, most of these records have been written in Japanese and are not opened to the public or well structured. Therefore, we comprehensively reviewed these records and related scientific articles from the 1910s to the 2010s to build up the database for vascular plant and vertebrate animals that inhabited (in the past) and/or are currently inhabiting in the experimental forests. Additional site-specific information was also listed, including geological and topographical characteristics where species were found as well as the localities, survey area and year in which species were recorded. These databases, which span a large temporal and spatial scale, are expected to provide useful data for research or educational purposes and for understanding the flora and fauna of Japan. These can also contribute to a greater understanding of the historical transition of biodiversity in Japan.