As the Japanese Countryside Empties Out, Wildlife Is Disappearing

Japan’s rural depopulation is accompanied not by a simple return of wildlife, but by declines in species that rely on landscapes shaped by traditional farming. Small farms in the foothills maintained a varied mix of rice paddies, pastures, and woodland. Farmers’ practices - cutting trees for firewood, collecting leaves for fertilizer, and maintaining paddies - created habitats for orchids, azaleas, rice fish, and Heike fireflies. Many species have developed alongside these human-managed environments, so when farms are abandoned, the habitats they depend on can disappear even as nature reclaims the land.

A 2025 study in Japan found biodiversity remained stable where human populations were stable, while depopulating areas saw fewer butterflies, fireflies, frogs, birds, and native plants. Similar patterns are emerging in rural regions elsewhere, including Spain and China. Evidence from the Lake Constance region of the European Alps also suggests that plant diversity peaked when small farms formed a patchwork of fields, pastures, and forests - more diverse than either earlier closed forests or later industrial farms. The central point is that conservation need not mean choosing between food production and biodiversity: small, diversified farms can support both, while the loss of rural communities and traditional land management can harm wildlife.