Canopy soil of old-growth forest fosters unique invertebrate diversity that is vulnerable to human disturbance

Yakushima Island, a world heritage site in Japan, is renowned for its rich biodiversity. The huge Japanese cedar (Yaku-sugi) forests, which are over a thousand years old, are a symbolic ecosystem of the island. Although the canopy of these colossal trees, including the Japanese cedar (Yaku-sugi), is considered to harbor a wealth of undiscovered biodiversity, conducting actual surveys presents significant challenges.