Actual Vegetation and Potential Natural Vegetation of Naejangsan National Park, Southwestern Korea

내장산 국립공원의 현존식생과 잠재자연식생

The potential natural vegetation of Naejangsan national park area, southwestern Korea, was inferred from the actual vegetation. With the phytosociological classification, ordinatins and field surveys, the actual vegetation map of the area was made in scale 1:25, 000, including ten communities of Pinus densiflora, quercus mongolica, Quercus variabilis, Carpinus laxiflora, Daphnipyllum macropodum, Carpinus tschonoskii, Quercus aliena-Carpinus tschonoskii, Cornus controversa-Lindera erythrocarpa, Torreya mucifera-Zelkova serrate and Acer mono-Zelkova serrata community. The analyses of species richness, age structure and various informations on vegetation changes suggest the three pathways of late stage succession from P. densiflora forest to climatic climax. The first of them is through Q. variabilis forest to Q. monogolica forest in the upper parts of the mountain, the second through Q. variabilis and Q. serrata forest to C. laxiflora forest in the middle parts and the third through Q. aliena forest to C. tschonoskii forest in lower parts. Considering the actual vegetation and informations on the vegetation changes including human activities, the potential natural vegetation of the mountain mainly composed of Q. monogolica, C. laxiflora, C. tschonoskii, P. densiflora and Z. serrata forest as climatic climax and/or edaphic climax was inferred. The present situration of nature conservation in the area was estimated by the examination on the actual vegetation and potential natural vegetation map.