Vertical Distribution of Forest Types on the North - western Slope of Mt. Paektu

백두산 서북사면 삼람의 수직분포

Mt. paektu(altitude 2,749.6m) is ecologically important because successional processes following volcanic eurption are quite clear. We investigated plant communities with altitude know vertical distribution of plant vegetation on the north-western slope of Mt. paektu was divided into five parts; the pine-hardwood forest zone(600∼1,000m alt.), the lower coniferous forest zone (1,000∼1,500 m alt.), the upper coniferous forest and birch forest zone(1,500∼2,000 m alt.), the alpine shrub zone(2,000∼2,500 m alt.) and the alpine meadow zone(2,500∼2,749 m alt.). In particular, the alpine zone was divided into alpine shrub and alpine meadow zones and distributed up to 2,500m alt. these results reflet the adaptations of these shrubs at this altitude. But these shrubby communities disappeared on the alpinemeadow zone. In the alpine meadow zone above than 2,500m alt., some meadows, papaver radicatum var pscudoradicatum. bistorta ochotensis, chrysathemum zawadskii var. latilobum etc., were occured.