Abstract
Vegetational changes along elevational and topographical gradients were studied in Mt. Jumbong which is located at the core area of the Mt. Sorak Biosphere Reserve in Kangwon-do Province in central Korea. Two 500 m north-south transects crossing two valleys and a small ridge were laid out, and fifty-one 10 m$\times$10 m permanent quadrats were systematically set up. All trees bigger than 2.5 cm DBH were marked with numbered aluminum tags, and their DBH measured and the species identified. Coverage of plant species in the herb layer were determined in two 2 m $\times$ 2 m subquadrats in each of the permanent quadrats. Thirty-two species of woody plants occurred in the tree layer in the permanent quadrats studied. Quercus mongolica was the dominant species across the study site, and Acer pseudosieboldianum and Carpinus cordata were also important. Quercus mongolica occurred on the ridges and south-facing slopes, and Acer pseudosieboldianum occurred extensively except for valleys. In contrast, Fraxinus mandshurica, Acer mono, Acer triflorum, and Ulmus laciniata were common in valleys. At the herbaceous layer, 112 species were identified. Dominant species were Ainsliaea acerifolia and Sasa borealis on the ridges, Meehania urticifolia on north-facing slopes, and Deutzia glabrata on valleys. Soil environmental factors were compared among the quadrats. pH was lower in the quadrats located on ridges and south-facing slopes, and organic matter was lowest on south-facing slopes. Quadrats located on valleys were generally higher in pH, organic matter, N, P, K, Ca and Mg. DCA ordinations for tree layer and herb layer were carried out in order to identify the dominant environmental factors affecting the distribution of plant species along the environmental gradients. Correlation analysis between ordination axis scores and environmental factors showed that axis one was negatively correlated with elevation and positively correlated with soil organic matter, pH, Ca, Mg, and P, but that axis two was positively correlated with elevation. These results indicate that vegetation responds very sensitively to elevational and topographical gradients although the study area is relatively small with about 100 m in elevational variation.
