Ecology and Natural History of North Korean Pinaceae

This work discussed the species composition, phylogeny, spatio-temporal distribution, ecology and natural history of North Korean Pinaceae or pine tree family, which seems to be important to maintain nature and ecosystem in the Korean Peninsula. Out of five genera and sixteen species of Pinaceae of the Korean Peninsula, North Korea contains four genera and eleven species of Pinaceae, including Pinus densilflora, P. koraiensis, P. pumila, Picea jezoensis, P. koraiensis, P. koraiensis var. koraiensis, P. pungsanensis, Larix gmelini, L. gmelinii var. olgensis, Abies holophylla and A. nephrolepis. In terms of phylogeny Pinus is closely related to Picea, and followed by Larix. Abies is close to Tsuga which only occur at Ullung Island. Distributional pattern of North Korean Pinaceae can be classified into four types; three species of nation-wide montane type i.e., Pinus densilflora, P. koraiensis and Abies holophylla, four species of central and northern subalpine type, i.e., Pinus pumila, Picea koraiensis, Larix gmelini and Abies nephrolepis, one nation-wide subalpine type, Picea jezoensis, and three species disjunctive to north type, i.e., Picea koraiensis var. koraiensis, P. pungsanensis, and Larix gmelinii var. olgensis. Pinaceae species occurring on the alpine and subalpine belts of North Korea, such as Pinus koraiensis, P. pumila, Picea jezoensis, P. koraiensis, P. koraiensis var. koraiensis, P. pungsanensis, Larix gmelini, L. gmelinii var. olgensis and A. nephrolepis are considered as the glacial descendant from the boreal region. Those species might have migrated from the north during the Pleistocene glacial epochs in search of favourable condition, and since the Holocene period they survived on the hostile alpine and subalpine environments, in which they are more competitive than warmth-tolerant temperate vegetation. Certain species, such as Picea pungsanensis, is segregated on the isolated mountains since the Pleistocene period, and forced to adapt to local environment, and eventually became an endemic species of North Korea. Recent rapid global warming trend especially in northern high mountains of North Korea could cause an unfavourable environment for the survival of cold-tolerant Pinaceae of the alpine and subalpine belts. Pinus densiflora, which is occurring on the montane belt might faced with difficulties due to both the deforestation and the outbreak of insect-borne disease, such as Bursaphelenchus xylophilus.

북한 소나무과 나무의 생태와 자연사