Vegetation Structure of Vaccinium bracteatum Thunb. Habitat Area at A Valley of Southern Slope in Mt. Halla, Jeju Island

Vaccinium bracteatum Thunb. is an evergreen plant that belongs to the Genus Vaccinium distributed in Korea, and its fruit has been used for food by the common people and thus has a high possibility of commercialization. Therefore, the habitat environment and individual characteristics of V. bracteatum in Jeju Island were investigated to obtain the basic data for commercialization and preservation. The results showed that V. bracteatum is mostly distributed on the southern slope of Mt. Halla at an altitude of 100 to 500 m. V. bracteatum that occurred in the quadrat were total 30 individuals, which had an average height of 6.0 m, an average DBH of 7.8 cm, and an average number of trunk of 4.3. As for the community structure of the habitat, the average percentage of vegetation cover for the tree layer was 36%, while that for the subtree layer was 78%, which emphasized the importance of the subtree layer. The total number of species that occurred in the quadrat was 76. For the tree layer, total 10 species occurred, which include 2 species of evergreen coniferous trees, 3 species of evergreen broad-leaved trees, and 5 species of deciduous broad-leaved trees. For the subtree layer, total 24 species occurred, which include 1 species of evergreen coniferous tree, 11 species of evergreen broad-leaved trees, and 10 species of deciduous broad-leaved trees. Among these, Eurya japonica Thunb. was the species with a high relative contribution, which threatened V. bracteatum For the shrub layer, 27 species occurred including Cinnamomum japonicum Siebold, and for the herbaceous layer, 64 species occurred including Ardisia crenata Sims. The similarity between the habitats of V. bracteatum was very low, and it did not prefer a characteristic community. The V. bracteatum community around Shinrei stream was distributed on the surrounding area adjacent to the slope of the stream rather than the slope. There were a lot of basins, but the branches, which did not receive sunlight, had withered. It is thought that V. bracteatum would decline if the forest formation continues.

한라산 남사면 계곡 모새나무 자생지 일대의 식생구조

모새나무는 국내 분포 정금나무속(Genus Vaccinium)식물 중 상록성이며 민간에서 열매를 식용으로 사용했던 종으로 산업화 가능성이 매우 높다. 따라서 제주도내 모새나무의 자생지 환경 및 개체특성 등을 조사하여 산업화 및 보호의 기초자료로 삼고자 실시하였다. 조사한 결과, 모새나무는 한라산 남사면에 많이 분포하였고, 해발 100~500 m에 주로 분포하였다. 조사방형구내 출현한 모새나무는 총 30개체로 평균수고 6.0 m, 평균흉고직경 7.8 cm로, 평균분지수 4.3개였다. 자생지의 군락 구조는 교목층의 평균식피율이 36%로 낮은 반면 아교목층이 평균식피율은 78%로 높게 나타나 아교목층이 중요한 위치를 차지하였다. 조사구내 총 출현한 종수는 76종으로 교목층에 상록침엽수 2종, 상록활엽수 3종, 낙엽활엽수 5종 등 총 10종이 출현하였고, 아교목층은 상록침엽수 1종, 상록활엽수 11종, 낙엽활엽수 10종 등 총 24종이 출현하였다. 이 중 상대기여도가 높은 종은 사스레피나무로서 모새나무를 위협하는 종이였다. 관목층은 생달나무 등 27종이 출현하였고, 초본층은 백량금 등 64종이 출현하였다. 모새나무 자생지간 유사성은 매우 낮아 특징적인 군락을 선호하지 않았고, 신례천의 모새나무 군락은 하천 사면이 아니라 사면과 연결된 주변에 분포하였으며, 분지가 많이 이루어졌으나 햇볕을 받지 못하는 가지들이 고사된 상태였고, 숲의 형성이 지속적으로 이루어질 경우 모새나무는 쇠퇴할 것으로 판단되었다.