Status of wetland vascular plant species in Korea

We report the status of wetland vascular plant species in Korea including the whole peninsula and its adjacent islands. This analysis was based on database from our previous categorized list. In all, 4,050 taxa have been reported, including 3,769 native and 281 naturalized. Of these, 479 taxa (12%) are considered as wetland vascular indicator species: 240 obligate wetland plants (OBW) and 239 facultative upland plants (FACW). Approximately 31% of those 479 taxa, i.e., 149 taxa, are labelled as aquatic macrophytes. Wetland plants, mostly herbaceous but some woody, inhabit aquatic bodies and wet meadows. Except for two OBW and six FACW taxa, the rest of the plants are summer-green only. The information provided here is valuable for making assessments of wetland ecosystem health, as well as for developing management plans to preserve and restore wetlands and their resident plant species while also creating artificial wetland environments.