• Journal of The Geomorphological Association of Korea
• /
• v.25 no.4
• /
• pp.89-101
• /
• 2018

In Mt. Halla, an arctic-alpine plant Diapensia lapponica var. obovata largely clings to rock surfaces. We observed the rock-surface temperatures of a rocky ridge on the summit area of the mountain from late April 2009 to early May 2010 in order to examine the diurnal and annual temperature variations and the thermal amplitude. We also investigated temperature regimes such as the frequency of freeze-thaw cycles and the temperature change, which might endanger the habitat through frost weathering. For comparison of slope aspects, temperature monitoring was carried out on the north and south faces of the same rocky ridge. The south face experiences the high daily maximum rock-surface temperatures and the high thermal amplitudes during the unfreezing season of May to November 2009. The temperature regimes are considered to exert physiological stress to the arctic-alpine plant. In addition, the south face shows the high frequency of freeze-thaw cycles during the seasonal freezing period of December 2009 to April 2010. This indicates that the south face is susceptible the exfoliation and granular disintegration of rock surfaces, which results in habitat destruction. As a consequence, the south face is believed to be less favorable for the establishment and growth of the arctic-alpine plant than the north face on the summit area of Mt. Halla.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
• /
• v.12 no.3
• /
• pp.221-233
• /
• 1999

The vegetation and plant resources of Paeaknokdam, the crater of Mt. Halla, was investigated from 1996 to 1998. The vegetation was classified into Diapensia lapponica var. obovata-Tofieldia fauriel association and Festuca ovina-Carex erythrobasis association. The latter was divided into Rhododendron mucronulatum var. ciliatum-Empetrum nigrum var. japonicum subassociation, which was composed partly of Abies koreana-Betula ermani var. saitoana variant. The plant resources of 162 taxa were composed of 49 families, 122 genera, 127 species, 2 subspecies, 30 varieties and 3 formae, of which 63 taxa were newly found in this area. Among the investigated plants, 27 taxa were endemic to Korea or Cheju islands, 39 taxa were rare or endangered, and 65 taxa were identified as alpine plants. One hundred and twenty-one taxa(75.6%) were identified to be useful: 82 for ornament, 75 for medice, 66 for food, 17 for nectar-producing, 15 for pasture, and 10 for industry.