• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.112 no.4
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• pp.459-471
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• 2023

This study identified the characteristics of changes in forest areas of North Korea's major regions (Gaesong, Goseong, Pyongyang, and Hyesan·Samsu) using data on degraded lands collected via monitoring by the National Institute of Forest Science. The data, spanning 1999 to 2018, were cross-analyzed to determine trends in land cover change, and hotspot analysis was conducted to confirm evident changes in the forest areas. The results showed that the areas of interest substantially transitioned to other land use types from 1999 to 2008. Contrastingly, the range of changes decreased from 2008 to 2018, with some areas regenerating into forests. Nevertheless, the hotspot analysis indicated that hotspots occurred more intensively in the outskirts of cities and forest edges from 2008 to 2018 than from 1999 to 2008. The analysis also showed that the aforementioned changes were caused by various aspects, depending on regional characteristics and social factors. This study can be used as a basic reference for decision-making on the selection of basic forest restoration targets and restoration methods in inter-Korean forest cooperation initiatives.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.113 no.2
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• pp.222-238
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• 2024

Coniferous species in subalpine ecosystems are known to be highly sensitive to climate change. Therefore, it is becoming increasingly important to monitor community and population dynamics. This study monitored 37 plots within the distribution area of Abies koreana on Mt. Jirisan for a period of eight years. We analyzed the importance value, density of living stems, mortality rate, recruitment rate, basal area, DBH (diameter of breast height) class distribution, and tree health status. Our results showed changes in the importance value based on the tree stratum, with A. koreana decreasing by 3.6% and Tripterygium regelii increasing by 2.5% in the tree layer. Between 2015 and 2023, there were 149 dead trees/ha (17.99% mortality rate) and 12 living trees/ha (1.02% recruitment rate) of A. koreana. The decrease in basal area was attributed to a decrease in the number of living trees. Tree mortality occurred in all DBH classes, with a particularly high decline in the <10 cm class (65 trees/ha reduced). In terms of changes in tree health status, the population of alive standing (AS) type trees, initially consisting of 539 trees/ha, has been transformed into alive standing (AS), alive lean (AL), and death standing (DS), accounting for 69.7%, 0.5%, and 13.8%, respectively. Meanwhile, DS-type trees have transitioned into dead broken (DB) and dead fallen (DF) types. This phenomenon is believed to be caused by strong winds in the subalpine region that pull up the rootlets from the soil. Further research on this finding is recommended.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.19-30
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• 2005

The objective of this study was to monitor the edge vegetation development process after timber harvesting at deciduous hardwood forest in Seoul National University Forests of Baekwoonsan(Mt), Korea. From 1994 to 1999, Woody plants were monitored on two experimental plots established in 1994. The edge vegetation development pattern during the last six years(1994-1999) after timber harvesting is summarized as follows; Weigela subsessilis, Lindera erythrocarpa, Stephanandra incisa, Zanthoxylum schinifolium appeared to be a competitive species at the harvested forest edge. Staphylea bumalda, Lindera erythrocarpa, Viburnum erosum appeared to be a competitive species at harvested forest border between the harvested forest edge and the harvested interior. Weigela subsessilis, finders erythrocarpa, Lindera obtusiloba appeared to be a competitive species at the forest interior. The mean relative important value of major species were changed along the distance from the forest edge to the forest interior and seemed to be affected by aspect, and existing woody plants. But similarity indices seemed to be affected by distance. Species composition of forest edge(0-10m) was dissimilar to that of the other forest edge(40-50m). Species diversity indices, number of species and individuals were decreased according to the distance from the forest edge to the forest interior with passing time.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.108 no.3
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• pp.440-453
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• 2019

This study was carried out to investigate the effect of watching a two-dimensional (2D) forest video and a virtual reality (VR) forest video on stress reduction in adults. Experiments were conducted in an artificial climate room, and 40 subjects participated. After inducing stress in the subjects, subjects watched a 2D gray video, 2D forest video, or VR forest video for 5 mins. The autonomic nervous system activity was evaluated continuously in terms of measured heart rate variability during the experiment. After each experiment, the subject's psychological state was evaluated using a questionnaire. The 2D forest video decreased the viewer's stress index, increased HF, and reduced heart rate compared with the 2D gray video. The VR forest video had a greater stress index reduction effect, LF/HF increase effect, and heart rate reduction effect than the 2D gray video. Psychological measurements showed that subjects felt more comfortable, natural, and calm when watching the 2D gray video, 2D forest video or VR forest video. We also found that the 2D forest video and VR forest video increased positive emotions and reduced negative emotions compared to the 2D gray video. Based on these results, it can be concluded that watching the 2D forest and VR forest videos reduces the stress index and heart rate compared with watching the 2D gray video. Thus, it is considered that the 2D forest video increases the activity of the parasympathetic nervous system, and the VR forest video increases the activity of the sympathetic nervous system. The increased activity of the sympathetic nervous system upon watching the VR forest video is judged to be positive sympathetic nerve activity, such as novelty and curiosity, and not negative sympathetic activity, such as stress and tension. The results of this study are expected to be the basis for examining the visual effects of forest healing, with hope that the utilization of VR, the technology of the fourth industrial revolution in the forestry field, will broaden.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.633-638
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• 2018

We are constantly hearing about the seriousness of food shortages in North Korea through various media reports. Recently, the severity of the problem has increased, and international organizations and relief organizations have become increasingly concerned. Due to the shortage of food and firewood, residents illegally cut trees in the mountains and, as a result, North Korea has become the third fastest-growing area of forest degradation in Asia. However, since North Korea cannot directly measure the extent of forest degradation, remote sensing techniques using satellite imagery have to be applied. The purpose of this study was to analyze the characteristics of forest change in North Korea, in order to understand the severity of the forest degradation problem. For this purpose, Landsat 5 TM and Landsat 8 OLI TIRS satellite images were acquired and classified. As a result, it was found that the forests have turned into wilderness in the Nampo City and Pyongyang municipalities, while the wasteland has changed into forests in the north of Yanggangdo. In addition, the total forested area of the whole region decreased by $4,166.22km^2$, the residential area decreased by $2,017.03km^2$, and the amount of agricultural land increased by $6,625.74km^2$, which is similar to the amount of forested area lost, although the difference in the overall area of the forests between 2017 and 2006 was small.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.89 no.4
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• pp.497-501
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• 2000

Twelve-year-old rootstocks of sycamore and sweetgum were coppiced at monthly intervals for one year. Sprout growth was measured three and five years after cutting. After three years, average dry weight of the sprouts cut in May, June and July was lower by 36% for sycamore and by 24% for sweetgum than those cut during the other months of the year. However, these differences were reduced to be 23% and 14%, respectively, after five years.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.100 no.1
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• pp.8-13
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• 2011

This study was carried out to investigate the change of photosynthesis, leaf and fruit according to crown layers in Actinidia arguta and hybrid kiwi. Photosynthesis rate (PPFD $1,000{\mu}mol{\cdot}m^{-2}s^{-1}$) were 5.82, 7.11, $9.54{\mu}mol\;CO_2\;m^{-2}s^{-1}$ at lower, middle, and upper position, respectively in 3 layer cultivation type. The length and area of leaves collected from lower position have lager value than upper position. The fruit quality of A. arguta and hybrid kiwifruit increased with increasing crown height. A linear correlation ($R^2=0.72$, 0.89 and 0.98) was shown between fruit weight (Boeun 4, Injea 16 and HM3) and the height of crown layer(layer 1, 2, and 3). From the results, we can suppose that the tree of the upper position of crown layer in the cultivation of A. arguta and hybrid kiwifruit produce high quality fruit due to its high photosynthesis ability.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.86-106
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• 2019

We investigated the environmental conditions of natural habitats of T. nuda. The species was found on rocky northern hills ($60{\sim}90^{\circ}$) near the stream where the sea level ranges 95~145m. The average annual temperature of the habitats was lower than other places of South Korea. The differences of the lowest and the highest of the year was significantly huge than any other places. Plants were growing at the edge of stream that water reached but not submerged. Most of plants were found in North, Northeast or Northwest. It is suggested that these species require moist and low sunlight for growth. The common vegetation along with the T. nuda includes Mukdenia rossii, Selaginella rossii, Calamagrostis epigeios, and Rhododendron yedoense f. poukhanense. The dominance values and sociability of T. nuda were below 3 in all studied habitats and the variance of the number of individuals among the habitats was very high. As the optimum habitats for the T. nuda are decreasing due to the extreme precipitation patterns. It is also expected that the number of T. nuda will be decreased in the future. Therefore restoration activity in situ or ex situ must be conducted to conserve this valuable plant species.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.112 no.4
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• pp.554-560
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• 2023

To prevent illegal timber distribution, DNA markers have been used to identify the species and origin. However, extracting high-quality DNA from timber is difficult because of its physical and chemical properties. In this study, we investigated whether the age of timber tissue influences the yield of DNA extraction and the success rate of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to understand the relationship between the establishment time of the wood annual ring and the extracted DNA concentration (ng/μl), purity (A260/A280), and PCR success rate (%) from pinewood, a major Korean domestic species. According to the results, it was observed that as the distance from the cambium increased, indicating that the tissue was older, the concentration and purity of the extracted DNA decreased significantly. For the trnM-trnV (285 bp) and rpoC1 (298 bp) regions, the PCR success rate was 100%. However, for the rbcL (1.3 kb) region, the PCR success rate was 66.67%. Moreover, PCR amplification of the rbcL region failed at all points older than 30 years. Thus, it is deduced that as time passes, along with the decay of timber cells, DNA is degraded, leading to a decrease in DNA concentration, purity, and PCR success rate. The results of this study are expected to be beneficial for future applications, such as the species identification of timber, providing valuable insights and potential utilization in this field.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.447-454
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• 2023

This study was conducted to analyze the effects of stand density on fire fuel (FF) changes in a Chamaecyparis obtusa forest. The study site was located in Mt. Munsu in Jeollabuk-do and consisted of a control, 30% thinning treatment(LT), and 50% thinning treatment(HT). Three-year-old seedlings were planted at a density of 3,000trees ha^-1 in 1976, and thinning was carried out in 2000. FF production was measured every 2 months by installing 3 circular litter traps 1.2m above the ground. Litter bags containing 5g of each leaf and branch were made and buried in the organic layer to investigate the FF decomposition rate. The decay constant was calculated after 18 months. FF accumulation was measured by collecting dry-weight organic matter from each plot using a square frame (0.09 m²) in September 2018. The FF production in LT and HT was significantly lower than that of the control(P<0.001). The leaf decay constant for HT was significantly lower than that of the control (P<0.05). The FF accumulation in HT was significantly lower than that of the control (P<0.01), but LT was not significantly different from the control. The results of this study showed that thinning decreased FF production.