• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.440-448
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• 2013

Forest vegetation of Namdeogyusan (1,507 m) in Deogyusan National Park is classified into mountain forest vegetation and flatland forest vegetation. Mountain forest vegetation is subdivided into deciduous broad-leaved forest, valley forest, coniferous forest, afforestation and other vegetation. Including 45 communities of mountain forest vegetation and 8 communities of other vegetation, the total of 53 communities were researched; mountain forest vegetation classified by physiognomy classification are 22 communities deciduous broad-leaved forest, 11 communities of valley forest, 5 communities of coniferous forests, 7 afforestation and 8 other vegetation. As for the distribution rate for surveyed main communities, Quercus mongolica, Quercus serrata and Quercus variabilis communities account for 79.30 percent of deciduous broad-leaved forest, Fraxinus mandshurica community takes up 82.96 percent of mountain valley forest, Pinus densiflora community holds 53.31 percent of mountain coniferous forest holds. In conclusion, minority species consisting of Quercus mongolica, Fraxinus mandshurica, Quercus serrata, Pinus densiflora, and Quercus variabilis are distributed as dominant species of the uppermost part in a forest vegetation region in Deogyusan National Park. In addition, because of vegetation succession and climate factors, numerous colonies formed by the two species are expected to be replaced by Quercus mongolica, Carpinus laxiflora and Fraxinus mandshurica which are climax species in the area.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.236-243
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• 2016

It was a case study to use as a basic data for efficient the preservation and management of subalpine coniferous forest in national parks. It is based on inhabitation condition of 210 individuals of Abies koreana Wilson that was found through local investigation in the sub-alpine zone of Jirisan National Park and Songnisan National Park. It analyzed the effect of the geographical location and topographical features, which are the basics of location environment, on the growth of A. koreana. The variables related to the growth of A. koreana are tree height and diameter at breast height. Topographical features include geographical longitude, altitude above sea level, slope of the mountains, aspect that describes the direction in which a slope faces and topographical wetness index. Topographical features were extracted through GIS spatial analysis. It used canonical correlation analysis to estimate whether the two variables groups have related to each other and how much they are related, if any, and estimated the effect of the geographical and topographical features on the growth structure of A. koreana using multiple regression analysis. The tree height and diameter at breast height that represent the growth structure of A. koreana show greater relation to geographical latitude distribution than topographical feature and the geographical and topographical factors show greater relation to diameter at breast height than tree height. The growth structure's variable and geographical and topographical variable of A. koreana have meaningful relation and the result shows that geographical and topographical variables explain 18.1% of the growth structure. The variables that affect the diameter at breast height of A. koreana are geographical latitude, topographical wetness index, aspect and altitude, which are put in order of statistical significance. The higher the latitude is, the smaller the diameter at breast height. Depending on the topographical feature, it becomes bigger. The variable that affects the tree height is topographical wetness index, which was the only meaningful variable. Overall, the tree height and diameter at breast height that are related to the growth structure of A. koreana are affected by geographical and topographical feature. It showed that the geographical feature affected it the most. Especially the effect of water among the topographical features is expected to be bigger than the other topographical factors. Based on the result, it is expected that geographical and topographical feature is an important factor for the growth structure of A. koreana. Even though it considered only the geographical and topographical features and used spatial analysis data produced by GIS, the research results will be useful for investigating and researching the growth environment of coniferous forest inhabiting in sub-alpine zone of national parks and are expected to be used as basic data for establishing measures to efficiently manage and preserve evergreen needleaf tree such as A. koreana.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.86 no.3
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• pp.279-287
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• 1997

This study was carried out to identify the analysis of vegetation-environment relationships of the coniferous forests in subalpine districts of Mt. Chiri by two-way indicaton species analysis(TWINSPAN) and CCA. The results are summarized as follows; The subalpine coniferous forest in Mt. Chin was classified Abies koreana community group by the TWINSPAN method. The Abies koreana community group was classified Abies koreana-Pinus densiflora, Abies koreana-Quercus mongolicd and Abies koreana-Picea jezoensis. The Abies koreana-Quercus mongolica community classified into two subcommunities, typical and Pinus koraiensis subcommunity. The Abies koreana-Picea jezoensis community classified into three subcommunities such as typical, Taxus cuspidate and Cornus controversa subcommunity. The subalpine conifers commnities in Mt. Chiri could be classified into six vegetation units, which consisted of three vegetation communities and five subcommunities. The relationship between vegetation community and influencing environmental factors was analyzed by using the CCA ordination method. It was found that altitude, concentrations of $Ca^{++}$ and $Mg^{++}$ in soil were, major environmental variables, which influence the distribution of vegetation community in the first axis, and $Ca^{++}$ and altitude in the second axis. In the relations of communities and environmental factors by CCA, the optimal ecological habitats of Abies koreana-Pinus densiflora community could be located at low elevations, in which $Ca^{++}$ and $Mg^{++}$ are rich. Abies koreana-Quercus mongolica community prefers the sites in mid-elevation zone, in which $Ca^{++}$ and $Mg^{++}$ are medium level in soil. The optimum site for Abies koreana-Pinus koraiensis community and Abies koreana-Taxus cuspidata community could be high elevations in which $Ca^{++}$ and $Mg^{++}$ are poor. Abies koreana-Cornus controversa community is found in the site at low elevations where $Ca^{++}$ and $Mg^{++}$ are medium.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.131-140
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• 2002

The bryophyte communities on the forest floor of the mixed coniferous and deciduous broad-leaved forest of cool temperate zone on Deongnyusan(1,616m) south-eastern part of the Korean Penninsula were investigated from the phytosociological viewpoint. As a result, a bryophyte community was recognized, considering the phytosociological unit of the forest: Sasamorpha borealis-Abies koreana / Hylocomiopsis ovicarpa-Thamnoblyum alopecurum community. This community was interpreted as a counterpart one of the Sasamorpha borealis-Abies koreana / Dicranum scoparium-Plagiothecium silvaticum community in the Jiri Mountains, but between the two communities, the species composition was somewhat different. The bryophyte community on the forest floor on Deongnyusan was confirmed as a synusie belonging to the Fraxino-Abietetum koreanae Song 1988. Up to date many investigators have described the coniferous forest distributed above 1,400m on Deongnysan as the forest vegetation of subarctic(=subalpine) zone. However, from the results of the present study, the forest vegetation, a mixed forest, was elucidated to be one of cool temperate zone. Species diversity of the terri-colous bryophyte community on Deongnyusan was very close to that of the communities of the similar type in the Jiri Mountains. The taxa of the bryophyte community was composed of 19 families,25 genera and 38 species.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.61-67
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• 2015

This study, which was conducted from Apr. 2013 to Jan. 2014, was carried out as part of a project of making a more detailed ecological zoning map with 1/5,000 scale. The necessity of electronic vegetation map with large scale has arisen in order to make the best use of basic research findings on resource monitoring of National Parks and to enhance efficiency in National Park management. In order to improve accuracy and speed of vegetation research process, the data base for vegetation research was categorized into five groups, namely broad-leaved forest, coniferous forest, mixed forest, rock vegetation and miscellaneous one. And then a vegetation map for vegetation research was created for the research on the site. What is in the database for vegetation research and the vegetation map reflecting findings from vegetation research showed similar distribution rate for broad-leaved forest with 71.965% and 71.184%, respectively. The distribution rate of coniferous forest (16.010%, 15.747%), mixed forest (10.619%, 12.085%), and rock vegetation (0.015%, 0.002%) did not have much difference. In a detailed vegetation map reflecting vegetation research findings, the broad-leaved mountain forest was the most widely distributed with 60.096% based on the physiognomy classification. It was followed by mountain coniferous forest (16.332%), mountain valley forest (15.887%), and plantation forest (3.558%) As for vegetation conservation classification evaluated in the national park, grade I and grade II areas took up 200.44 km2, 61.80% and 108.80 km2, 33.55% respectively. The combined area of these two amounts to 95.35%, making this area the first grade area in ecological nature status. This means that this area is highly worth preserving its vegetation. The high rate of grade I area such as climax forests, unique vegetation, and subalpine vegetation seems to be attributable to diverse innate characteristics of Odaesan National Park, high altitude, low level of artificial disturbance, the subalpine zone formed on the ridge of the mountain top, and their vegetation formation, which reflects climatic and geological characteristics, despite continuous disturbance by mountain climbing.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.33-40
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• 2013

From March 2012 to January 2013, this study was conducted as a part of the project for making a precise electronic ecological zoning map of vegetation on a highly reduced scale of 1 to 5,000 with a view to improving management efficiency of national parks and enlarging the availability of the data produced from the basic research monitoring the resources of national parks. For the research accuracy and rapidity, a vegetation map was specially created for the on-the-site-vegetation research. To make the map more meticulous, we categorized the vegetation database into five groups: broadleaved forest, coniferous forest, mixed forest, rock vegetation and miscellaneous one. After comparing the results of the data built for the vegetation research and the actual research findings, it was made clear that vegetation of both categories was almost the same in case of broad-leaved forest with 72.20% and 78.45% respectively, and also equivalent in other groups like, for example, coniferous forest (16.70%, 13.41%), mixed forest (9.50%, 7.49%) and rock vegetation (0.60%, 0.15%). According to the precise vegetation map produced from the research, the deciduous broad-leaved forest was the most widely prevalent type in the correlated hierarchical classification of vegetation, occupying 65.78% of the overall vegetation. It was followed by mountain valley forest (15.17%), coniferous forest (10.90%), and plantation forest (7.00%) in order. It is particularly noteworthy that Mt. Deogyusan national park has retained a very stable and versatile forest vegetation in the outstanding state since approximately 20% of the mountain turns out to belong to the I grade vegetation conservation classification which contains climax forests, unique vegetation, subalpine vegetation, matured stands which are older than 50 years and etc.

• Journal of Climate Change Research
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.465-476
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• 2016

This study was conducted to elucidate the ecological characteristics of sub-alpine coniferous forest on Banyabong, Mt. Jiri. Soil pH was 4.20. The contents of organic matter, total N, available P and CEC were 14.15%, 0.43%, 10.1 ppm and $17.17cmol^+/kg$, respectively. Sub-alpine coniferous forest had a relatively soil moisture content with 22.9%. According to the results of importance value analysis, Picea jezoensis (42.7) and Abies koreana (34.0) for tree layer, Rhododendron schlippenbachii (25.5) for subtree layer and Tripterygium regelii (18.4) and Rhododendron mucronulatum (16.6) for shrub layer were high, respectively. Shannon's diversity ranged from 0.3560 to 1.050. Evenness and dominance ranged from 0.398 to 0.733 and 0.267 to 0.601, respectively. A. koreana population had a reverse J-shaped DBH distribution, while P. jezoensis population had a normal DBH distribution. Height growth according to DBH of A. koreana was higher than that of P. jezoensis, which indicate than A. koreana have more effective water use efficiency than P. jezoensis. Annual mean tree ring growth of P. jezoensis and A. koreana showed up 1.792, 1.652, 1.389 mm/yr and 2.081, 1.921, 1.576 mm/yr for small, middle and large diameter tree, respectively.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.413-425
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• 2017

This manuscript describes the relationship between climate change and forest growth, forest species, carbon stocks, and tree mortality. 1) In the aspect of forest growth, the growth of major coniferous species, including Pinus densiflora, had a negative correlation with temperature. On the other hand, major deciduous oak species, including Quercus variabilis and Quercus mongolica, had a positive correlation with temperature. 2) When considered in the aspect of the forest species distribution, various models commonly showed a decrease in the distribution of coniferous species and an increase in oak species due to climate change in the medium to long term. 3) From the carbon stock perspective, there was a difference in the estimation according to the status of forest management. Most of Korean forests will mature to become over-matured forest after year 2030 and are estimated to produce approximately 410 million ton forest biomass until 2090 with the current cutting regulations for sustainable forest management announced by the Korean Forest Service. 4) In the forest mortality, the mortality rate of the major coniferous species showed a clear tendency to increase higher temperatures while it decreased for the oak species with no verification of statistical significance. Moreover, the mortality of the subalpine coniferous species was projected to progress rapidly. considering the overall impacts described above, there should be a management strategy for coniferous species that are relatively vulnerable to climate change. Moreover, a sustainable forest plan in the aspect of ecosystem services, carbon sequestration and storage, which is linked to global issues such as Sustainable Development Goals, ecosystem services and negative emission.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.327-357
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• 2011

This study compared the species composition and distribution of the forest communities between Korea and Japan using vegetation releve database. The study included the eastern and southern Korean Peninsula, Is. Jeju, Is. Ulreung, northern Kyushu, central part of Japan and Is. Tsushima and divided in fourteen region with major mountain as the center. Seventy-nine forest communities were classified by tabular comparison with the total of 1844 releves. In the composition table, fifty-four groups of plant species were listed. Some grew in one area exclusively, while others were present in multiple locations. This study showed the similarity and heterogeneity of species composition among study areas. We grouped fourteen types showing similar physiognomy for forest communities. The physiognomical features of the vertical vegetation zones in the study area were similar, however, dominant species and species composition were different between the regions. In the lowland zone, Castanopsis-Type dominated by Castanopsis cuspidata var. sieboldii or Castanopsis cuspidata were distributed in the study area except for northern part of the Korean Peninsula and Is. Ulreung. Additionally, Persea thunbergii-Type was distributed widely in the lowest part of the study area, however, it showed the simplification of the species composition in the Korean Peninsula and Is. Ulreung. In the hilly zone, evergreen forest composed by Abies firma-Type distributed in northern Kyushuand Is. Tsushima, but it was absent in the other study region. The difference in forest community was conspicuous, especially in the montane zone. Deciduous broadleaved forests composed Quercus(D)-Type and Fagus-Type widely distributed in the montane of study area. However, forest community dominated by Quercus mongolica and Fagus multinervis flourished in Korea. On the otherhand, forest community dominated by Quercus mongolica var. grosseserrata, Fagus crenata and F. japonica distributed in Japan. In the sub-alpine zone, evergreen coniferous forest composed Abies-Quercus(D)-Type, Abies koreana-Type, and Pinus pumila-Type were distributed in the Korean Peninsula and Is. Jeju. Forests composed Taxus cuspidata var. nana-Type, Abies mariesii-Type, and Pinus pumila-Type distributed in the central part of Japan. As a result of DCA ordination, evergreen broadleaved forests of the whole study area showed the lower scores along the first axis, while deciduous and coniferous forests showed the higher scores. The forest types of western part of Japan were located the higer scores, forest types of the Korean Peninsula were located the lower scores, and forest types of Is. Jeju located in the middle. Warmth index (WI) and Annual range of temperature in climate factor were highly correlated on the first axis. The first axis reflected the gradient from oceanic climatic to continental one. The higher the altitude and further geographically, the lower the similarity among communities and the peculiarity of community appeared stronger. The historical background reflecting local flora has strongly influenced on development of community.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.132-144
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• 2011

We studied the forest environment and characteristics of bird community between April and September of 2010 on the Hyangjeokbong area(A), Baekryunsa area(B) and Anseong area(C), all in the Deogyusan National Park. Hyangjeokbong area of the high latitude ridge was characterized by the Taxus cuspidata and Abies koreana etc., and deciduous broadleaf forest species, such as the Quercus mongolica, with abundance of subalpine zone coniferous trees, the Hemerocallis fulva and the Rhododendron schlippenbachii, while the areas Baekryunsa and Anseong were primarily characterized by deciduous broadleaf forests, with the valleys showing Fraxinus mandshurica colonies. In terms of the DBH(diameter at breast height) of trees, between 11 and 20cm showed the highest frequencies, while over 30cm was the highest in Baekryunsa area and the lowest in Hyangjeokbong area. Furthermore, in terms of coverage in relation to layers, in Hyangjeokbong area, the coverage volume of the lower layer was very high, in Baekryunsa area, the coverage volume of the middle layer between 8 and 12m was the highest, and in Anseong area, the coverage volume of the upper layer over 18m was the highest. A total of 53 bird species were observed during the study period at the Deogyusan National Park. The numbers of species and density of areas were 25 species and 45.20 Ind./km for Hyangjeokbong area, 50 species and 58.63 Ind./km for Baekryunsa area and 35 species and 66.89 Ind./km for Anseong area, with Baekryunsa area showing the highest number of species and Anseong area showing the highest level of density. In terms of dominant species, in Hyangjeokbong area, Cettia diphone, along with species which inhabit in grassland and shrubs, were the dominant species, and species which live in the canopy layer, including the Aegithalos caudatus, were found to be dominant in Baekryunsa and Anseong areas. For guild structure, bush nesting guild and bush foraging guild species were the highest in all areas, and the hole nesting guild and the air foraging guild species showed the lowest proportion. This seems to be the result of the low number of trees with diameter at breast height of over 30cm, which results in the lack of nesting grounds for hole nesting guild species.