• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.11-38
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• 2012

Located in the middle part of the Korean peninsula, Pyeong-chang and Yeong-wol (Gangwon-do) areas are limestone regions that are important biogeographically showing the peculiar flora. In order to manage efficiently endangered and rare plant species, we have investigated flora of these above regions from March to October, 2010. The result of the investigation showed a total of vascular plants of 1,145 taxa; 134 families, 503 genera, and 1,010 species, 11 subspecies, 110 varieties, 10 forms and four hybrids. Among taxa investigated, endangered species designated by the law called 'Protection Law for Endangered wild fauna and flora' were seven taxa, and 50 taxa were considered to be endemic to Korea. Based on the floristic degrees categorized by the specific distribution of plant species, 24 taxa revealed the floristic degree (FD) V, 30 for FD IV, and 60 for FD III, 45 for FD II and 79 taxa for FD I. The 82 taxa were identified to be naturalized. Of those species investigated in this survey, 53 taxa were identified as specific ones biogeographically as compared to flora of other terrestrial regions; 35 of calcicolous plants, 15 with distribution in the northern part of the Korean peninsula, three with coastal habitats.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.114-122
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• 2002

This study investigated the species composition and distribution of woody plants, and flora of vascular plants of Cheonjiyeon where is located in the most southern region of Korea. Twenty-nine taxa of trees were distributed in the valley, and of these, deciduous broad-leaved trees were 13. Of the total number of 2,547 trees, 1,429 were deciduous broad-leaved trees and remainder was broad-leaved evergreen. Deciduous broad-leaved trees covered 48.7% of the tree canopy while evergreen broad-leaved trees covered only 42.3%. The total number of shrub taxa was 37 with more evergreen shrub taxa than deciduous. Evergreen shrubs occupied 64.4％ of shrub canopy while deciduous shrubs covered only 35.4％. The result of the investigation of flora showed that there are 446 taxa of flora including 114 families, 320 genera, 397 species, 1 subspecies, 39 varieties, and 9 forma. Of these, two species, Rubus hongnoensis Nakai and Lycoris chejuensis K. Tae et S. Ko, are endemic plants of Jeju Island. The flora includes 17 taxa of rare plants that are distributed only in Jeju Island in Korea. Also, the flora includes 1 taxon, Elaeocarpus sylvestris (Loureiro) Poiret var. ellipticus (Thunb.) Hara, of Korean natural monument, 2 taxa, Psilotum nudum (L.) Griseb. and Crypsinus hastatus (Thunb.) Copeland, of legally protected wildlife and plants, 38 taxa of naturalized plants, and 75 taxa of introduced plants.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.270-280
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• 2008

This study was carried out to clarify the distribution of vascular plants and their usefulness in Gongdeoksan of Mungyeong, Gyeongbuk (913m, N $36^{\circ}$ $46^{\prime}$ $37.5^{\prime\prime}$${\sim}$$36^{\circ}$ $43^{\prime}$ $61.0^{\prime\prime}$, $E128^{\circ}$ $15^{\prime}$ $00.3^{\prime\prime}$${\sim}$$128^{\circ}$ $17^{\prime}$ $57.9^{\prime\prime}$). The vascular plants collected 5 times (from May to September 2007) were consisted of total 429 taxa; 86 famailies, 279 genera, 374 species, 4 subspecies, 44 varieties and 7 forms. Among them, edible, medicinal, industrial, ornamental and usefulness unknown plants were 233 taxa, 297 taxa, 113 taxa, 111 taxa, 43 taxa, respectively. Korean endemic plants of this area were 5 taxa, and Law-protected plants by Ministry of Environment were 1 taxa, and the special plants species based on floral region by Ministry of Environment were 5 taxa in grade III category, 1 taxa in grade IV and grade V category. The naturalized plants were 15 taxa, therefore naturalized ratio was 3.5%, and urban index 5.5%.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.99-114
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• 2010

This study was carried out to clarify the distribution of vascular plants and their usefulness at Gallasan of Andong-si in Gyeongbuk (596.2 m, N $36^{\circ}29'396"{\sim}36^{\circ}29'356"$, E $128^{\circ}43'841"{\sim}128^{\circ}45'799"$). The vascular plants collected 13 times (April 2006 to August 2009) were consisted of total 424 taxa; 92 families, 273 genera, 365 species, 2 subspecies, 47 varieties and 10 forms. Among them, edible, medicinal, industrial, ornamental and unknown of usefulness plants were 239 taxa, 291 taxa, 109 taxa, 135 taxa, 24 taxa, respectively. Korean endemic plants of this area were 9 taxa, and Law-protected plants by Ministry of Environment were 2 taxa, and the special plants species based on floral region by Ministry of Environment were 7 taxa in grade III category, 1 taxa in grade IV category, 5 taxa in grade V category, rare plants were 1 taxon in critically endangered (CR), 3 taxa endangered species (EN), 2 taxa vulnerable (VU), the naturalized plants were 23 taxa.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.79-98
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• 2010

This study was carried out to clarify the distribution of vascular plants and their usefulness at Bakjisan of Pyeongchang in Gangwon (1,394m, $36^{\circ}35'068"{\sim}36^{\circ}34'713"N$, $128^{\circ}36'245"{\sim}128^{\circ}36'252"E$). The vascular plants collected 7 times (from April to October 2008) were consisted of total 502 taxa; 95 families, 304 genera, 439 species, 4 subspecies, 53 varieties and 6 forms. Among them, edible, medicinal, industrial, ornamental and unknown of usefulness plants were 248 taxa, 263 taxa, 98 taxa, 138 taxa, 98 taxa, respectively. Korean endemic plants of this area were 13 taxa, and Law-protected plants by Ministry of Environment were 2 taxa, and the special plants species based on floral region by Ministry of Environment were 22 taxa in grade III category, 13 taxa in grade IV category, 6 taxa in grade V category, rare plants were 2 taxa in critically endangered (CR), 4 taxa endangered species (EN), 7 taxa vulnerable (VU), the naturalized plants were 18 taxa.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.193-216
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• 2015

This study was carried out to investigate the vascular plants of Mt. Bohyeon (Gyeongbuk). The vascular plants were collected 22 times and summarized as 589 taxa, including 105 families, 327 genera, 522 species, 11 subspecies, 48 varieties and 8 forms respectively. Among them, 13 Korean endemics, 10 red list of vascular plants, 2 endangered plants and 83 specially designated plants by the Ministry of Environment were included respectively. The naturalized plants were 37 taxa and the naturalized ratio was 6.41 of 589 taxa. Usage of 589 taxa were consists of 240 taxa (40.1%) of edible plants, 205 taxa (34.2%) of medicinal plants, 62 taxa (10.3%) of ornamental plants, 213 taxa (35.6%) of pasture plants, 15 taxa (2.5%) of timber plants, 8 taxa (1.3%) of fiberplants, and 3 taxa (0.5%) of industrial plants.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.131-167
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• 2019

Securing reference information (inventory) is essential for proper conservation and management of protected areas. Moreover, the investigation results should be available for comparison and evaluation. For this study, we established seven investigational lattices and carried out the field examinations to obtain comparable data in the Donggang river basin ecological and scenery conservation area, We conducted a total of 16 field surveys and identified a total of 830 taxa that is composed of 127 families, 408 genera, 716 species, 10 subspecies, 88 varieties, and 16 forms. We identified a total of 487 taxa in the 6th investigational lattice and 457 taxa in the 4th. We observed 6 species (grade II) designated by the Ministry of Environment as the endangered plants, one "species to monitor" designated by the Ministry of Environment, and 23 taxa designated as endemic species. Regarding the floristic characteristics plants, 15 taxa of grade V, 27 taxa of grade IV, 38 taxa of grade III, 31 taxa of grade II, and 19 taxa of grade I were identified. The 6th investigational lattice showed the largest number of taxa at 70. A total of 58 taxa were identified as the naturalized plant, and the 6th investigational lattice showed the most at 35 taxa. The Donggang river basin ecological and scenery conservation area was assessed to be an extremely important area to conserve and maintain plants species diversity not only in the regional scale but also national scale.

• Journal of Ginseng Culture
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• v.3
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• pp.1-10
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• 2021

Panax ginseng (Ginseng or Korean ginseng) is one of the most important medicinal herbs in the world. We made a high-quality whole genome sequence of P. ginseng using 'Chunpoong' cultivar, which is the first cultivar registered in Korea Seed and Variety Service (KSVS) with relatively similar genotypes and superior phenotypes, representing approximately 3 Gbp and 60,000 genes. Genome sequence analyses of P. ginseng and related speciesrevealed the origin of Korean ginseng and the ecological adaptation of 18 Panax species around the world. Korean ginseng and American ginseng (P. quinquefolius) are tetraploid species having 24 chromosome pairs, while the other 16 species are diploid species with 12 chromosome pairs. Panax and Aralia are the closest genera belonging to the Araliaceae family that diverged approximately 8 million years ago (MYA). All Panax species evolved as shade plants adapting to cool climates and low light conditions under the canopy of deep forests from Southeast Asia such as Vietnam to Northeast Asia such as Russia approximately 6 MYA. However, through recurrent ice ages and global warming, most diploid Panax species disappeared due to the freezing winter, while tetraploid P. ginseng may have appeared by allotetraploidization, which contributed to the adaptation to cold temperaturesin Northeast Asian countries including the Korea peninsula approximately 2 MYA. American ginseng evolved by the adaptation of P. ginseng in Northeast America after the intercontinental migration 1 MYA. Meanwhile, most of diploid Panax species survived in high-altitude mountains over 1,600 meters in Southeast Asia because they could not endure the hot temperature and freezing cold. The genome sequence provides good basisto unveil the origin and evolution of ginseng and also supports practical gene chips which is useful for breeding and the ginseng industry.

• Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.64-72
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• 2023

Biopolymer is a versatile material used in food processing, medicine, construction, and soil reinforcement. 𝛽-glucan is one of the biopolymers that improves the soil water content and ion adsorption in a drought or toxic metal contaminated land for plant survival. We analyzed drought stress damage reduction in sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas L. cv. Sodammi) by measuring the growth and major protein expression and activity under 𝛽-glucan soil amendment. The result showed that sweet potato leaf length and width were not affected by drought stress for 14 days, but sweet potatoes grown in 𝛽-glucan-amended soil showed an effect in preventing wilting caused by drought in phenotypic changes. Under drought stress, sweet potato leaves did not show any changes in electrolyte leakage, but the relative water content was higher in sweet potatoes grown in 𝛽-glucan-amended soil than in normal soil. 𝛽-glucan soil amendment increased the expression of plasma membrane (PM) H⁺-ATPase, but it decreased the aquaporin PIP2 (plasma membrane intrinsic protein 2) in sweet potatoes under drought stress. Moreover, water maintenance affected the PM H⁺-ATPase activity, which contributed to tolerance under drought stress. These results indicate that 𝛽-glucan soil amendment improves the soil water content during drought and affects the water supply in sweet potatoes. Consequently, 𝛽-glucan is a potential material for maintaining soil water contents, and analysis of the major PM proteins is one of the indicators for evaluating the biopolymer effect on plant survival under drought stress.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.679-690
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• 2008

The objectives of this study are to investigate and analyze the vegetation structure and population dynamics of Berchemia racemosa habitats in the Weolmyung park in Gunsan city, and base on that to seek the ecological habitat conservation plan for the Berchemia racemosa. In results, the Berchemia racemosa habitats are located at $81{\sim}93$ meters above the sea level, in steep seaside slope of a mountain. The soil texture are silt loam mainly and soil pH were $4.1{\sim}5$. The vascular plants in the Berchemia racemosa habitats has been analyzed as 61 taxa; 33 families, 51 genera, 54 species, 6 varieties, and 1 forms. Berchemia racemosa as a Specific plant species by floral region was the class V. Berchemia racemosa habitats were classified into 7 vegetation communities of Quercus serrata community(A1), Alnus firm a community(A2), Platycarya strobilacea community(A3), Robinia pseudoacacia community(A4) and 3 Pinus densiflora communities(B1, B2, B3). The importance value of Berchemia racemosa were 30%(A1), 15%(A2), 27%(A3), 65%(A4), 18%(B1), 45%(B2) and 35%(B3) on shrubs layer and 12, 27, 20, 18, 11, 18, 21 % on herb layer. The constant companion species with Berchemia racemosa were Stephanandra incisa and Ligustrum obtusifolium. Total 103 populations appear in the 7 Berchemia racemosa habitats. Their spatial distribution pattern were clumped for the most part. The average height was 133cm, the root color diameter was 4.4cm and the ramification branch number was 9.4. From the results of this study, it is suggested the continued monitoring and the active protection measures for the Berchemia racemosa habitats.