• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.108 no.2
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• pp.177-188
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• 2019

The aim of our study was to identify the changing trends in the composition, structure, and spatial distribution of forest vegetation in Apsan Park, a representative urban forest in Daegu, South Korea. A vegetation survey was conducted in 1997 and 2016 using phytosociological methods, and a detailed vegetation map was created using the physiognomic dominant species. There were 22 vegetation types in both 1997 and 2016, but two of those types increased and two decreased. The total coverage per unit area ($100m^2$) of the component vegetation species increased from 163% in 1997 to 182% in 2016, and natural vegetation tended to be more than twice that of artificial vegetation. The average number of species decreased by seven from 25 in 1997 to 18 in 2016. Species diversity (H') increased only slightly from 1,654 in 1997 to 1,680 in 2016, while species dominance (D) decreased by 9% from 0.304 in 1997 to 0.276 in 2016. The similarity in the composition of the forest vegetation was about 78%, which was nearly the same. The life form spectrums of vascular plants changed from '$G-R_5-D_4-e$' in 1997 to '$MM-R_5-D_4-e$' in 2016 and the central dormancy type changed from geophytes (G) to megaphanerophytes (MM). The spatial distribution of the forest vegetation was reduced by approximately four times that of artificial vegetation. The number of forest landscape elements (patches) increased from 269 in 1997 to 294 in 2016, while the average area decreased by 12% from 5.8 ha in 1997 to 5.1 ha in 2016.