• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.22-47
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• 2024

This study aims to reveal the distribution of native plants, rare plants, and specialty plants and provides basic data for efficient ecosystem management through a survey of the flora in Mt. Chijae (Gamagol) and its adjacent areas in Damyang-gun, Jeonnam-do, while also identifying useful plants in the eco-city Damyang-gun for distinctive garden plants. A total of 21 field surveys were conducted from March 2022 to June 2023 to collect and identify 492 taxa consisting of 101 families, 304 genera, 444 species, 10 subspecies, 35 varieties, and 3 formas. The analysis of the prepared sample list showed 14 taxa designated as specialty plants, 9 taxa designated as rare plants by the Korea Forest Service, 7 taxa designated as the national red (i.e., endangered) plants by the Ministry of Environment, and 68 taxa with phylogenetic specific species, of which 45 taxa for Grade I, 5 taxa for Grade II, 16 taxa for Grade III, and 2 taxa for Grade IV were confirmed. The list included 155 taxa of biological resources subject to export approval by the Ministry of Environment and 38 taxa of alien plants of which 7.7 percent were naturalized, and the urbanization index was 6.1 percent. Four taxa were ecosystem-disturbing invasive alien plants designated by the Ministry of Environment introduced artificially or naturally from abroad. This study is expected to contribute to creating unique and attractive landscapes in Damyang if the specific plants found in Mt. Chijae are grown and planted in city gardens.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.347-372
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• 2019

The purpose of this study is to provide the basic data for management of the ecosystem of Baekdudaegan Mountains by surveying and analysing the vascular plants distributed from Hyangrobong area to Guryongryeong area. The numbers of vascular plants in the whole survey areas were summarized as 633 taxa including 95 families, 321 genera, 549 species, 4 subspecies, 70 varieties, and 10 forms. There were 285 taxa in Hyangrobong area, 256 taxa in Masanbong area, 318 taxa in Mt. Seoraksan area, 281 taxa in Mt. Jeombongsan area, 173 taxa in Bukamryeong and Ohsaekcheon valley area, 197 taxa in Soenadeuri area, 203 taxa in Yeongarigol area, and 168 taxa in Guryongryeong area. The endangered species were 2 taxa including Leontice microrrhyncha and Smilacina bicolor. The rare plants were 39 taxa including Pinus pumila, Halenia corniculata, Juniperus chinensis var. sargentii, and so forth. In IUCN Red List categories, there were 2 taxa of CR, 7 taxa of EN, 10 taxa of VU, 18 taxa of LC, and 2 taxa of DD. The Korean endemic plants were 23 taxa including Salix koriyanagi, Anemone koraiensis, Lespedeza maritima, Cirsium setidens, Saussurea seoulensis, Carex okamotoi, and so forth. The plants adaptable to climate change were 48 taxa including 17 taxa of endemic plants, 1 taxon of southern plant, and 30 taxa of northern plants. The naturalized plants were 32 taxa including Fallopia dumetorum, Cerastium glomeratum, Papaverrhoeas, Bidensfrondosa, Lolium perenne, and so forth. The invasive alien plants were 3 taxa including Rumex acetocella, Ambrosia artemisiifolia, and Ambrosia trifida.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.158-169
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• 2012

Sabah has experienced a rapid decline in the extent of forest cover. The precise impact of habitat loss on the conservation status of the plants of Sabah is uncertain. In this study we use the niche modelling algorithm MAXENT to construct preliminary, revised and final ecological niche models for Dipterocarpus lamellatus and Dipterocarpus ochraceus and combined these models with data on current land-use to derive conservation assessments for each species. Preliminary models were based on herbarium data alone. Ground surveys were conducted to evaluate the performance of these preliminary models, and a revised niche model was generated from the combined herbarium and ground survey data. The final model was obtained by constraining the predictions of the revised models by filters. The range overlap between the preliminary and revised models was 0.47 for D. lamellatus and 0.39 for D. ochraceus, suggesting poor agreement between them. There was substantial variation in estimates of habitat loss for D. ochraceus, among the preliminary, revised and constrained models, and this has the potential to lead to incorrect threat assessments. From these estimates of habitat loss, the historic distribution and estimates of population size we determine that both species should be classified as Critically Endangered under IUCN Red List guidelines. Our results suggest that ground-truthing of ecological niche models is essential, especially if the models are being used for conservation decision making.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.248-288
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• 2022

The study on vascular plants of Gayasan National Park was conducted in 2016 over a period of 34 days from March to October 2016. As the study, a total of 768 taxa were recorded, including 118 families, 396 genera, 691 species, 15 subspecies, 51 varieties, and 11 forms. In the vascular plants, four endangered wild plants were recorded, Ponerorchis cucullata (L.) X.H.Jin, Trientalis europaea var. arctica (Fisch.) Ledeb., Cypripedium macranthos Sw., and Pedicularis hallaisanensis Hurus. Taxa of Least Concern (LC) or higher level on National Red List published by the Ministry of Environment of Korea were 21 taxa for example Tricyrtis macropoda Miq., and Lilium cernuum Kom. A total of 37 Korean endemic plants were investigated for example Abies koreana E.H.Wilson and Impatiens atrosanguinea (Nakai) B.U.Oh & Y.P.Hong. A total of 162 taxa of floristic regional indicators (3^rd to 5^th degree) were investigated including 9 taxa of V, 15 taxa of IV, 38 taxa of III, 45 taxa of II, and 53 taxa of I. Naturalized plants were recorded a total of 46 taxa with a Naturalization Index of 6.0%, the Urbanization Index was calculated to be 14.3% and 5 taxa of ecosystem disturbance plants were investigated such as Sicyos angulatus L., Rumex acetosella L., and Humulus scandens (Lour.) Merr. As the result of comparison with previous studies, in this study a total of 206 taxa were newly identified including 62 families, 144 genera, 184 species, 2 subspecies, 15 varieties, and 5 forms.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.314-340
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• 2023

Vascular plants of Yeonhwasan Mt., located in Taebaek-si, Gangwon-do, were investigated. Field surveys were conducted fourteen times between April and September of 2022. A total of 505 taxa were found consisting of 87 families, 282 genera, 441 species, 15 subspecies, 41 varieties, and 8 forma. Among them, the endemic plants of Korea were 22 taxa. The number of threatened and near threatened Red List plants designated by the Korean National Arboretum was four, comprising each one of critically endangered (CN), endangered (EN), vulnerable (VU), and near threatened (NT) species. The number of floristic target plants designated by the Ministry of Environment was 102, including one taxon of level V, 9 taxa of level IV, and 34 taxa of level III. Invasive alien plants were 34 taxa, and three taxa were ecosystem disturbance plants. The urbanization index of investigated site was 12.8%, and the naturalization index was 6.7%. To wisely manage Yeonhwasan, measures for preserving biodiversity and preventing invasive plants are needed.

• Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.27-55
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• 2020

We investigated the flora of Ibamsan Mt. and Baekamsan Mt., and discuss here important vascular plants found on these mountains. We created a plant list using voucher specimens collected from Ibamsan Mt. and Baekamsan deposited at CNU. There are 769 taxa in Ibamsan Mt. and Baekamsan Mt., consisting of 116 families, 403 genera, 687 species, 16 subspecies, 58 varieties, and 8 forms. Twenty-four endemic plants of Korea were found, including Coreanomecon hylomeconoides Nakai and Eranthis byunsanensis B. Y. Sun. There are 15 rare plants on Ibamsan Mt. and Baekamsan as designated by the Korea Forest Service, including Iris koreana Nakai and Chamaegastrodia shikokiana Makino & F. Maek., as well as 14 red-list plants as designated by the Ministry of the Environment, including Lycoris chinensis var. sinuolata K. Tae & S. C. Ko ex K. Tae & S. C. Ko and Cymbidium macrorhizon Lindl. In total, there are 133 taxa of floristic regional indicator plants, including four level V taxa, such as Iris koreana Nakai; ten level IV taxa, such as Lindera sericea (Siebold & Zucc.) Blume; 28 level III taxa, such as Botrychium japonicum (Prantl) Underw.; 22 level II taxa, including Hylomecon vernalis Maxim.; and 69 level I taxa, including Dryopteris erythrosora (D. C. Eaton) Kuntze. There are 37 invasive plants, including Rumex acetosella L. and Symphyotrichum pilosum (Willd.) G. L. Nesom.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.371-387
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• 2020

This study was conducted to investigate the flora of Mt. Unbongsan in the basalt areas of Korea. From the results of eight field surveys undertaken from March to October 2017, we identified 404 total taxa, representing 364 species, seven subspecies, and 33 varieties, which were placed in 256 genera and 91 families. The plant formation of Mt. Unbongsan is a deciduous broad-leaved and conifer mixed forest, which is common in the middle part of the Korean peninsula. Most of the mountain is covered by a young secondary forest, which is mainly composed of Quercus monglica and Pinus densiflora. Out of these 404 taxa, 193 were the first records for the region, six were endemic to Korea, three were listed on the Korean Red List of threatened species, 34 were floristic target species, and 40 were invasive alien species. The naturalized index(NI) percentage was 9.9%. Mt. Unbongsan has plant diversity, which was associated with the geomorphological landscapes. We considered that the composition and distribution of the species were affected by different environmental factors according to the presence of granite, taluses, block streams, drying ridges, valleys, puddles, wetlands, and streams.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.95-107
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• 2016

The gold-spotted pond frog(Pelophylax chosenicus) classified as an Anura in Amphibia is sharply decreasing due to various changes of habitats environment, and designated as IUCN Red List Threatened species(VU; Vulnerable) internationally and domestic endangered species Class-II; therefore, it's in urgent need of the research on habitats restoration of the gold-spotted pond frog in order to prevent its extinction. This study was carried out to verify the effect after restoration by introducing the inhabitation elements deducted by the literature research and a field survey on the habitats for the gold-spotted pond frog in danger of regional extinction in the urban area of Ansan city, Gyeonggi-do, Korea. Accordingly, the capacity for bio-species was increased by expanding the area of habitats into $11,845m^2$, and securing the place for hibernation and corridors and discharge within the habitats, etc. As a result of the monitoring the number of individuals increased by 9.5 times as the reproductive success rate of the gold-spotted pond frog got higher, and by virtue of improvement in the habitats, biodiversity increased to 183 species(4 species of amphibians and reptiles, 4 species of mammals, 17 species of birds, 53 species of insects(terrestrial/Benthic), 4 species of fish, and 102 species of plants). It might be possible to verify the restoration effect of the habitats through continuous monitoring, and suggest the restoration model on the habitats for continuously survivable the gold-spotted pond frog in the urban area by deducting the matters to be improved.

• Proceedings of the National Institute of Ecology of the Republic of Korea
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.165-171
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• 2022

The Chinese crested tern (Thalasseus bersteini) is one of the most globally endangered species, listed as "Critically Endangered (CE)" on the IUCN Red List, with only approximately 30-49 individuals surviving in the wild. Chinese crested terns were discovered to breed in South Korea for the first time in 2016 while conducting a census on uninhabited islands. The Ministry of Environment has declared the breeding habitat of the Chinese crested terns as "Specified Island" to protect this CE species. However, brown rats (Rattus norvegicus) inhabiting the breeding grounds of the Chinese crested terns and Black-tailed gulls may potentially pose a threat to the breeding of these avian species. Therefore, we conducted a study on the feeding behavior of brown rats involving stable isotope analysis to determine their food sources. Fecal analysis showed that brown rats mainly fed on plants, whereas they scarcely fed on animals, such as insects. In addition, the stable isotope analysis showed that the δ¹³C values of brown rats, insects, and Indian goosegrasses were approximately -16 to -11‰, whereas the δ¹³C value of Chinese crested terns that obtained their food from the marine ecosystem was approximately -22 to -18‰. Hence, we conclude that the source of carbon for brown rats on this island is the terrestrial ecosystem. We ruled out the possibility of any direct prey-predator interaction between the brown rat and the Chinese crested tern or Black-tailed gull.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.100-139
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• 2023

This study was intended to identify the distribution and characteristics of plants such as native plants, rare plants, and endemic plants through a flora survey in Sangwangsan Mt. (644m), Wando-gun, Jeollanam-do, a group habitat of warm temperate forests in Korea, and use the data for the conservation of plant species diversity and the study of climate and distribution changes in warm-temperate forests. A total of 32 field surveys were conducted from 2018 to 2022. The survey identified 785 taxa, including 8 forms, 53 varieties, 16 subspecies, 708 species, 473 genera, and 132 families. The endangered wild plants designated by the Ministry of Environment included 6 taxa: Woodwardia japonica, Metanarthecium luteoviride, Bulbophyllum inconspicuum, Dendrobium moniliforme, Pelatantheria scolopendrifolia, and Cymbidium macrorhizon. Rare plants designated by the Korea Forest Service were identified as 26 taxa. The red list designated by the Korea National Arboretum was identified as 7 taxa, the red list designated by the Ministry of Environment was identified as 29 taxa, and endemic plants in Korea were identified as 17 taxa. Floristic target species in Korea were identified as 200 taxa, specifically 6 taxa of grade V, 13 taxa of grade IV, 73 taxa of grade III, 29 taxa of grade II, and 79 taxa of grade I. Naturalized plants were identified as 73 taxa, and invasive alien plants were identified as 6 taxa. Target plants adaptable to climate change in Korea were identified as 55 taxa, specifically 8 taxa of endemic plants, 46 taxa of southern plants, and 1 taxon of northern plants.