• The Korean Journal of Ecology
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.34-38
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• 2003

An analysis of tree ring series of a lace-bark pine (Pinus bungeana Zuccarini) was carried out to find out the exact age of the tree, to describe life history of the tree affected by the change of past environmental factors, and to explain the relationships between the growth fluctuation of the tree and the change of environmental factors of the past. This study explicitly showed that the tree was about 300 years old in 1992 and that the previous estimate of the age to be about 630 years old has no ground to be justified. This was also ascertained by the close correspondence of the tree growth fluctuation to the fluctuation of soil moisture related environmental factors for the last 80 years in Seoul. Although it is clear that the tree suffered from slow growth for about 30 years initiating from the 1910s, it is not sure whether the soil moisture deficits or droughts during the years of 1910-1913 played a major role in causing the decline of the trees afterwards. Discussion was further extended for defining active roles for the Cultural Properties Administration of Korea in management and research to effectively protect the Old and Big Trees under the category of Natural Monument of Korea.