• Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy
• /
• v.48 no.1
• /
• pp.65-99
• /
• 2018

We investigated vascular plants of Aphaedo Island in Shinan-gun, Jeollanam-do, Korea. By referring to voucher specimens collected over the course of 28 days from May of 2011 to March of 2016, a total of 451 taxa were identified and grouped into 102 families, 294 genera, 413 species, 6 subspecies, 30 varieties, and 2 forms, of which 9 taxa were classified as endangered or rare, including Albizia kalkora, Salomonia oblongifolia, and Centranthera cochinchinensis var. lutea. A total of 59 taxa were identified as regional indicator plants. Six taxa were endemic to Korea, including Hepatica insularis, Indigofera koreana, and Lespedeza maritima. Three taxa (Rumex acetosella, Aster pilosus, and Hypochaeris radicata) among 52 naturalized taxa were ecosystem-disturbing plants as designated by the Ministry of the Environment. The results of preceding floristic research before and after the inauguration of the Aphaedaegyo (bridge) were used to analyze changes in the number of naturalized species on Aphaedo Island.

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

• The Korean Journal of Ecology
• /
• v.28 no.5
• /
• pp.305-320
• /
• 2005

Recently 64 species in Korea have been ranked as rare and endangered taxa by the Ministry of Environment using two categories, I and II. The original threat categories produced by the Ministry of Environment were developed to provide a standard for specifying animals and plants in danger of extinction and has been influential sources of information used in species conservation in Korea. However, the criteria by Ministry of Environment were applied to the whole taxa only by regional boundaries, especially in South Korea, rather than international context, and it also lacked an explicit framework that was necessary to ensure repeatability among taxa because of the absence of quantitative criteria to measure the likelihood of extinction. The World Conservation Union (IUCN) has developed quantitative criteria for assessing the conservation status of species. The threatened species categories, the 2000 IUCN Red List, proposed by SSC (Species Survival Commission) of IUCN have become widely recognized internationally. Details of threatened Korean plants, identified by applying the IUCN threat categories and definitions, were listed and analyzed. The number of species identified as threatened was only 34 out of 64 taxa (48.4%), while the rest of taxa were rejected from the original lists. Many of the species (51.6%, 33 taxa) excluded from the original list proposed by Ministry of Environment do not qualify as Critically Endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable because these taxa were widely distributed either in Japan or in China/far eastern Russia and there is no evidence of substantial decline in these countries. An evaluation of taxa in Korea has been carried out only based on subjective views and qualitative data, rather than quantitative scientific data, such as rates of decline, distribution range size, population size, and risk of extinction. Therefore, the national lists undermine the credibility of threatened species lists and invite misuse, which have been raised by other cases, qualitative estimate of risk, political influence, uneven taxonomic or geographical coverage. The increasing emphasis on international responsibilities means that global scale is becoming more significant. The current listings by Environment of Ministry of Korea should be challenged, and the government should seek to facilitate the resolution of disagreements. Especially the list should be flexible enough to handle uncertainty and also incorporates detailed, quantitative data. It is suggested that the highest priorities for the Red List should be given to endemic species in Korea first. After setting up the list of endemic species to Korea, quantitative data on population size and structure, distributional range, rated of decline, and habitat fragmentation should be collected as one of long term projects for the Red list categories. Transparency and accountability are the most important key factors. Also, species assessors are named and data sources referenced are required for the future objective evaluations on Korean plant taxa.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
• /
• v.36 no.1
• /
• pp.13-17
• /
• 2009

Various plant growth regulators were tested for shoot proliferation of Tripterospermum japonicum, a rare and endangered species. Among the six different media tested, MS medium was the best for the shoot growth. Whereas BA, upto 3 mg/L, significantly increased shoot proliferation rate, it suppressed the rate at higher levels. Neither kinetin nor TDZ was so effective in proliferating shoots as BA. As for rooting, TDZ strongly inhibited it even at very low concentration though spontaneous rooting was frequently observed from the proliferated shoots during culture of lower concentration BA or kinetin. In contrast, shoot elongation was significantly promoted by $GA_3$. More than 90% of the proliferated plantlets could be transplanted via cuttings into pots containing artificial soil mixture where they rooted and resumed normal growth. Most of the plants bloomed to bear fruits in the following year.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
• /
• v.35 no.2
• /
• pp.248-288
• /
• 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 Environment and Ecology
• /
• v.22 no.5
• /
• pp.481-504
• /
• 2008

This study was carried out to investigate the flora of Mt. Biseul. The vascular plants collected 10 times(from May 2006 to October 2007) were identified as 468 taxa in total, including 89 families, 302 genera, 397 species, 1 subspecies, 59 varieties and 11 forms. Korean endemic plants of this area were identified as 17 taxa including Thalictrum uchiyamai, Coreanomecon hylomeconoides, Lonicera subsessilis, etc.; the Ministry of Environment-designated plants, which should be protected by the wildlife protection law, were identified as one taxon including Aconitum austrokoreense; the Office of Forestry-designated rare & endangered plants were identified as 6 taxa including Viola albida, Lloydia triflora, Streptopus ovalis, etc.; the naturalized plants were identified as 34 taxa, and their naturalization ratio and urban index were found to be 7.3%, and 12.2% respectively. This study newly identified about 160 taxa of the plants, among which 17 taxa were newly added to the list of naturalized plants, such as Phytolacca americana, Dicentra spectabilis, Lepidium apetalum, Medicago lupulina, Euphorbia supina, Ambrosia artemisiifolia, Cosmos bipinnatus, Crassocephalum crepidioides, Galinsoga ciliata, Rudbeckia bicolor, Sonchus oleraceus, Tagetes minuta, Taraxacum officinale, Chloris virgata, Festuca arundinacea, Lolium perenne, Tradescantia reflexa, etc. There existed many kinds of plants resources having conservational value like Aconitum austrokoreense etc. in this area, but there remains a fear of nature destruction's acceleration due to indiscriminate human development and access of a lot of visitors, so it is judged that there should be a management plan, such as a limit on the number of visitors or rest-year-system for restoration of nature.

• Journal of Species Research
• /
• v.2 no.2
• /
• pp.203-222
• /
• 2013

The district of Ganghwa-gun in the western coast (Seohae) of the Korea is consisted of several islands, Ganghwa-do, Seokmo-do, Gyodong-do, Jumun-do, Boreum-do, Seogeom-do and Donggeom-do. Since several islands of them were connected to mainland of Korea by bridges, the islands attract a lot of tourists from Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi-do areas. Construction of new roads, pensions, resort areas and restaurants provided economical benefits to local residents while natural vegetation of these islands has deteriorated continuously. Before biodiversity of vascular plants in these regions is damaged seriously by human impacts, it is needed to conserve original vegetation of the islands for restoration and monitoring in the future. Therefore, the primary purpose of the study is to clarify the flora of Donggeom-do, belonging to Ganghwa-gun. From the 15 times of field trips to the island, we have collected a number of vascular plants, 512 taxa in total, including 110 families, 329 genera, 449 species, six subspecies, 52 varieties, four forms and one hybrid. Of 512 taxa investigated, we have identified 12 taxa to be endemic to Korea. Six taxa were endangered or rare species which were designated by the Ministry of Environment and Korea Forest Service, respectively. 25 taxa were recognized as floristic regional indicator species designated specially by the Ministry of Environment. Seven species have shown their northern or southern distributional limit ranges, and 29 taxa were recognized as halophytes. The naturalized plants were identified as 55 taxa, and their naturalization ratio was 10.7%.

• Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy
• /
• v.46 no.2
• /
• pp.129-148
• /
• 2016

Plant species on oceanic islands comprise nearly 25% of described vascular plants on only 5% of the Earth's land surface yet are among the most rare and endangered plants. Conservation of plant biodiversity on islands poses particular challenges because many species occur in a few and/or small populations, and their habitats on islands are often disturbed by the activity of humans or by natural processes such as landslides and volcanoes. In addition to described species, evidence is accumulating that there are likely significant numbers of "cryptic" species in oceanic archipelagos. Plant systematists, in collaboration with others in the botanical disciplines, are critical to the discovery of the subtle diversity in oceanic island floras. Molecular data will play an ever increasing role in revealing variation in island lineages. However, the input from plant systematists and other organismal biologists will continue to be important in calling attention to morphological and ecological variation in natural populations and in the discovery of "new" populations that can inform sampling for molecular analyses. Conversely, organismal biologists can provide basic information necessary for understanding the biology of the molecular variants, including diagnostic morphological characters, reproductive biology, habitat, etc. Such basic information is important when describing new species and arguing for their protection. Hybridization presents one of the most challenging problems in the conservation of insular plant diversity, with the process having the potential to decrease diversity in several ways including the merging of species into hybrid swarms or conversely hybridization may generate stable novel recombinants that merit recognition as new species. These processes are often operative in recent radiations in which intrinsic barriers to gene flow have not evolved. The knowledge and continued monitoring of plant populations in the dynamic landscapes on oceanic islands are critical to the preservation of their plant diversity.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
• /
• v.104 no.3
• /
• pp.337-351
• /
• 2015

The articles, published in the Journal of Korean Forest Society from Volume 1 (1962) to Volume 102 (2013), were investigated for the research trend analysis about forest plants for special purposes, i.e., edible plants, medicinal plants, feed resources, landscape plants, fiber plants, industrial usage, bee plants, bioenergy/phytoremediation uses, dye materials, and rare/endangered/endemic plants. These research articles were classified again based on the contents of research into following categories - habitat environment, ecology, physiology, propagation, silviculture (including planting and tending), genetics and breeding, identification, pest and disease control, animal-related research, components analysis and extracts, vegetation survey, biotechnology, management, recreation and forest healing, and research review. Among the total 2,433 articles published, 611 (25.1%) were related to plants for special usage or purposes. The highest frequency (14.9%) in publications was found in the field of silviculture followed by physiology, propagation, identification, and genetics and breeding, respectively. On the bases of usage, edible plants showed higher frequency (26.5%) than others, followed by industrial purpose, bioenergy/phytoremediation usage, landscape plants, medicinal plants, and rare/endangered/endemic plants. Populus plant species was the most popular in research, showing 62 articles; and Castanea crenata 36; Pinus koraiensis 35; Robinia pseudoacacia 20; Ginko biloba 17, etc. Based on the survey and analysis, the following points are suggested: 1) improved evaluation of forest plants as non-wood resources, 2) expanding research topics on the basis of production, management, and utilization of non-wood forest resources, 3) management of database of forest plant information and encouragement needed to strengthen cooperative researches satisfying the needs of other industrial and scientific areas, and 4) encouraging to promote traditional knowledge based research on forest plants.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
• /
• v.109 no.4
• /
• pp.371-381
• /
• 2020

The Ministry of Environment (ME) is planning to adopt in 2020 the IUCN regional Red List for "Guidelines for listing and delisting rare & endangered species and management of endangered Species System". The ME designated 377 species of vascular plants on the regional Red List. In a previous study it had been suggested that 103 species from this list are candidates for the regional Red List. With respect to a possible Red List, we assessed 59 species (after excluding 34 additional NA species and ten endemic species). These assessments indicated that 16 species are at the "threatened" level. Of those, one species is Critically Endangered, ten are Endangered, and five are Vulnerable. A further four species are classified as Near Threatened, 30 as Of Least Concern, and nine as Data Deficient. We found that most of the assessments proposed by the Ministry of Environment were not supported by scientific data, including quantitative geographic data (over 70%) in Criteria B. In order to determine the endangered species belonging to the orchid family, it is necessary to obtain records of illegal activities or data on overcollection. The current problem with the Ministry of Environment Red List has been the lack of management of scientific data on species showing a trend in decreasing population in the mid- to long-term; thus, there is a lack of critical resources for policy-makers. The ME legally designated categories and assessment, and the lack of expertise in failing to comply with the legal law by itself. The key to presenting an accurate overview of the state of Korean flora is to fill the information gaps with respect to significant geographical and taxonomical biases in the quality and quantity of data. By regularly updating the qualified data, we will be able to track the changes in the conservation status of the flora and inform the necessary conservation policies.