• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.327-357
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• 2011

This study compared the species composition and distribution of the forest communities between Korea and Japan using vegetation releve database. The study included the eastern and southern Korean Peninsula, Is. Jeju, Is. Ulreung, northern Kyushu, central part of Japan and Is. Tsushima and divided in fourteen region with major mountain as the center. Seventy-nine forest communities were classified by tabular comparison with the total of 1844 releves. In the composition table, fifty-four groups of plant species were listed. Some grew in one area exclusively, while others were present in multiple locations. This study showed the similarity and heterogeneity of species composition among study areas. We grouped fourteen types showing similar physiognomy for forest communities. The physiognomical features of the vertical vegetation zones in the study area were similar, however, dominant species and species composition were different between the regions. In the lowland zone, Castanopsis-Type dominated by Castanopsis cuspidata var. sieboldii or Castanopsis cuspidata were distributed in the study area except for northern part of the Korean Peninsula and Is. Ulreung. Additionally, Persea thunbergii-Type was distributed widely in the lowest part of the study area, however, it showed the simplification of the species composition in the Korean Peninsula and Is. Ulreung. In the hilly zone, evergreen forest composed by Abies firma-Type distributed in northern Kyushuand Is. Tsushima, but it was absent in the other study region. The difference in forest community was conspicuous, especially in the montane zone. Deciduous broadleaved forests composed Quercus(D)-Type and Fagus-Type widely distributed in the montane of study area. However, forest community dominated by Quercus mongolica and Fagus multinervis flourished in Korea. On the otherhand, forest community dominated by Quercus mongolica var. grosseserrata, Fagus crenata and F. japonica distributed in Japan. In the sub-alpine zone, evergreen coniferous forest composed Abies-Quercus(D)-Type, Abies koreana-Type, and Pinus pumila-Type were distributed in the Korean Peninsula and Is. Jeju. Forests composed Taxus cuspidata var. nana-Type, Abies mariesii-Type, and Pinus pumila-Type distributed in the central part of Japan. As a result of DCA ordination, evergreen broadleaved forests of the whole study area showed the lower scores along the first axis, while deciduous and coniferous forests showed the higher scores. The forest types of western part of Japan were located the higer scores, forest types of the Korean Peninsula were located the lower scores, and forest types of Is. Jeju located in the middle. Warmth index (WI) and Annual range of temperature in climate factor were highly correlated on the first axis. The first axis reflected the gradient from oceanic climatic to continental one. The higher the altitude and further geographically, the lower the similarity among communities and the peculiarity of community appeared stronger. The historical background reflecting local flora has strongly influenced on development of community.