• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.23 no.11
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• pp.1863-1879
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• 2014

This study aims at classifying and interpreting on the shrine forest vegetation located in Jirisan national park affiliated to an ecotone in southern part of Korea, foreseeing a vegetation change based on composition species and dominant species on canopy, and proposing the direction of vegetation management. The shrine forests were classified into the 7 community units as Chamaecyparis obtusa-Cryptomeria japonica afforestation, Pinus densiflora community, Pinus rigida afforestation, Quercus variabilis-Quercus serrata community, Zelkova serrata-Kerria japonica for. japonica community, Phyllostachys bambusoides forest, Camellia japonica community. This research is also expatiated on the analogous results of ordination analysis with phytosociological analysis. The constituents of deciduous broad-leaved forest in the warm temperate zone were appeared in the most vegetations. It emerged less that the constituents of evergreen broad-leaved forest in the warm-temperate zone and deciduous broad-leaved forest in the cold-temperature zone. The life form analyses were made use with the two ways: appearance species in total communities and each community. The species diversity of shrine forests is declined because the high dominances of Sasa borealis and Pseudosasa japonica emerged in the shrub and herb layers. These shrine forests will be succession to Q. variabilis-Q. serrata community as the representative vegetation of deciduous broad-leaved forest in the warm-temperate zone, owing to the temperature rise by global warming, and an evergreen broad-leaved forest will be able to be also formed if a temperate rise will be continued. The one of the artificial management of shrine forests is to consider the introduction of the constituents of evergreen broad-leaved forest in the warm-temperate zone.

• The Korean Journal of Ecology
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.131-134
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• 2000

Forest vegetation in Korea can be largely divided into warm temperate, cool temperate and frigid forest zone. The cool temperate forest zone of them occupies the largest part of the Korean peninsula and it is generally divided into three subdivisions such as northern, central and southern subzone. The Forestry Research Institute established three long-term ecological research sites at Kwangnung Experiment Forest in the central subzone of the cool temperate forest zone, at the Mt. Kyebangsan Forest in the northern subzone of the cool temperate forest zone. and at the Mt. Keumsan Forest in the warm temperate forest zone. The objectives of long-term ecological research in the Forestry Research Institute, Korea are to study long-term changes of the forest ecosystems in energy fluxes, water and nutrient cycling, forest stand structure, biological diversity, to quantify nutrient budgets and fluxes among forest ecosystem compartments and to integrate ecological data with a GIS - assisted model. To achieve the objectives, forest stand dynamics. environmental changes in soil properties, stream water quality, nutrient cycling, air pollution and biological diversity have been investigated and plant phonology as an indicator of climate change has been monitored in the LTER sites.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.195-207
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• 2020

In Korea, specific thermal elements such as annual mean temperature (AMT) 13℃, 14℃, and Kira's coldness index (CI) -10℃, have been suggested about the northernmost distribution of the warm-temperate evergreen broad-leaved forest zone. We reviewed the relationship between three thermal elements and the actual distribution of evergreen broad-leaved woody plants or its communities. Thiessen and Kriging method using point-data calibrated by seasonal lapse rate according to altitude were utilized for the spatial distribution pattern analysis. Several phytoclimatic maps were also produced in order to compare different thermal values. We identified that the AMT 13℃ was the best thermal element to demarcate the northern limit of the warm-temperate forest zone. Its area was estimated ca. 20,334 ㎢ and larger than those of other thermal elements. We concluded that an indirectly fabricated index i.e. CI -10℃ is useless and it was enough for a direct value of AMT 13℃ to represent the northern-limit distribution of warm-temperate forest zone, at least in Korea. Further researches on the reciprocity between floristic regions and phytoclimate zones are raised.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.19-30
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• 2013

This study was proposed to adaptable species according to climate change using warmth index(WI) in Cheonan-Si. RCP 8.5 was used to estimate change of warmth index(WI) depending on climate change in Cheonan-Si. Climatic change of Cheonan-Si was estimated to change from cool temperate forest central zone to warm temperate forest zone. The following plant species will survive within WI change of Cheonan-Si from 2010 to 2050 : 18 species in the tree layer including Quercus serrata, Q. variabilis, Pinus densiflora, Q. acutissima etc.; 28 species in the shrub layer including Rhus trichocarpa, Lindera obtusiloba, Zanthoxylum schinifolium etc.; 24 species in the herb layer including Oplismenus undulatifolius, Carex lanceolata, etc.; 12 species in the vine plants including Smilax china, Cocculus trilobus, etc.

• Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.269-281
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• 2022

The prediction of changes regarding the distribution of vegetation and plant species according to climate changes is important for ecosystem management. In this study, we attempted to develop an assessment method to evaluate the possibility of the potential distribution of warm-temperate woody plant species of East Asia in Korea. To begin with, a list of warm-temperate woody plants distributed in China and Japan, but not in Korea, was prepared, and a database consisting their global distribution and bioclimatic variables was constructed. In addition, the warm-temperate vegetation zone in Korea was delineated using the coldness index and relevant bioclimatic data were collected. After the exclusion of multicollinearity among bioclimatic variables using correlation analysis, mean temperature of the coldest quarter, mean temperature diurnal range, and annual precipitation were selected as the major variables that influence the distribution of warm-temperate plants. A multivariate environment similarity surfaces (MESS) analysis was conducted to calculate the similarity scores between the distribution of these three bioclimatic variables in the global distribution sites of the East Asian warm-temperate woody plants and the Korean warm-temperate vegetation zone. Finally, using stepwise variable-selection regression, the mean temperature of the coldest quarter and annual precipitation were selected as the main bioclimatic variables that affect the MESS similarity index. The mean temperature of the coldest quarter accounted for 88% of the total variance. For a total of 319 East Asian warm-temperate woody plant species, the possibility of their potential distribution in Korea was evaluated by applying the constructed multivariate regression model that calculates the MESS similarity index.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.275-285
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• 2020

Background: In Korea, Symplocos prunifolia Siebold. & Zucc. is only found on Jeju Island. Conservation of the species is difficult because little is known about its distribution and natural habitat. The lack of research and survey data on the characteristics of native vegetation and distribution of this species means that there is insufficient information to guide the management and conservation of this species and related vegetation. Therefore, this study aims to identify the distribution and vegetation associated with S. prunifolia. Results: As a result of field investigations, it was confirmed that the native S. prunifolia communities were distributed in 4 areas located on the southern side of Mt. Halla and within the evergreen broad-leaved forest zones. Furthermore, these evergreen broad-leaved forest zones are themselves located in the warm temperate zone which are distributed along the valley sides at elevations between 318 and 461 m. S. prunifolia was only found on the south side of Mt. Halla, and mainly on south-facing slopes; however, small communities were found to be growing on northwest-facing slopes. It has been confirmed that S. prunifolia trees are rare but an important constituent species in the evergreen broad-leaved forest of Jeju. The mean importance percentage of S. prunifolia community was 48.84 for Castanopsis sieboldii, 17.79 for Quercus acuta, and 12.12 for Pinus thunbergii; S. prunifolia was the ninth most important species (2.6). Conclusions: S. prunifolia can be found growing along the natural streams of Jeju, where there is little anthropogenic influence and where the streams have caused soil disturbance through natural processes of erosion and deposition of sediments. Currently, the native area of S. prunifolia is about 3300 ㎡, which contains a confirmed population of 180 individual plants. As a result of these low population sizes, it places it in the category of an extremely endangered plant in Korea. In some native sites, the canopy of evergreen broad-leaved forest formed, but the frequency and coverage of species were not high. Negative factors that contributed to the low distribution of this species were factors such as lacking in shade tolerance, low fruiting rates, small native areas, and special habitats as well as requiring adequate stream disturbance. Presently, due to changes in climate, it is unclear whether this species will see an increase in its population and habitat area or whether it will remain as an endangered species within Korea. What is clear, however, is that the preservation of the present native habitats and population is extremely important if the population is to be maintained and expanded. It is also meaningful in terms of the stable conservation of biodiversity in Korea. Therefore, based on the results of this study, it is judged that a systematic evaluation for the preservation and conservation of the habitat and vegetation management method of S. prunifolia should be conducted.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.94-102
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• 2006

To investigate the forest structure and to suggest basic data of forest in the Dogabsa Valley area of the Weolchulsan National Park, thirty plots, each size is $100m^2$, were set up and surveyed. According to the analysis of classification by TWINSPAN, the community was divided by five groups of Quercus variabilis-Carpinus tschonoskii(I), Pinus densiflora(II), Q. variabilis-P. densiflora(III), Q. variabilis(IV) and Q. aliena-Styrax japonicus community(V). The results of vegetation structure analysis, the forest of Dogabsa Valley area is a transition area of southern part of temperate forest and warm temperate forest zone. The forest is about 40-50-year-old.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.41-47
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• 2012

This study was carried out to investigate the distribution and their change of Pinus densiflora forests by climate change in Mt. Hallasan. The results showed that the areas of P. densiflora forests of Mt. Hallasan varied by region, with a total area of 1,324.3 ha, concentrated mostly in the region 1,000 m - 1,400 m above sea level. The temperate coniferous forest zone are distributed in the upper part of temperate forest zone composed of deciduous broad-leaved trees. Most of the P. densiflora forests in the lower parts were found not to be spreading because they are located close to the deciduous broad-leaved trees. However, the P. densiflora forests in the Sajebi and Pyeonggwe regions composed of the grasslands and shrub forests were found to be spreading. In addition, the altitude of the P. densiflora forests distribution increased by about 50 m and 90 m in the Sajebi and Pyeonggwe regions, respectively. The spread rate is expected to become faster than in the past due to the rate of climate change. The structure of the vegetation in Mt. Hallasan and the changes in the vegetation due to various factors need to be investigated from a long-term point of view.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.429-434
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• 2007

This study was conducted to estimate site productivity of Quercus acutissima and Quercus mongolica by four forest climatic zones. We used site environmental variables (28 geographical and pedological factors) and site index as a site productivity indicator from nation-wide 23,315 stands. Based on multiple regression analysis between site index and major environmental variables, the best-fit multivaliate models were made by each species and forest climatic zone. Most of site index prediction models by species were regressed with seven to eight factors, including altitude, relief, soil depth, and soil moisture etc. For those models, three evaluation statistics such as mean difference, standard deviation of difference, and standard error of difference were applied to the test data set for the validation of the results. According to the evaluation statistics, it was found that the models by climatic zones and species fitted well to the test data set with relatively low bias and variation. Also having above middle of site index range, total area of productive sites for the two Quercus spp. estimated by those models would be about 6% of total forest area. Northern temperate forest zone and central temperate forest zone had more productive area than southern temperate forest zone and warm temperate forest zone. As a result, it was concluded that the regressive prediction with site environmental variables by climatic zones and species had enough estimation capability of forest site productivity.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.135-144
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• 2012

This study aims at classifying and analyzing the vegetation structure of Castanopsis sieboldii forest, one of the evergreen broad-leaved forests found under the warm-temperate climate of Korea. It is also compared with the ones of the Castanopsis sieboldii forest in Japan where most similar such forest of Korea, to find unique vegetation structures of the only Korean forest. Vegetation structure of Korean Castanopsis sieboldii forest was divided into two units at the level of community units both of Ardisia japonica-Castanopsis sieboldii community and Ardisio-Castanopsietum sieboldii association. The association carries similar type with the vegetation system of Japan, but any subunits differentiated with the Japan were found vary much. Hierarchical cluster analysis brings in similar result with the analysis on the vegetation structure as well.