• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.128-137
• /
• 2008

The purpose of this study is to analyze the effect of hiking trails on forest landscape's fragmentation, based on which also to assess the landscape-ecology-based integrity by small drainage area by selecting Bukhansan National Park as a survey target. The results of effect analysis are as follow; size of forest patch decreased; the density of patch and edge increased; patch shape became complicated; the dimensions of core area noticeably decreased and proximity degree between patch increased after trail-building. In addotion, the assessment results of overall landscape ecology-based integrity by small drainage basin showed that the Bukhansan catchment area was highest making 3.7 point, while Gugi catchment area was rated the lowest making 1.6 point. Putting the above results together, it is necessary to prohibit the opening up of unnecessary trails and to make room for ecological restoration of damaged and disturbance area to their original state as nature goes for landscape-ecology-based conservation and management of forests.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
• /
• v.40 no.1
• /
• pp.28-37
• /
• 2016

Background: Panax ginseng cannot be cultivated on the same land consecutively for an extended period, and the underlying mechanism regarding microorganisms is still being explored. Methods: Polymerase chain reaction and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) and BIO-LOG methods were used to evaluate the microbial genetic and functional diversity associated with the P. ginseng rhizosphere soil in various cultivation ages and modes. Results: The analysis of microbial diversity using PCR-DGGE showed that microbial communities were significantly variable in composition, of which six bacterial phyla and seven fungal classes were detected in P. ginseng soil. Among them, Proteobacteria and Hypocreales dominated. Fusarium oxysporum, a soilborne pathogen, was found in all P. ginseng soil samples except R0. The results from functional diversity suggested that the microbial metabolic diversity of fallow soil abandoned in 2003was the maximum and transplanted soil was higher than direct-seeding soil and the forest soil uncultivated P. ginseng, whereas the increase in cultivation ages in the same mode led to decreases in microbial diversity in P. ginseng soil. Carbohydrates, amino acids, and polymers were the main carbon sources utilized. Furthermore, the microbial diversity index and multivariate comparisons indicated that the augmentation of P. ginseng cultivation ages resulted in decreased bacterial diversity and increased fungal diversity, whereas microbial diversity was improved strikingly in transplanted soil and fallow soil abandoned for at least one decade. Conclusion: The key factors for discontinuous P. ginseng cultivation were the lack of balance in rhizosphere microbial communities and the outbreak of soilborne diseases caused by the accumulation of its root exudates.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
• /
• v.111 no.1
• /
• pp.81-99
• /
• 2022

The Baekdudaegan, spanning around 701 km from Hyangrobong to Cheonwangbong of Mt. Jirisan in South Korea, is rich in biodiversity and known as the main ecological axis of the Korean Peninsula. The Neuljae-Yuksimnyeong section of Marugeum in the southern part of the Baekdudaegan, particularly Mt. Deogyusan, is an area in which various types of vegetation appear depending on the environmental characteristics. The aims of this study were to investigate the current vegetation status at the Neuljae-Yuksimnyeong section of the Baekdudaegan and to provide basic data to aid systematic conservation and management through future classification of forest vegetation types. A vegetation survey was conducted using 637 plots from May to October 2019. Vegetation-type analysis showed that the vegetation units could be classified as a Quercus mongolica community group divided into seven communities: the Abies koreana community, Sanguisorba hakusanensis community, Persicaria hydropiper community, Quercus variabilis community, Quercus dentata community, Cornus controversa community, and Quercus mongolica community. The A. koreana community was subdivided into the Dryopteris expansa group and Picea jezoensis group. The Q. variabilis community was also subdivided into the Q. dentata group and Q. variabilis typical group. We concluded that special management plans for distinctive forest vegetation, including subalpine vegetation, grass or herb vegetation, and agricultural vegetation, should be prepared urgently to aid ecosystem preservation and enhancement.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
• /
• v.26 no.4
• /
• pp.537-549
• /
• 2012

The purpose of this study was to provide data for the basic research to found the effective conservation and management plan for the Hamyangsangrim designated as Natural Monument No. 154 and surround areas by analyzing the ecological characteristics such as landuse and actual vegetation, plant community structure, soil chemical property and also to identify the tendency of the ecosystem changes through comparison with past studies. According to analysis the results, the landuse and actual vegetation of survey site was classified as 8 types which were forest, artificial greenspace, plaza and open-space, bare ground and the pavement, water bodies, facilities, agricultural land and etc.. It was also categorized as 38 types according to detailed characteristic. 15 kinds of forest vegetation community types comprising silva were classified among them. The changes of actual vegetation showed little variation that the Quercus serrata-Carpinus tschonoskii forest was the most widely distributed in 2003(forest area ratio is 48.3%) and 2010(forest area ratio is 48.1%), whereas, the Quercus serrata forest declined a more dramatic from 11.6% to 23.2%. The Quercus serrata-Carpinus tschonoskii forest increased sharply(11.6% ${\rightarrow}$ 23.2%) and also the Quercus serrata-Zelkova serrata forest increased steadily(2.2% ${\rightarrow}$ 7.9%). The agricultural land around forest was transformed into artificial green zone. Moreover, water bodies, bare ground and the pavement of areas have increased. In addition, the urbanized area has decreased because the damaged areas inside forest have been restored to the woodlands. According to the result of typical 6 types vegetation communities change, the middle layer trees grew up to the canopy layer trees and was formed the canopy layer structure. The middle layer trees expanded their forces widely. Also new species appeared. And the shrub individuals also more dramatically increased due to the growth of shrubs. The force of Quercus serrata declined as well. However the force of Carpinus tschonoskii and Zelkova serrata expanded and increased in the forest. It must be the result of the ecological vegetation succession and environmentally soundly health recovery by influence of the projects of forest surrounding environment improvement and limitation of access to forest have managed and maintained since 2003. Those sorts of changes seems to be going to develop continuously. In the future Carpinus tschonoskii and Zelkova serrata will not be only codominant in the canopy layer but also Carpinus Tschonoskii, Zelkova serrata, Meliosma myriantha, Sapium japonicum. Styrax obassia and Acer pseudo-sieboldianum will be codominant in the middle layer. As a result, the forest's codominance species are going to be changed such like that.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
• /
• v.38 no.1
• /
• pp.48-54
• /
• 2022

This study was conducted to examine litter inputs and litter decomposition rates following thinning, which is among the most important forest management activities that enhance the beneficial functions in Korean forests. Litter inputs and litter decomposition rates following a 2-year elapse from thinning in Pinus densiflora and following a 7-year elapse from thinning in Quercus variabilis stands were measured for 2 years from 16 sites in three regions (Sancheong-gun, Uiryeong-gun, and Jinju-si) in Gyeongsangnam-do, Korea. Annual needle litter inputs in P. densiflora stands were significantly decreased following thinning, whereas annual broadleaved leaf litter inputs in Q. variabilis stands were not significantly different between thinned and unthinned treatments. The annual mean total litter inputs in both tree species were significantly lower in the thinned (P. densiflora: 3,653 kg ha^-1 year^-1; Q. variabilis: 4,963 kg ha^-1 year^-1) compared to the unthinned stands (P. densiflora: 5,138 kg ha^-1 year^-1; Q. variabilis: 5,997 kg ha^-1 year^-1) during the study period. The mass loss rates from decomposing needle litter in P. densiflora stands were significantly lower (p<0.05) in the thinned stands than in the unthinned stands for two sampling dates of the eight included in the study, whereas the decomposition rates from decomposing leaf litter in Q. variabilis stands were not affected by thinning. The results indicate that thinning effects on total litter inputs remained clear following a 2-year elapse from thinning in P. densiflora stands and following a 7-year elapse from thinning in Q. variabilis stands.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
• /
• v.90 no.3
• /
• pp.380-387
• /
• 2001

The characteristics of ecological niche, breadth and overlap, for seventeen major tree species were evaluated in the natural deciduous forest in Mt. Chumbong area. Employed by the plot sampling method, the environmental gradient for vertical niche was based on the intensity of light within the forest, and that for horizontal niche was based on multi-dimensional resources in distribution pattern. The result showed that Fraxinus rhynchophylla had the highest value of vertical niche breadth and Maackia amurensis had the lowest, and Acer pseudo-sieboldianum had the highest value of horizontal niche breadth and Betula costata had the lowest. There was no significant correlation between both measures of niche breadth. However, the tolerance index for each species was positively correlated to the values of niche breadth. Spearman's rank correlation coefficients were applied to test the correlationship between the species ranks of tolerance index and those of two ecological niche breadths. The coefficient of $r_s=0.432$ ($P{\leq}0.1$) was not enough to support significant correlationship between the tolerance index and vertical niche breadth at the 95% probability. If Carpinus cordata, rarely reach canopy of the forest due to its own growth form, are excluded from the analysis, coefficient was calculated as $r_s=0.650$ ($P{\leq}0.01$), resulting in highly significant correlationship. The Spearman's rank correlation coefficient was $r_s=0.797$ ($P{\leq}0.01$) for tolerance indices and the values of horizontal niche breadth, indicating highly significant. Four distinctive species groups, produced by cluster analysis on the basis of ecological niche overlap for each pair of species, were in considerable accord with the positively associated species constellation pattern created by the inter-species association analysis.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
• /
• v.9 no.3
• /
• pp.26-38
• /
• 2006

For both a healthy environment and sustainable development, we frame a habitat assessment method, concerning biodiversity and physical characteristics. With the method, we set up and extract conservation areas from Peace Valley Resort Development Areas which can function as habitats. Absolute and relative assessment items which are the size of area, habitation of species with conservation value, distribution of communities, functions of habitats, ratio of non-native plants, connectivity of habitats, vegetation layers of forests and age of forests, and water systems are considered on newly extracted conservation areas, and the habitat value assessment was calculated on the items in a 3-point scale. By comparing and examining 3 existing proposals for extracted conservation areas, we assess existing proposals, make an alternative proposal, and try to verify the possibility of applicability to extracted conservation areas. Proposal A and C must not be adopted since almost all conservation areas would be developed in the proposals. Proposal B, consisting of 53% development areas and 47% non-development areas, does not have enough development areas, so high density building arrangements should be encouraged in order to preserve conservation areas. Therefore, proposal B would be the best in ecological terms among the 3 proposals, if 3 conditions are considered : 1) new extracted conservation areas should be conserved; 2) 10~15m wide green-zones on both sides of the water system, which can play a role as ecological corridors, should be considered in development areas; 3) building arrangement should not interrupt the ecological corridors.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
• /
• v.19 no.1
• /
• pp.121-133
• /
• 2016

It was required to evaluate ecological restorations in a comprehensive way in order to systematically manage conservation areas such as DMZ and national parks in South Korea. In this research we developed a new approach to evaluating ecological restorations with more various indexes than vegetation covering-related indexes. By analyzing damaged areas in the vicinity of DMZ, major damaged types were identified as six classes: landform modification, surface loss, soil pollution, soil physio-chemical modification, vegetation decline and vegetation damaged. From literature review, 39 indexes were selected and were grouped into four divisions: soil property, vegetation growth & structure, habitat property and landscape structure & functions. By conducting a survey with the selected indexes targeting relevant experts, data on relative importance among the divisions and indexes by damaged type were collected. As a result, it was found that the orders and values of weighted values of the divisions were different by damaged type: for example, soil property (0.402), vegetation growth & structure (0.209), habitat property (0.225), landscape structure & function (0.163) for "landform modification"; but soil property (0.171), vegetation growth & structure (0.401), habitat property (0.270), landscape structure & function (0.158) for "vegetation decline". Similarly, evaluation indexes showed different orders and values of relative importance, easiness in field measurement and representativeness for the division by damaged type, and the values were used for calculating importance factor for each index. In the evaluation table, score1 and score2 were made by the importance factors of indexes multiplied by distribution values which present grades and by the weighted values of divisions. In conclusion, while dealing with the damaged type was considered significant for evaluating and managing restorations, further tests on this table with a range of cases were needed to improve its quality.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
• /
• v.99 no.6
• /
• pp.908-913
• /
• 2010

This study analyzed the impact of climatic and topographic factors on tree radial growth of Pinus densiflora and Quercus spp. in central regions of Korea. To find the relationship between annual tree radial growth and climatic factors, we took the core samples from individual trees and measured the tree radial width. On the assumption that the tree radial growth is related to the tree age, we estimated the radial growth by the tree age as an independent variable. Also, we estimated the standard growth, defined as the radial growth of trees aged 30. As results, we found the spatial auto-correlation in the radial growth of the red pine. Moreover, we also found the relationships between climatic and topographic and the standard growth using the GAM (Generalized Additive Model). Increase of temperature has negative impacts on the radial growth of Pinus densiflora, while it has positive impacts on the radial growth of Quercus spp.. On the other hands, increase of precipitation has negative impacts on the radial growth of both species. Lastly, we predicted the spatial distribution changes of Pinus densiflora and Quercus spp. using the temperature increase scenario and the Geographic Information System (GIS) based forest type map. We could predict that Pinus densiflora is more vulnerable than Quercus spp. to climate change so that the habitats of Pinus densiflora will be gradually changed to the habitats of Quercus spp. in eastern coastal and southern regions of Korea after 60 years.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• v.43 no.4
• /
• pp.341-351
• /
• 2019

Background: Standing biomass, litter production, rate of litter decomposition, amount of litter on forest floor, and amount of soil organic carbon distribution were investigated from March 2016 to November 2018 in order to evaluate the ecosystem value through organic carbon distribution in the Pinus densiflora forest at Namsan, Seoul Metropolitan City. Results: The amount of organic carbon in the Pinus densiflora forest was 261.09 ton C ha^-1 during the research period, and fixed organic carbon in plant through net photosynthesis was 3.2 ton C ha^-1 year^-1. The organic carbon in plant was 62.77 ton C ha^-1 (24.04%), in litter on the forest floor was 3.65 ton C ha^-1 (1.40%), and in soil was 194.67 ton C ha^-1 (74.56%). The value of plant, litter on forest floor, and soil organic carbon distribution were each 6,277,000 won ha^-1, 365, 000 won ha^-1, and 19,467,000 won ha^-1. The value per ton of fixed organic carbon in plant through net photosynthesis was 320,000 won ha^-1 year^-1 and the value of ecosystem services stored in carbon in the Namsan forest ecosystem was about 26.1 million won ha^-1 for 3 years. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that the pine forests of Namsan rapidly decompose leaves due to the high atmospheric temperature and accumulate a large amount of organic carbon in the soil to provide climate control regulatory service function.