• Journal of Wetlands Research
• /
• v.15 no.1
• /
• pp.71-78
• /
• 2013

An exceptional case of inhabitation of a Sphagnum sp. was firstly confirmed at abandoned paddy terrace (APT) wetland in Ansan. Water sampling for analyzing of physicochemical conditions including nutrients such as NP, $Ca^{2+}$ and $Mg^{2+}$ was performed and the vegetation map for distribution of Sphagnum sp., topographical map, and flora list for companion species were made at field in June 2011. From the results, the Sphagnum sp. in the study site was identified as S. palustre and it covered about 8% of the wetland cover of 3,200 $m^2$. Most distributions of S. palustre were observed at tussock structures as micro-topography by sedges and grasses within a wetland (74%) and the shaded slope area under Pinus densiflora's canopy in wetland boundary (26%). Despite that APT in Ansan is relatively lower wetland in altitude than high moors, the contents of calcium ($0.45{\pm}0.2$) and magnesium ($1.48{\pm}0.6$) ion which are critical limiting factors for Sphagnum spp. were very low levels as well as NP ($PO_4$-P, $0.02{\pm}0.0$; $NO_3$-N, $0.25{\pm}0.3$; $NH_4$-N, $0.06{\pm}0.1$) and it could enable the inhabitation of S. palustre in lower APT.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
• /
• v.80 no.1
• /
• pp.54-71
• /
• 1991

To classify and analyze the forest communities and their structures, the vegetation in Mt. Joghe was investigated from July, 1980 to August, 1989. The results obtained are as follow ; 1. A total of 750 kinds of vascular plant(49 orders, 122 families, 434 genera, 627 species, 1 subspecies, 111 varieties and 11 forma)were observed in Mt. Ioghe. The newly observed plant species were Dioscorea quingueloba, Spiranthes sinensis, Cephalanthera falcata, Angelica gigas, Clematis patents, Paeonia obovata, Hibiscus mulabilis, Ainsliaea acerifolia, Dictamnus dasycarpus, Cynachum ascyrifolia, Vaccinium koreanum, Erythrortium japonicum, Indigofera kirilowii (17species), Broussonetia kazinoki var, humillis, Euonymus, fortunei var. radicans, Juniperus communis var, nippnnica, Callicarpa japonica var. radicans, Joniperus communis var. rzipponica, Callicarpa japonica var. taquetii (4 varieties) and L indera obtusiloba for. billosum (1 forma). 2. The life spectrum of flora in Mt. Joghe was classified into $CH-D_1-R_5-e$ type. Distribution area was identical to Southern type by Nakai, Lee, and Yim. A few subtropical species were also observed. 3. Simpson's species diversity index(Ds) was 0.9 and Shannon-Weiner's diversity index (H') was 1.004. These indice suggest that the vegetation in Mt. Joghe is of complicated forest communities. 4. Pte-Q was 1.81 which was higher than the nationwide mean of 1.68. Urbanization Index (UI) was 28.75 for naturalized plant species, and 17.49 for exotic woody plant species, which were similar to those of Mt. Baekun and Mt. Naejang. 5. The forest vegetation of Mt. Joghe was grouped in 3 vegetation types : 7 natural plant Communities dominated by Quercus serrat, Quercus acutissima, Quercus variabilis, Carpinus laxiflora, Pinus derasiflora and Platycarya strobilacea, 8 substitutional plant communities Styrax japonica, Stewartia koreana, Lindera erytlrrocarpa, Zelkova serrata, Rhtrs chinensis, Controversa, and Frzrxirtus manrlshurica, and 7 plantation Communities composed of Pinus koraiensis, Pinus rigida, Magnolia nbnvata, Chamecyparis obkrsa, Larie ieptolepis, Castanea crenata and Cryptomeria japonica. 6. Actual vegetation maps and profile diagrams were made by phytosocialogical classification. 7. As the important and unique species in Mt. Joghe, Lindera sericea, Penicaria tilitorme, Hex macropoda, Hex macropoda for. pseudo-macropoda, Steroartia koreana, Adenopkora palustris and Corylop.,is coreana, which were also seported by Lee(1977), Kim and Yark(1989), were identified and Vaccinium coreanum, Cremastra appendiculinium, Juniperus comminis van. nipponica, Cephalanthera falcata, Broussortetia kazinoki var. humilis, paeonia obovata, Deutzia prunifolia, Dictamnus dasyarpus, Angelica gigics and Bupleurum falcatum were odditionally observed.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
• /
• v.5 no.2
• /
• pp.15-32
• /
• 2003

The ecological study on seven wetlands of Haman area in Kyungsangnamdo, Korea, was carried out. In especial, the biological data of the sites were unknown. In this study, water quality including water temperature, pH, DO, COD, T-N, T-P, SS were tested. On the survey of plants and animals, vegetation and flora were investigated and the fauna of insects, fish, and amphibians were studied on each wetland. Water of wetland Oksu was heavily polluted and wetlands Pyungy and Dodulyangy were relatively clean. The water pollution was most severe in winter at all of the wetlands. Plant communities were classified into 9 natural communities and 1 artificial community. On the vegetation, wetland Sugok showed the highest plant taxa, and 41 families, 78 species and 16 varieties were classified. There was remarkable difference in number of plant taxa. The difference may be caused by the variances of wetland sizes, the influence from terrestrial environment. Wetland Sugok showed most rich insect fauna, and 10 orders, 76 families 224 species and 1082 individuals were identified. The species diversity was 2.05 and the species richness was 73.49. Wetland Ddun showed poor insect fauna, and 6 orders, 23 families, 29 species and 81 individuals were identified. Total collected fish were 4 orders, 7 families and 11 species. The fish fauna was most rich in wetlands Oksu and Pyungy, but poor in wetland Unan. Total collected amphibians were 2 orders, 3 families and 4 species.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
• /
• v.39 no.1
• /
• pp.119-135
• /
• 2021

Korea has stepped up efforts to investigate and catalog its flora and fauna to conserve the biodiversity of the Korean Peninsula and secure biological resources since the ratification of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 1992 and the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits (ABS) in 2010. Thus, after its establishment in 2007, the National Institute of Biological Resources (NIBR) of the Ministry of Environment of Korea initiated a project called the Korean Indigenous Species Investigation Project to investigate indigenous species on the Korean Peninsula. For 15 years since its beginning in 2006, this project has been carried out in five phases, Phase 1 from 2006-2008, Phase 2 from 2009-2011, Phase 3 from 2012-2014, Phase 4 from 2015-2017, and Phase 5 from 2018-2020. Before this project, in 2006, the number of indigenous species surveyed was 29,916. The figure was cumulatively aggregated at the end of each phase as 33,253 species for Phase 1 (2008), 38,011 species for Phase 2 (2011), 42,756 species for Phase 3 (2014), 49,027 species for Phase 4 (2017), and 54,428 species for Phase 5(2020). The number of indigenous species surveyed grew rapidly, showing an approximately 1.8-fold increase as the project progressed. These statistics showed an annual average of 2,320 newly recorded species during the project period. Among the recorded species, a total of 5,242 new species were reported in scientific publications, a great scientific achievement. During this project period, newly recorded species on the Korean Peninsula were identified using the recent taxonomic classifications as follows: 4,440 insect species (including 988 new species), 4,333 invertebrate species except for insects (including 1,492 new species), 98 vertebrate species (fish) (including nine new species), 309 plant species (including 176 vascular plant species, 133 bryophyte species, and 39 new species), 1,916 algae species (including 178 new species), 1,716 fungi and lichen species(including 309 new species), and 4,812 prokaryotic species (including 2,226 new species). The number of collected biological specimens in each phase was aggregated as follows: 247,226 for Phase 1 (2008), 207,827 for Phase 2 (2011), 287,133 for Phase 3 (2014), 244,920 for Phase 4(2017), and 144,333 for Phase 5(2020). A total of 1,131,439 specimens were obtained with an annual average of 75,429. More specifically, 281,054 insect specimens, 194,667 invertebrate specimens (except for insects), 40,100 fish specimens, 378,251 plant specimens, 140,490 algae specimens, 61,695 fungi specimens, and 35,182 prokaryotic specimens were collected. The cumulative number of researchers, which were nearly all professional taxonomists and graduate students majoring in taxonomy across the country, involved in this project was around 5,000, with an annual average of 395. The number of researchers/assistant researchers or mainly graduate students participating in Phase 1 was 597/268; 522/191 in Phase 2; 939/292 in Phase 3; 575/852 in Phase 4; and 601/1,097 in Phase 5. During this project period, 3,488 papers were published in major scientific journals. Of these, 2,320 papers were published in domestic journals and 1,168 papers were published in Science Citation Index(SCI) journals. During the project period, a total of 83.3 billion won (annual average of 5.5 billion won) or approximately US $75 million (annual average of US $5 million) was invested in investigating indigenous species and collecting specimens. This project was a large-scale research study led by the Korean government. It is considered to be a successful example of Korea's compressed development as it attracted almost all of the taxonomists in Korea and made remarkable achievements with a massive budget in a short time. The results from this project led to the National List of Species of Korea, where all species were organized by taxonomic classification. Information regarding the National List of Species of Korea is available to experts, students, and the general public (https://species.nibr.go.kr/index.do). The information, including descriptions, DNA sequences, habitats, distributions, ecological aspects, images, and multimedia, has been digitized, making contributions to scientific advancement in research fields such as phylogenetics and evolution. The species information also serves as a basis for projects aimed at species distribution and biological monitoring such as climate-sensitive biological indicator species. Moreover, the species information helps bio-industries search for useful biological resources. The most meaningful achievement of this project can be in providing support for nurturing young taxonomists like graduate students. This project has continued for the past 15 years and is still ongoing. Efforts to address issues, including species misidentification and invalid synonyms, still have to be made to enhance taxonomic research. Research needs to be conducted to investigate another 50,000 species out of the estimated 100,000 indigenous species on the Korean Peninsula.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
• /
• v.37 no.1
• /
• pp.35-61
• /
• 2024

Floristic study can help to understand the current status of species diversity, evaluate and predict distribution changes of plants based on the specimens, and record the climate environment and biodiversity of the Korean Peninsula. Boraebong is an area that has plant resources of conservation value, but there is concern about artificial interference through trail and forest road. Therefore, this study aims to report the vascular plants of Boraebong based on voucher specimens and photos and to use them as baseline data to conserve biodiversity of Boraebong. Also, it will be useful to prevent additional influx of invasive species through comparison with previous studies. The investigation was carried out 11 times from April to September in 2022 and confirmed a total of 455 taxa including 87 families, 269 genera, 401 species, 13 subspecies, 35 varieties, 6 forms. In addition, we confirmed the 4 taxa of red list plants (EN 2 taxa, NT 2 taxa), 18 taxa of Korean endemic plants, and 102 taxa of floristic target species (V degree 1 taxon, IV degree 16 taxa, III degree 31 taxa, II degree 31 taxa, I degree 23 taxa). Furthermore, alien plants 17 taxa, invasive species 2 taxa, useful plants 439 taxa were confirmed in Boraebong. As the results of comparison with previous studies, 98 total taxa including 38 families, 76 genera, 86 species, 1 subspecies, 8 varieties, 3 forms were newly identified in this study.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
• /
• v.31 no.4
• /
• pp.396-418
• /
• 2018

This study was carried out to investigate the flora and the vegetation of Samusan mountain on Jecheon-si, located in the middle part of the Korean peninsula. The vascular plants which were collected in 9 times from June 2014 to October 2015 were identified as 502 taxa in total, including 102 families, 314 genera, 445 species, 6 subspecies, 49 varieties, 1 form and 1 hybrid. The largest families were as follows; Asteraceae (70 taxa), Poaceae (52 taxa), Rosaceae (30 taxa), Fabaceae (28 taxa), and Cyperaceae (20 taxa). Of them, Korean endemic plants numbered 10 taxa, and vascular plants listed in the red data according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) numbered 14 taxa. The floristic regional indicator plants found in this area were 61 taxa in total. Among them, 5 taxa revealed the floristic grade V, 11 for floristic grade IV, 14 for floristic grade III, 10 for floristic grade II, and 21 for floristic grade I. The alien plants were identified as 43 taxa and the percentage of naturalized index (NI) was 8.6%, and urbanization index (UI) was 13.4%, respectively. Samples of the forest vegetation on the Samusan Mt. were mainly classified as Pinus densiflora, Quercus variabilis, Q. acutissima, Q. mongolica, Zelkova serrata and Robinia pseudoacacia forest. The vertical structures of the forest were stable and the DBH-Class analyses showed that the dominant tree species would be maintained. In the surveyed areas, high plant diversity was shown, and a number of endemic, rare, calcicole plants and phytogeographically important plants were found. Nonetheless, numerous and diverse biological resources native have been consistently disturbed or damaged by human activities without some form of protection. Therefore, it is needed to set up strategies for conservation forest vegetation in this study area.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
• /
• v.20 no.2
• /
• pp.187-198
• /
• 2011

The objective of this study is to analyze the flora and forest vegetation of trails with high visitor density at Molundae. Nine quadrats of $20{\times}20m$ were selected for the survey. The survey was conducted from April to October 2010. The obtained results are summarized as follows. Plot1, plot2, plot3, plot4, plot6, and plot7 were located at slopes of $5{\sim}20^{\circ}$, 17~40m above sea level, and were formed with the colony of Japanese black pine(Pinus thunbergii Parl) and Japanese black pine(Pinus thunbergii Parl)-white oak(Quercus aliena Blume). Tree layer had the height of 8~20m, and the coverage of 50~70%, while subtree layer had the height of 3-8m, and the coverage 30~80%. On the other hand, shrub layer had the height of 2~4m, and the coverage of 10~30%, and herb had the height of 0.2~1m and coverage 5~20%. Plot5, plot8, and plot9 were located at the summit areas of 57~78m above sea level, and $0^{\circ}$ slope. Japanese black pine(Pinus thunbergii Parl) formed a community there. Tree layer was 8~20m high, and covered 60~70%, of the area, and subtree layer was 6~8m high, and coverage 30~40%. Shrub layer had the height of 2~6m, and the coverage of 30%, while herb layer had the height 0.2~2m, and the coverage 20-80%. Succession does not occur in the surveyed areas which have high visitor density. Artificially planted sawtooth oak(Quercus acutissima) trees were found to disturb succession and formation of multi-layer vegetation, resulting in the ecologically unstable forest. Therefore, the researcher suggested the strategy of managing the vegetation in the conclusion. This study has the limit in that the plots selected for the survey reflected only part of various trails in the Molundae area. It is necessary to suggest the vegetation management plans by selecting more diverse trail areas in consideration of the visitor density and behaviors, and analyzing the changes in vegetation quantitatively in order to manage the vegetation in urban areas damaged by visitors more effectively.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
• /
• v.26 no.1
• /
• pp.82-90
• /
• 2012

In this study, we investigated the environmental factors and growth characteristics of Sasa borealis community inside a temperate deciduous forest and reviewed its effect on the lower vegetation and natural regeneration. The S. borealis community in the Jungsan-ri region of Jirisan National Park was chosen as the study area, and the vegetation and the environmental factors were investigated. The dominance value, height and foliage layer thickness were investigated as the growth characteristics of S. borealis in the area. As the environmental factors, we investigated the photosynthesis photon flux density (PPFD) of the shrub and ground layers as well as the chemical characteristics of the soil. Additionally, we investigated the flora on the ground layer of the area as well as the number and height of woody plants. The result showed that the height and foliage layer thickness of the S. borealis was closely related to the light conditions but the distribution was not determined simply by the effect of the environment or vegetation of the particular area. This may be deeply related with the unique survival strategy of S. borealis, a vegetably propagated plant, that it can extensively distributed on a heterogeneous resources environment in a forest as multiple culm are interconnected with each other through the rhizomes. The dense dominance and great height of S. borealis reduced the plant species diversity in the ground layer by decreasing the PPFD on the ground surface.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
• /
• v.30 no.5
• /
• pp.896-907
• /
• 2016

The habitat characteristics of Aconitum austrokoreense Koidz. were investigated to provide basic data for conservation and restoration. The altitude ranged from 260m to 728m with inclinations of $4-39^{\circ}$. As a result of vegetation survey within natural populations, a total of 147 taxa were identified inside 20 quadrates in 7 natural habitats. The importance value of Aconitum austrokoreense was 23.0% based on the coverage and frequency of the herbaceous layer and sat is more dominant. Species diversity was 1.23, and dominace and evenness were found to be 0.22 and 0.77, respectively. The soil type were silty loam (four sites), sandy loam (two sites) and loam (one site). The average field organic matter was 7.83% and the total nitrogen and pH were 0.35, and 5.69. Correlation analysis between environmental factors and population characteristic showed the correlations between chlorophyll content and slope, flowering rate and soil humidity. Conservation on habitats conditions is important for stable maintenance the flora and the surrounding area including habitats has to be designated a protection area for habitats conservation.

• Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy
• /
• v.51 no.3
• /
• pp.250-293
• /
• 2021

Limestone areas are sedimentary rock outcrops consisting of calcium carbonate created several hundreds of millions of years ago by calcium-secreting marine organisms and subsequently lifted above sea level by tectonic movement. Limestone areas support very high levels of endemic species of plants and are recognized as biodiversity areas with much biological information. The purpose of this study is to devise a strategy for the comprehensive conservation of the vegetation of limestone areas through analyses of the floristics and plant species compositions in ten limestone areas on the Korean Peninsula. The results of 153 field surveys from April of 2010 to October of 2016 identified 1,202 taxa in total, representing 1,096 species, 18 subspecies, 84 varieties, 2 forms, and 2 hybrids in 530 genera and 133 families. Among them, 55 taxa were endemic plants to Korea, and 38 taxa were red data plants. The floristic target plants amounted to 102 taxa, specifically 27 taxa of grade V and 75 taxa of grade IV. In all, 121 alien plants were recorded in the investigated area. Calciphilous plants amounted to 102 taxa, specifically 14 taxa of calciphilous indicator plants, 30 taxa of superlative most calciphilous plants, and 58 taxa of comparative more calciphilous plants. A cluster analysis showed a high degree of similarity between sites that are geographically adjacent with similar habitat environments. Limestone areas also supported groups distinct from those in non-limestone areas, demonstrating the specificity of limestone flora. Plant geography approaches therefore appear to be crucial to gain a better understanding of the level of biodiversity in limestone areas, not only at the interspecific but also at the intraspecific level. These results highlight the importance of protecting limestone habitats to preserve not only their interspecific but also the intraspecific diversity, which is highly threatened.