• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.165-175
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• 2018

The purpose of this study is to provide the basic data such as distribution status, growth characteristics, and the structural characteristics of forest stands for the systematic conservation and management of relict forest trees (stem girth of 300cm or larger) established naturally in Gangwon Province, Korea. The survey showed that 434 individuals of 19 species (conifers: 228 individuals of 4 species, broad-leaved trees: 206 individuals of 15 species) were distributed in Gangwon Province, and Taxus cuspidata was the most abundant among them with 203 individuals or about 46.7 % of the total. The stem girth was average of 404cm (conifers: 373cm, broad-leaves: 421cm), and Tilia amurensis with multi-stemmed growing on Sorak mountain range had the largest stem girth at 1,113cm. The average height and the crown width of relict forest trees were 15.4m and 10.0m, respectively. Although the environments of relict forest trees showed a slight difference by species, the relative appearance frequencies of most trees were high in the environments where the altitude was higher than 1,000 m, slope degree was greater than $25^{\circ}$, the slope faced north, and microtopography was at the upper of slopes. Regarding the stand characteristics of relict forest trees per unit area ($/100m^2$), the average total coverage was 294% (max. 475%), the total average number of species was 36 species (max. 60 species), the average species diversity index (H') was 2.560 (max. 3.593), the average canopy closure was 84.8% (max. 94.6%), and the average basal area (/ha) was $52.7m^2$ (max. $116.4m^2$, relict trees $30.0m^2$, and other trees $22.7m^2$). The analysis of the dynamics of the forest stands where relict forest trees were growing showed four types of the maintenance mechanisms of relict forest trees depending on the supply pattern of succeeding trees: "Low-density but persistent type (Quercus mongolica, Abies holophylla, Tilia amurensis, and Pyrus ussuriensis)," "Long ago stopped type (Pinus densiflora)," "Recently stopped type (Abies nephrolepis, Quercus variabilis, and Betula schmidtii)," and "Periodically repeated types of supply and stop (Salix caprea and Quercus serrata).".