• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.185-202
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• 2018

Many ecological studies regarding forest succession, which is the process of arriving at climax forest through ecological changes, have suggested that Carpinus laxiflora is the leading tree type of the climax forest of temperate zone in South Korea. However, most of these studies on C. laxiflora forest have focused on vegetation structure and succession process in specific areas or regional physiognomical forest communities, and thus some may question whether it is rational to consider C. laxiflora forest as the climax forest in South Korea's temperate forest zone. The purpose of this study was to analyze the vegetation classification, species composition, and stratum structure and to investigate the succession tendency with the vegetation data collected from C. laxiflora forests in 75 quadrates in 17 mountains between 2014 and 2017. We used the phytosociological method to analyze the vegetation structure and the importance value to analyze the stratum structure. The results showed the floristic composition of 6 vegetation units and 9 species groups. The hierarchy of the C. laxiflora community group was represented by the Ulmus laciniata community, Corylus heterophylla community (subdivided Quercus aliena group and Corylus heterophylla typical group), and Rhododendron schlippenbachii community (subdivided Fraxinus chiisanensis group, Carpinus tschonoskii group, and Rhododendron schlippenbachii typical group). Successional tendency of C. laxiflora forest based on the importance of each layer is predicted to be the total of three types such as to maintain the stand (vegetation units 2, 3, and 6), to success the Carpinus cordata forest (vegetation units 1 and 4), and to success Quercus acuta forest (vegetation unit 5).