Ecological Studies on the Halophyte Communities at Western and Southern Coast in Korea (III) On the Soil Properties, Species Diversity and Mineral Cyclings in Reclaimed Soil in Incheon

해변 염생식물군집에 대한 생태학적 연구(III) 인천 간척지의 토지환경, 종의 다의성 및 염류순환에 대하여

Physicochemical properties of soil, mineral cyclings, production of plants, and relationship between sodium(Na) content and progresses of plant communities were studied in a coastal salt marsh in Incheon. Contents of Na, available phosphorus(A-P) and value of electric conductivity of soil decreased in order of Salicornia herbacea, Limonium tetragonum, Phragmites communis and Zoysia sinica communities, but contents of organic matter, total nitrogen(T-N) and calcium(Ca) of soil were vice versa. Specise diversity index decreased with increase of Na content of soil with correlation coefficient of -0.82. The aboveground biomass of plant communities were 2,981 g.dw/$m^2$ in P. communis, 1,471 g.dw/$m^2$ in Z. sinica, 189g.dw/$m^2$ in S. herbacea and 71 g.dw/$m^2$ L. tetragonum, respectively. Seasonal changes of contents of inorganic nutrients per unit land area coincided with those of biomass of plant communities, however, the maximum contents of K occured earlier than the maximum biomass. Amounts of inorganic nutrients absorbed by plant were directly proportion to its biomass and it was true to reverse in restored amounts of them to soil. In turnover times of nutrients of the communities, it took the shortest time for P but the longest for Ca and P. communis community took the shortest but L. tetragonum the longest. For example, in P. communis turover time of P took one year and that of Na 1,440 years. Lack of P element, therefore, was expected in this study area.