The Status and Features of the DMZ Forested Wetlands Fauna - Focusing on the Kyongui Line in Paju -

DMZ 산림습지의 식생 현황과 특성에 관한 연구 - 파주 경의선 지역을 중심으로 -

The De-militarized Zone(DMZ) on the Korean Peninsula is ecologically conserved and naturally developed as access to the area has been controlled in the past five decades. As a result, biodiversity and wetlands are developed very well, but they have not been sufficiently surveyed due to land mines and security reasons. Focusing on the Kyongui Line area in Paju DMZ, this study aims at examining the status of forested wetlands in detail through an on-site survey and understanding the features of forested wetlands in DMZ. The forested wetlands of Paju Kyongui Line area are inhabited by naturally grown Salix koreensis Andress. and Acer ginnale Maxim. and affected by Sacheon Basin region extensively. As the topography of this region is created of inundated area and gentle ground, it is easily affected by hydrology and irrigation and has ideal conditions as forested wetlands. In addition, forest wetlands in this area were used as agricultural land in the past but now transformed into palustrine forested wetlands after being deserted for long time. However, as construction of roads and railways increasingly blocks water paths, the coverage of Robinia pseudoacacia L. and Amorpha fruticosa L. is on the rise, which indicates that forestedwetlands are gradually becoming inland over time.