Abstract
Corylopsis coreana Uyeki is endemic species in the Korean peninsula and is designated a Category Endangered Plant Species by the Wildlife Protection Act of South Korea. We developed the plan and cooperative model within the local community for the species conservation. In order to carry out this plan we first investigated the ecological characteristics of the species. The species shows patterns of discontinuous distribution and is coupled with the unusual feature of only growing on northern exposed slopes. Although Corylopsis coreana is cut the stem every year, many new sprouts are still grown from the root. Natural germination of the seed occurs only on north-facing slopes, but not on south-facing slopes at spring. That is, the species is highly influenced by soil moisture until the seedling stage has been reached. This factor limits the distribution of the species. When saplings are planted on south-facing slopes, they grow well. The information we gathered greatly helped with efforts to draw up conservation plans. In addition, when the information was shared with the local community, builders and residents showed great interest and displayed a will to help with conservation efforts. Therefore, a cooperative model within the local community was drawn up for the conservation of the species. Accordingly this model could be applied at mitigation measure at environment impact assessment.
