• The Korean Journal of Ecology
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.23-28
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• 2003

In order to identify plant species and communities characteristic of lithospheric condition, forest vegetations of igneous(mainly granite) and sedimentary(mainly sandstone) areas in Kyungpook province were compared. We collected 108 phytosociological releves from the older forests over 20 years old. 444 vascular plant species and 25 plant communities were identified. Results of Principal Coordinates Analysis (PCA) indicated that lithospheric conditions and human impacts were the most important factors related to the plant community diversity and species richness. In the igneous rock areas net contribution degree (rNCD) of 139 species including Quercus serrata, Q. mongolica, Lindera obtusiloba and Fraxinus sieboldiana increased and those of Carpinus laxiflora and Styrax japonica decreased. In the sedimentary rock areas, to a lesser extent, 96 species including Q. aliena, Zanthoxylum schinifolium, Potentilla fragarioides var. major, Rhus javanica, and Plectranthus japonicus increased, whereas character species of Lindero-Quercion mongolicae such as Q. mongolica, Q. serrata, Rhododendron schlippenbachii, Acer mono and Styrax obassia decreased, and particularily the species Sasa borealis, the Alangium-Zelkova serrata community and the Philadelphus-Fraxinus mandshurica community were absent. The vegetation of sedimentary rock area is characterized as a regional type shaping dwarf pine forests and sparse and light broad-leaved forests.