• The Korean Journal of Ecology
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.287-297
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• 1994

To elucidate the cause of growth decline of pitch pine (Pinus rigida) in Seoul, tree density, tree age and physico-chemical properties of soils were investigated at 33 sites of pitch pine forests in metropolitan Seoul, its vicinity and rural areas. The physical properties of soils except for soil texture in Seoul did not differ from those in rural areas. pH values, base saturation, and Ca and Mg contents of soils in Seoul, however, were significantly lower than those in suburbs and rural areas. In contrast, soluble Al and $S0_4^{2-}-S$ contents in Seoul were higher than those in rural areas. Low pH of forest soils in Seoul and suburbs seems to be caused by acid deposition. According to multiple regression analysis, growth of pitch pine in Seoul was affected by several factors in the following order: soil bulk density < Al content of soils < tree density < Mg contents of soil < tree age. We concluded that the acidification of forest soil can be a predisposing factor for the growth decline of pitch pine in metropolitan areas.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.241-249
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• 2023

Background: This study analyzed the drought responses of five forest tree species grown in Korean peninsula, Korean fir Abies koreana (Ak), eastern white pine Pinus strobus (Ps), keyaki Zelkova serrata (Zs), tulip tree Liriodendron tulipifera (Lt), and Japanese elm Ulmus japonica (Uj). Physiological (chlorophyll, root collar diameter [RCD]) and biochemical responses (non-structural carbohydrates, proline, lipid peroxidase and abscisic acid [ABA]) of the plants grown under mild (MD) and severe drought (SD) were compared. Results: In this study, three soil moisture regimes: control (100% precipitation), MD (60% reduction in precipitation) and SD (20% reduction in precipitation) were applied. Soil moisture content showed high water content in control site compared to MD and SD. A decline in RCD was found for Korean fir, keyaki, and tulip plants, with eastern white pine and Japanese elm showing no significant decline to the prolonged drought exposure (both MD and SD). Total chlorophyll showed a significant decline in Korean fir and tulip, with the sugar levels indicating a significant increase in Korean fir and keyaki species under SD compared to control plants. Non-significant decline in sugar level was noted for eastern white pine and Japanese elm. High accumulation of ABA, malondealdehyde and proline was noted in Korean fir, tulip, and keyaki under SD compared to control. Signs of tree mortality was only observed in Korean fir under MD (38%) and SD (43%). Conclusions: The observed findings indicate the drought responses of five tree species. The majority of the morpho-physiological (especially mortality) and biochemical variables assessed in our study indicate superior long-term drought resistance of Ps and Uj compared to the highly sensitive Ak, and moderately sensitive Lt and Zs. The results provided will help species selection for afforestation programs and establishment of sustainable forests, especially of drought-tolerant species, under increased frequency and intensity of spring and summer droughts.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.113 no.1
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• pp.40-50
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• 2024

Pine forests are continuously declining due to competition with broadleaf trees, such as oaks, as a consequence of changes in the natural dynamics of forest ecosystem. This natural decline creates a risk of losing the various benefits pine trees have provided to people in the past. Therefore, it is necessary to prepare future forest management directions by considering the state of pine tree decline in each region. The goal of this study is to understand the characteristics of pine forest changes according to forest dynamics and to predict future regional changes. For this purpose, we evaluated the trend of change in pine forests and extracted various variables(topography, forest stand type, disturbance, and climate) that affect the change, using time-series National Forest Inventory (NFI) data. Also, using selected key variables, a model was developed to predict future changes in pine forests. As a results, it showed that the importance of pine trees in forests across the country has decreased overall over the past 10 years. Also, 75% of the sample points representing pine trees remained unchanged, while the remaining 25% had changed to mixed forests. It was found that these changes mainly occurred in areas with good moisture conditions or disturbance factors inside and outside the forest. In the next 10 years, approximately 14.2% of current pine forests was predicted to convert to mixed forests due to changes in natural forest dynamics. Regionally, the rate of pine forest change was highest in Jeju(42.8%) and Gyeonggi(26.9%) and lowest in Gyeongbuk(8.8%) and Gangwon(13.8%). It was predicted that pine forests would be at a high risk of decline in western areas of the Korean Peninsula, including Gyeonggi, Chungcheong, and Jeonnam. This results can be used to make a management plan for pine forests throughout the country.

• The Korean Journal of Ecology
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• v.27 no.6 s.122
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• pp.347-353
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• 2004

This study was carried out to analyze pH, Electrical conductivity(EC), cation and anion on rainfall and throughfall raining at industrial area(Onsan and Nongso of Ulsan city), suburban area(Myeongsek-myeon of Jinju city) and rural area(Haman and Changyoung-gun), and to investigate $SO_2\;and\;NO_2$ concentration in the air of industrial area and rural area, and to survey degree of decline of Pinus thunbergii growing at each area. The rainfall pH was higher than the throughfall pH at the all surveyed areas. The rainfall pH and throughfall pH was $4.76{\sim}5.15\;and\;4.64{\sim}4.98,\;4.95{\sim}5.30\;and\;4.87{\sim}5.13,\;5.29{\sim}5.76\;and\;5.12{\sim}5.73$ at the industrial area, suburban area and rural area, respectively. The EC of rainfall and throughfall was $13.64{\sim}17.22\;and\;41.60{\sim}103.59,\;4.18{\sim}8.65\;and\;17.02{\sim}23.89,\;4.09{\sim}6.65\;and\;13.75{\sim}21.44$ at the industrial area, suburban area and rural area, respectively. Generally EC at the industrial area was higher than those of suburban area and rural area. In the correlation analysis among Degree of decline on Pinus thunbergii and ingredients of rainfall, it showed that there was a negative correlation between Degree of decline and pH. There was a positive correlation between pH and $Cl^-$ respectively.

• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.229-255
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• 2017

This study empirically estimates the impacts of climate change on forest composition in Korea using a fractional data regression model, and forecasts the change in forest composition in the 2040s and 2090s based on the IPCC climate change scenarios. Unlike the forest science studies that incorporate mostly only ecological variables as the determinants of forest composition, we take into account regional level socio-economic and forest management variables as well. Our estimation results found that not only environmental factors but also socio-economic and forest management related factors strongly affect the composition of Korean forest. Based on the estimation results and IPCC scenarios on climate change, we predict that the share of currently dominant coniferous forest will decline in the future under all scenarios. About 10% of total forest area is likely to be converted from coniferous forest into broadleaved forest until 2090s under the scenario RCP 8.5. It is also predicted that there will be a substantial regional variation in the effects of climate change on forest composition, and the coniferous forests in the inland regions will decline more dramatically.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.85-91
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• 2009

About 83% of the total population of Lao PDR lives in rural areas. People living near forest are highly dependent on the forest resources closed to their villages. Especially non-timber forest products (NTFPs) provide a wide range of subsistence needs and are the main source of their cash income. They also make a significant contribution to the country economy. The annual export value of NTFPs is considerably high. 708 edible NTFP species (238 edible plants and 470 animals) have been recorded so far, and about 400 plants have been reported and used as medicinal plants by Lao people. One hundred NTFP species are considered as commercial forest products. The striking trend in NTFP resources is the decline of some commercial species due to increased demand on them for commercialization, and the loss of forest by rapid population growth. To sustainablely manage the NTFPs resources, a number of new management systems are under development and support in progress by the government.

• Journal of Korea Technical Association of The Pulp and Paper Industry
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.15-24
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• 2009

This paper estimates the nation wide amount of forest biomass arising from management operation for domestic forest based on the simulations that are composed of five scenarios for selecting the target area of thinning. In 2009, the forest biomass arising from thinning is estimated to be 6,642,174 $m^3$. The estimates of forest biomass in 2015 and 2018 are 5,935,140 $m^3$ and 5,682,538 $m^3$, respectively. Since the target forest for thinning policy is estimated to be decreasing, the biomass generated by thinning will decline too. The estimates of forest biomass can be used to induce more effective application of woody biomass rather than one-sided use such as raw materials for solid fuels including pellets and charcoals.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.111 no.1
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• pp.61-71
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• 2022

Data from an investigation of vulnerable conifer species in the subalpine zone in Korea obtained by the Korea Forest Service in 2017-2018 and monitoring research conducted by the National Institute of Forest Science since 2014 were used to analyze the status of distribution and growing condition of three major conifer species (Abies nephrolepis, Abies koreana, and Picea jezoensis) in the subalpine zone in the Baekdudaegan protected area. The distribution area of the studied species in the Baekdudaegan protected area was ca. 74% (8,035 ha) of the total distribution area in Korea, indicating that Baekdudaegan is a core area for conservation and restoration of subalpine conifer species. From decline index [A. nephrolepis in Mt. Taebaeksan and Mt. Deogyusan increased by 77.3% and 29.6%, respectively; A. koreana in Mt. Jirisan (Chunwangbong Peak) increased by 45.2% in four years; and P. jezoensis in Mt. Jirisan (Chunwangbong Peak) increased by 47.8% in two years] and seedling frequency (lower frequency of newly recruited seedlings than dead seedlings) results, the studied species are expected to face difficulties in sustainability. In contrast, at Mt. Seseoksan and Chunwangbong Peak in Mt. Jirisan, the health of trees and seedling frequency showed a partial tendency to recover and increase. In addition, we identified the relationship between the decline index and seedling frequency. These results will support the implementation of conservation strategies for vulnerable conifer species in the subalpine zone.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.88 no.3
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• pp.352-363
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• 1999

It has been rare to obtain reliable information related to the size of forest land in North Korea. Several sources of forest statistics, ranging from the first map of forest distribution in Korean Peninsula produced in 1910 to official data reported by the North Korea Government in 1997, were gathered and analyzed to define the characteristics of forest cover changes over years. In addition, Landsat satellite data obtained from 1973 to 1993 were processed for the two study areas of the provinces of Pyungyang and Heasan, where the topography and land use pattern are significantly different each other. Using three sets of multitemporal Landsat imagery, land cover ma-ps were produced by computer classification. Although forest statistics reported before 1990 are somewhat inconsistent, they mere gradually decreasing over years. The estimates of 1991 satellite data and the recent statistics reported in 1998 shows very steep decline in forest lands as compared to the ones before 1990. The abrupt decrease of forest lands after 1990 was also found on the detailed analysis of Landsat data for the two study areas of Pyungyang and Heasan. The rapid decline of forest lands may have something to do with the poor economic situation of the country and the continuing natural disasters of severe flooding and drought. Unstocked forest, which was not classified into forest land, was a very distinct and pervasive land cover type that can be easily observed on satellite imagery. Since unstocked forest land in North Korea may be a critical factor for degrading environmental quality as well as for the continuing natural disasters, further analysis is necessary to define the exact extent and the physical characteristics of the cover type.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.189-196
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• 2019

Plants are consumed by a myriad of organisms that compete for resources. Direct interactions among multiple plant-feeding organisms in a single host can range for each species from positive to negative. Wood-boring beetle faces a number of biotic and abiotic constraints that interfere with the good prospects from the tree. Biotic factors, including arthropod pests and diseases, and abiotic factors, such as drought and water-logging, are the major constraints affecting the species. The present study aimed to provide basic data for analyzing forest health, identify the kinds of wood-boring beetles in the central part of Korea. Our second goal was to analyze the species composition and diversity of regional communities and to examine. A total of 10,461 individual wood-boring beetles belonging to 8 families and 50 species attracted to trap trees in the pine forests were recorded during the study period on study sites. The results of the analysis of collected species showed that the community structure on all study sites was similar. Seasonal occurrences of dominant wood-boring beetles (5 species) from each study site showed the highest number of all species, except for Siphalinus gigas in May, followed by a gradual decline, and the largest number of Siphalinus gigas appeared in June. The similarity index of species composition was relatively high, ranging from 0.75 to 0.90 for each study site.