• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
• /
• v.19 no.2
• /
• pp.237-242
• /
• 2006

Non-native flora of the Ulleung island, located in the eastern part of South Korea, was surveyed as 54 taxa with 16 families, 35 genera, 53 species and 1 variety. Considering the geographical distribution aspects of the island, the flora of the island showed more closely related with Korean Peninsular than Japan. Poaceace (28%) and Asteraceae (24%) represents more than 50% of the non-native flora in Ulleung island, meaning that they have an advantage of seed dispersal and adaptation to new environments. Ulleung island is comparatively small island of vulnerable to the attack of invasive alien plants but presently, it has the least number of non-native plants than other areas in South Korea. Therefore, we need to take much interest in prevention and mitigation of non-native plant in the future.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
• /
• v.32 no.11
• /
• pp.789-800
• /
• 2023

A vascular flora survey was conducted in 2020 to identify flora and analyze changes in the numbers of vascular flora species over the past 10 years at Gongju-weir (GW) and Baekje-weir (BW) in the Geumgang River, Republic of Korea. A total of 241 taxa were found in GW and 279 taxa in BW, and 208 taxa (88% of total taxa) were common species. The distribution of invasive species in GW and BW were seven and eight taxa, respectively. Rare plants were not identified in any of the weirs. The Poaceae family dominated in terms of number of species, followed by Asteraceae, Legumes, Cyperaceae, and Polygonaceae. Additionally, Therophytes accounted for a high proportion of Raunkiaer life forms. The numbers of vascular plant species, total taxa, naturalized plants, and invasive species have been increasing over the last 10 years. However, long-term alterations in invasive species before and after the opening of the weirs increased much more significantly in the partially opened BW than in the fully opened GW. These results indicate that the degree of barrier opening does not affect the invasion and establishment of non-native species.

• Proceedings of the National Institute of Ecology of the Republic of Korea
• /
• v.5 no.2
• /
• pp.55-59
• /
• 2024

The remarkable economic growth achieved in the modern era has revitalized various industries, including pet trade. More than 2,000 species of non-native species have been introduced to South Korea and approximately 7.7 tonnes of alien turtles are imported annually. Turtles belonging to the family Kinosternidae. They are mostly small and popular pets, although they are designated as Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) species. In the present study, we present the first two species of musk turtles found in the wild in South Korea. On April 5, 2023 and July 8, 2023, an eastern musk turtle (Sternotherus odoratus) and a razorbacked musk turtle (Sternotherus carinatus) were captured in Ilsandong-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do and Jung-gu, Daejeon, respectively. The carapace length was 88.6 mm for S. odoratus and 105.68 mm for S. carinatus. They were identified based on their morphological characteristics and mtDNA cytochrome b gene. These turtles were found in waterfront areas with over 1.4 million annual visitors. Both sites were found to have threatened amphibians and reptiles. There is an urgent need to continue monitoring and conducting risk assessments for the protection of endemic species in Korea.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
• /
• v.22 no.5
• /
• pp.505-513
• /
• 2008

The purpose of this study is to analyze the distribution patterns and characteristics of plant species by human impact in urban areas. In order to achieve a comprehensive data acquisition of all autogenously introduced vascular plant species occurring in the city of Cheon-ju, this study made an analysis of 106 sample plots, each with a size of one hectare, These sample plots were selected to represent the typical land-use patterns within the city of Cheon-ju and to cover the various distances from the city center. Species richness, patterns of life forms, and the percentage of non-native species were analyzed in relation to the degree of hemeroby of the sample plots. It was found that the species number appeared the largest in sites that were moderately influenced. This result corresponds to the intermediate disturbance hypothesis that moderate disturbance leads to an increase in species richness. The flora of sites which were subject to the highest level of human impact, was characterized by a high proportion of annual species and non-native species. In addition, some species were divided into three groups with similar distribution corresponding to land-use type and urban zone: urbanophobic (e.g. Indigofera kirilowii, Prunus sargentii, Rhus trichocarpa), urbanoneutral (e.g. Commelina communis, Erigeron annuus, Metaplexis japonica) and urbanophilus (e.g. Euphorbia supina, Senecio vulgaris, Taraxacum officinale).

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
• /
• v.14 no.3
• /
• pp.277-285
• /
• 2001

This study was conducted to know about the distribution of naturalized plants growing in Jeiu Island. A field survey and flora lists of relevant literatures were also investigated. The results obtained from this study were as follows: Definition of naturalized plants was determined in this study as “non-native species in Korea which have been introduced anthropologically or naturally and can reproduce and survive in wild habitats by themselves.” It was suggested that the number of naturalized plants in Jeju Island were 31 families, 111 genera, 188 taxa including 178 species, 10 varieties. Family Compositae and Gramineae covered 23% and 14% of naturalized plants, respectively. The number of naturalized plants in Jeju Island were 188 taxa ; 97 taxa in the whole south Korea,39 taxa in the southern part of Korea,15 taxa in the central part of Korea, and 37 taxa only in Jeju.

• Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
• /
• 2018.10a
• /
• pp.23-23
• /
• 2018

Taiwan, formerly known as Formosa, located on tropical and subtropical climate zones with abundant biological resources. According to the latest version of the Flora of Taiwan, there are 4339 species of vascular plants including 1054 endemic species. First, Taiwania (Taiwania cryptomerioides), named after its native island of Taiwan, have been isolated more than 500 secondary metabolites, including lignans, terpenoids, steroids, and flavonoids. Several of the metabolites are reported to have antibacterial, antifungal, antimite, antitermite and antitumor activities. In order to investigate plant secondary metabolic diversity toward industrial applications, we established deep transcriptome resources for non-model plants and fungi to produce terpenoid metabolites of economic importance. Second, many plants of Lauraceae have been utilized in folk medicine for their exciting bioactivities. The twigs and leaves from 27 tree species of Lauraceae grown in Taiwan were performed to evaluate potential bioactivity. The leaves of Cinnamomum osmophloeum are traditionally used in folk medicines, and many biological activities have been identified, such as antibacterial, antifungal, antitermite, antidiabetic, antihyperuricemia, antiinflammatory, and antioxidant activities. However, C. osmophloeum has nine chemotypes with various secondary metabolite profiles. In order to efficiently produce active compounds, we established the genetic markers to identify the chemotype plants. Finally, Cinnamomum kanehirae is the host of the medicinal mushroom Antrodia cinnamomea. Several in vivo and in vitro studies indicated that A. cinnamomea possesses a diverse range of biological activities. Because of the potential pharmacological application, we established the transformation system to enhance the triterpenoid contents production.