• Title/Summary/Keyword: oak forest

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Monitoring on the Structure and Dynamics of Abies nephrolepis Populations in Seoraksan National Park (설악산국립공원 분비나무개체군의 구조와 동태 모니터링)

  • Chun, Young-Moon;Lee, Ho-Young;Gwon, Jae-Hwan;Park, Hong-Chul
    • Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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    • v.33 no.5
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    • pp.565-577
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    • 2019
  • The purpose of this study was to understand the factors influencing the decline and the patterns of changes in Abies nephrolepis populations on Mt. Seorak. We installed permanent quadrats in the areas of the Gwittagicheongbong (peak), Gwanmoneungseon (ridge), and the Seorak Falls and have monitored the community structure, population dynamics, radial growth, and vitality in the quadrats since 2009. Excluding the Seorak Falls, the three research sites showed a three-layer structure in which the low-tree layer forms the canopy. Major tree species were Khingan fir, Korean arborvitae, Mongolian oak, Erman's birch, and Korean maple. The significance of Khingan fir in Seorak Falls decreased from 45.3% in 2009 to 36.8% in 2018. The number of shoots ($DBH{\geq}5cm$) was highest at 1,800 individuals/ha and 1,700 individuals/ha at the Gwittagicheongbong 2 and the Gwanmoneungseon, respectively. The mortality rates over the past 10 years were very high, at 38.3% and 35.3%, respectively, in the Gwittagicheongbong 1 and Seorak Falls. The most stable inverse J-shaped distribution in the Gwittagicheongbong 1 area was shown in the size-frequency distribution of the Khingan fir populations. The average annual ring growth of the Khingan fir was 0.96 ~ 1.73 mm/year, and the ring growth tended to decrease in the areas of Gwittagicheongbong 1, Gwanmoneungseon, and Seorak Falls, where the vitality was low. If the monitoring process continues, it will be possible to obtain basic data for the conservation and management of subalpine vegetation.

Ecological Characteristic and Vegetation Structure of Mt. Daedun Provincial Park - Focusing on Ansim Temple Area - (대둔산도립공원 식생구조 및 생태적 특성 -안심사 일대를 중심으로-)

  • Yu, Seung-Bong;Choi, Song-Hyun;Park, Seok-Gon;Kang, Hyun-Mi;Lee, Sang-Chul;Shim, Hang-Yong;Song, Kwang-Sub
    • Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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    • v.32 no.6
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    • pp.646-657
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    • 2018
  • The purpose of this study was to understand the ecological characteristics and vegetation structure of Mt. Daedun Provincial Park by setting up and surveying 42 plots ($100m^2$). The analysis using the TWINSPAN and DCA techniques found seven community groups: Quercus aliena community, Larix kaempferi community, Pinus densiflora community, Quercus variabilis-Quercus serrata community, Pinus rigida community, Carpinus tschonoskii community, and Quercus mongolica community. The results of a vegetation structure analysis showed that the dominant species of each community were likely to maintain the present structure, but, in the case of Pinus densiflora community, it is necessary to monitor the forest succession because of the competition with oak trees. The results of the DBH (diameter of breast height) analysis showed that the species in DBH 20-24cm and over 26cm were many observed, indicating that the communities were becoming stable. It is likely that the dominant species of tree canopies will maintain their state unless the unexpected physical environment changes, serious disturbance, pests or diseases occur. The results of the tree rings and annual growth analysis showed that the dominant trees had an average age of more than 40 years. The average annual growth was the highest for Quercus variabilis in community I at $3.51{\pm}2.39mm$ and the lowest for Quercus mongolica in community VII at $1.61{\pm}0.90mm$.

Analysis of Volatile Compounds in Bamboo and Wood Crude Vinegars by the Solid-Phase Microextracion(SPME) Method (SPME법에 의한 죽초 및 목초액 중의 휘발성 성분 분석)

  • Mun, Sung-Phil;Ku, Chang-Sub
    • Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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    • v.30 no.4
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    • pp.80-86
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    • 2002
  • Volatile compounds in three different kinds of crude vinegars obtained from oak (Quercus serrata), bamboo (phyllostachys) and pine (Pinus densiflora) species were analyzed by the solid-phase microextraction (SPME) method. A total of 264 peaks were detected on the chromatograms obtained from the polar (CBP 20) and the nonpolar (CBP 1) columns, which were used for analyzing the volatile compounds in these vinegars. The major volatile compounds identified by using the polar column were 2-butanone, acetic acid, guaiacol, phenol, cresols, 4-ethyl guaiacol, 4-ethyl phenol, and syringol. Using the nonpolar column, seven compounds could be identified: 1,2-dimethoxybenzyl alcohol, 1-hydroxy-2-butanone, 1-(2-furanyl)-1-propane, ethisolide, furfuryl acetate, 1,2-dimethoxybenzene, phenyl acetate. The volatile compounds were classified into five groups: phenols, neutral compounds, organic acids, esters and others. The phenols were the main component and comprised 49~65% of the volatile compounds of these vinegars. In the case of bamboo vinegar, the proportion of the phenols in the volatile compounds was lower than that of the two wood vinegars. However, the proportions of the neutral compounds and the organic acids were higher than those of the wood vinegars. Therefore, it seems that these differences of the proportions of the volatile compounds would make a certain difference of a smoke flavor between the bamboo vinegar and the wood vinegars.

Effect of Water Soluble fraction from Japanese Larch Wood on Sawdust Cultivation of Lentinula edodes (일본잎갈나무재의 수용성추출물 첨가가 표고버섯의 톱밥재배에 미치는 영향)

  • Cho, Nam-Seok;Chung, Hung-Chae;Kim, Dong-Hun;Lee, Sang-Sun;Ohga, Shoji;Leonowicz, A.
    • Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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    • v.32 no.1
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    • pp.35-44
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    • 2004
  • The water soluble fractions(WSF) from Japanese larch wood were isolated, purified by anion exchange resin and Sephadex gel filtration and identified its chemical structure by means of periodate oxidation and methylation reactions. Its major components are arabinose and galactose (1 : 3.4). Based on the results of periodate oxidation, methylation and gas chromatographic analysis of purified WSF, main chain is composed of β-1,3-glycosidic linkage among D-galactopyranoses, and two different side chains; β-1,6-glycosidic linkage among 2-3 units of D-galactopyranoses and β-1,6-glycosidic linkage between 1-2 units of D-galactopyranose and L-arabinopyranose. Addition of WSF to culture media of oak mushroom (Lentinula edodes) accelerated the mycelial growth. In the case of PDA cultures, 2 percent addition of WSF in Sanlim No. 6 strain and 4 percent of WSF in Mok-H strain mostly enhanced the mycelial growth of the mushroom. In the case of sawdust cultures, 4 percent addition of WSF in two strains showed the best mycelial growth. High percentages addition of WSF inhibited mycelial growth of the mushroom. Mushroom production was increased with addition of WSF. By the addition of WSF, ergosterol contents in the media were quite high at the colonized stage and rapidly increased at the fruiting stage. Therefore the ergosterol content could be utilized as an indicator to evaluate the culture maturity for the mushroom fruiting.

Ecological Changes of Insect-damaged Pinus densiflora Stands in the Southern Temperate Forest Zone of Korea (I) (솔잎혹파리 피해적송림(被害赤松林)의 생태학적(生態学的) 연구(研究) (I))

  • Yim, Kyong Bin;Lee, Kyong Jae;Kim, Yong Shik
    • Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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    • v.52 no.1
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    • pp.58-71
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    • 1981
  • Thecodiplosis japonesis is sweeping the Pinus densiflora forests from south-west to north-east direction, destroying almost all the aged large trees as well as even the young ones. The front line of infestation is moving slowly but ceaselessly norhwards as a long bottle front. Estimation is that more than 40 percent of the area of P. densiflora forest has been damaged already, however some individuals could escapes from the damage and contribute to restore the site to the previous vegetation composition. When the stands were attacked by this insect, the drastic openings of the upper story of tree canopy formed by exclusively P. densiflora are usually resulted and some environmental factors such as light, temperature, litter accumulation, soil moisture and offers were naturally modified. With these changes after insect invasion, as the time passes, phytosociologic changes of the vegetation are gradually proceeding. If we select the forest according to four categories concerning the history of the insect outbreak, namely, non-attacked (healthy forest), recently damaged (the outbreak occured about 1-2 years ago), severely damaged (occured 5-6 years ago), damage prolonged (occured 10 years ago) and restored (occured about 20 years ago), any directional changes of vegetation composition could be traced these in line with four progressive stages. To elucidate these changes, three survey districts; (1) "Gongju" where the damage was severe and it was outbroken in 1977, (2) "Buyeo" where damage prolonged and (3) "Gochang" as restored, were set, (See Tab. 1). All these were located in the south temperate forest zone which was delimited mainly due to the temporature factor and generally accepted without any opposition at present. In view of temperature, the amount and distribution of precipitation and various soil factor, the overall homogeneity of environmental conditions between survey districts might be accepted. However this did not mean that small changes of edaphic and topographic conditions and microclimates can induce any alteration of vegetation patterns. Again four survey plots were set in each district and inter plot distance was 3 to 4 km. And again four subplots were set within a survey plot. The size of a subplot was $10m{\times}10m$ for woody vegetation and $5m{\times}5m$ for ground cover vegetation which was less than 2 m high. The nested quadrat method was adopted. In sampling survey plots, the followings were taken into account: (1) Natural growth having more than 80 percent of crown density of upper canopy and more than 5 hectares of area. (2) Was not affected by both natural and artificial disturbances such as fire and thinning operation for the past three decades. (3) Lower than 500 m of altitude (4) Less than 20 degrees of slope, and (5) Northerly sited aspect. An intensive vegetation survey was undertaken during the summer of 1980. The vegetation was devided into 3 categories for sampling; the upper layer (dominated mainly by the pine trees), the middle layer composed by oak species and other broad-leaved trees as well as the pine, and the ground layer or the lower layer (shrubby form of woody plants). In this study our survey was concentrated on woody species only. For the vegetation analysis, calculated were values of intensity, frequency, covers, relative importance, species diversity, dominance and similarity and dissimilasity index when importance values were calculated, different relative weights as score were arbitrarily given to each layer, i.e., 3 points for the upper layer, 2 for the middle layer and 1 for the ground layer. Then the formula becomes as follows; $$R.I.V.=\frac{3(IV\;upper\;L.)+2(IV.\;middle\;L.)+1(IV.\;ground\;L.)}{6}$$ The values of Similarity Index were calculated on the basis of the Relative Importance Value of trees (sum of relative density, frequency and cover). The formula used is; $$S.I.=\frac{2C}{S_1+S_2}{\times}100=\frac{2C}{100+100}{\times}100=C(%)$$ Where: C = The sum of the lower of the two quantitative values for species shared by the two communities. $S_1$ = The sum of all values for the first community. $S_2$ = The sum of all values for the second community. In Tab. 3, the species composition of each plot by layer and by district is presented. Without exception, the species formed the upper layer of stands was Pinus densiflora. As seen from the table, the relative cover (%), density (number of tree per $500m^2$), the range of height and diameter at brest height and cone bearing tendency were given. For the middle layer, Quercus spp. (Q. aliena, serrata, mongolica, accutissina and variabilis) and Pinus densiflora were dominating ones. Genus Rhodedendron and Lespedeza were abundant in ground vegetation, but some oaks were involved also. (1) Gongju district The total of woody species appeared in this district was 26 and relative importance value of Pinus densiflora for the upper layer was 79.1%, but in the middle layer, the R.I.V. for Quercus acctissima, Pinus densiflora, and Quercus aliena, were 22.8%, 18.7% and 10.0%, respectively, and in ground vegetation Q. mongolica 17.0%, Q. serrata 16.8% Corylus heterophylla 11.8%, and Q. dentata 11.3% in order. (2) Buyeo district. The number of species enumerated in this district was 36 and the R.I.V. of Pinus densiflora for the uppper layer was 100%. In the middle layer, the R.I.V. of Q. variabilis and Q. serrata were 8.6% and 8.5% respectively. In the ground vegetative 24 species were counted which had no more than 5% of R.I.V. The mean R.I.V. of P.densiflora ( totaling three layers ) and averaging four plots was 57.7% in contrast to 46.9% for Gongju district. (3) Gochang-district The total number of woody species was 23 and the mean R.I.V. of Pinus densiflora was 66.0% showing greater value than those for two former districts. The next high value was 6.5% for Q. serrata. As the time passes since insect outbreak, the mean R.I.V. of P. densiflora increased as the following order, 46.9%, 57.7% and 66%. This implies that P. densiflora was getting back to its original dominat state again. The pooled importance of Genus Quercus was decreasing with the increase of that for Pinus densiflora. This trend was contradict to the facts which were surveyed at Kyonggi-do area (the central temperate forest zone) reported previously (Yim et al, 1980). Among Genus Quercus, Quercus acutissina, warm-loving species, was more abundant in the southern temperature zone to which the present research is concerned than the central temperate zone. But vice-versa was true with Q. mongolica, a cold-loving one. The species which are not common between the present survey and the previous report are Corpinus cordata, Beltala davurica, Wisturia floribunda, Weigela subsessilis, Gleditsia japonica var. koraiensis, Acer pseudosieboldianum, Euonymus japonica var. macrophylla, Ribes mandshuricum, Pyrus calleryana var. faruiei, Tilia amurensis and Pyrus pyrifolia. In Figure 4 and Table 5, Maximum species diversity (maximum H'), Species diversity (H') and Eveness (J') were presented. The Similarity indices between districts were shown in Tab. 5. Seeing Fig. 6, showing two-dimensional ordination of polts on the basis of X and Y coordinates, Ai plots aggregate at the left site, Bi plots at lower site, and Ci plots at upper-right site. The increasing and decreasing patterns as to Relative Density and Relative Importance Value by genus or species were given in Fig. 7. Some of the patterns presented here are not consistent with the previously reported ones (Yim, et al, 1980). The present authors would like to attribute this fact that two distinct types of the insect attack, one is the short war type occuring in the south temperate forest zone, which means that insect attack went for a few years only, the other one is a long-drawn was type observed at the temperate forest zone in which the insect damage went on continuously for several years. These different behaviours of infestation might have resulted the different ways of vegetational change. Analysing the similarity indices between districts, the very convincing results come out that the value of dissimilarity index between A and B was 30%, 27% between B and C and 35% between A and C (Table 6). The range of similarity index was obtained from the calculation of every possible combinations of plots between two districts. Longer time isolation between communities has brought the higher value of dissimilarity index. The main components of ground vegetation, 10 to 20 years after insect outbreak, become to be consisted of mainly Genus Lespedeza and Rhododendron. Genus Quercus which relate to the top dorminant state for a while after insect attack was giving its place to Pinus densiflora. It was implied that, provided that the soil fertility, soil moisture and soil depth were good enough, Genus Quercuss had never been so easily taken ever by the resistant speeies like Pinus densiflora which forms the edaphic climax at vast areas of forest land. Usually they refer Quercus to the representative component of the undisturbed natural forest in the central part of this country.

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Seasonal Diversity, Production and Nutrients Concentration of Mushrooms in an Oak Forest (상수리나무림의 계절별 버섯 생산량 및 영양염류 함량)

  • Namgung, Jeong;Pyo, Jae-Hun;Mun, Hyeong-Tae
    • The Korean Journal of Ecology
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    • v.24 no.5
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    • pp.315-322
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    • 2001
  • Seasonal production and nutrient concentrations of mushrooms in an Quercus acutissima forest were studied from 1999 to 2000. Thirty 2×2m quadrats were established randomly in the study area. 114 species of mushrooms were identified during the study period. Although mushrooms occurred from May to November in each year, the highest biomass production occurred in August. Seasonal dominant species was Lactarius violascens in June, R. bella and L. violascens in July, Marasmius siccus in August, Cortinarius tenuipes in September, Lepista nuda and C. tenuipes in October, respectively. Annual production of mushrooms in 1999 and 2000 were 84.8 kgDW·ha/sup -1/·yr/sup -1/ and 86.7 kgDW·ha/sup -1/·yr/sup -1/, respectively. Seasonal production was27.1kg/ha for July, 35.9kg/ha for August and 17.1 kg/ha for September, 3.7kg/ha for October, respectively. Seasonal dominant species in biomass was Russula alboareolata in June, R. bella in July, R. pseudodelica in August and September, Lepista nuda in October, respectively. R. pseudodelica showed the highest biomass in the study area, which is 17.5% of the total biomass. Average concentration of nutrients in mushrooms was 45.2mg/g for N, 1.5 mg/g for P, 29.6 mg/g for K, 0.2 mg/g for Ca and 0.8 mg/g for Mg, respectively, which were much higher than those in the leaf litter. Nutrients absorbed by mushrooms in 2000 was 4,163.1 g·ha/sup -1/·yr/sup -1/ for N, 130.1 g·ha/sup -1/·yr/sup -1/ for P, 2,568.2 g·ha/sup -1/·yr/sup -1/ for K, 12.4 g·ha/sup -1/·yr/sup -1/ for Ca, 68.5 g·ha/sup -1/·yr/sup -1/ for Mg, respectively.

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Variation of Stomatal Traits of Natural Population of Quercus spp. (참나무 천연집단(天然集團)의 기공형질변이(氣孔形質變異))

  • Kim, Chi Moon;Kwon, Ki Won;Moon, Heung Kyu
    • Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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    • v.66 no.1
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    • pp.82-94
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    • 1984
  • The variation of stomatal density and stomatal length of four species of oaks was studied for the purpose of examining the differences among populations and among individual trees within population. Nine populations of Quercus mongolica, four populations of Q. serrata and Q. variabilis respectively, and three populations of Q. acutissima were selected in the natural stands of oaks distributed through the whole country. Twelve leaves were sampled from each of 20 trees from each population. The length of 20 stomata and ten replications of stomatal density were measured from collodion replicas of each leaf under a microscope. Average stomatal densities and lengths ranged through $600-1000/mm^2$ and $19-26{\mu}m$ respectively in all of the species studied. The stomatal densities and lengths presented significant differences statistically at the level of 1 or 5% among populations and among individual trees within population in all the species. Quercus mongolica, especially, showed large variation among populations, while Q. variabilis did very narrow variation compared to the other species. The coefficients of variation of stomatal densities and lengths among individual trees within population exhibited small values of 3.7-12.0% and 1.4-5.3% respectively in all the populations of the species. The average stomatal densities of Q. mongolica showed statistically significant correlation of multiple correlation coefficient of $R_{df{\cdot}2.6}=0.868^*$ and multiple regression equation of $Y=0.041X_1(G.M.T.S.)+0.489X_2(G.M.H.S.)+22.37$ with the sum of growing season mean daily temperature and the sum of growing season mean daily humidity of the stand studied. However the average stomatal lengths showed no relation with the same meteological variables. The figures of frequency distribution of the measurements of leaves or the mean values of individual trees did not show normal distribution curves in some populations. The curves, as well as the results of ANOVA, exhibited the differences among populations.

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Effects of Experimental Warming on Growth of Quercus variabilis Seedlings (실외 실험적 온난화 처리가 굴참나무 묘목의 생장에 미치는 영향)

  • Lee, Sun Jeoung;Han, Saerom;Yoon, Tae Kyung;Chung, Haegeun;Noh, Nam Jin;Jo, Wooyong;Park, Chan-Woo;Ko, Suin;Han, Seung Hyun;Son, Yowhan
    • Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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    • v.101 no.4
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    • pp.722-728
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    • 2012
  • Climate change affects all biological processes in terrestrial ecosystems including photosynthesis, plant growth and productivity. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of experimental warming on the growth of Quercus variabilis seedlings. One-year-old Q. variabilis seedlings were planted in control and warmed plots in April 2010. The air temperature of warmed plots was increased by $3^{\circ}C$ compared to control plots using the infrared lamp from November 2010. Shoot height and root collar diameter were measured in March 2011 and June 2012, respectively, and aboveground and belowground biomass were also measured in March 2011 and 2012, respectively. Shoot height and root collar diameter were significantly higher in warmed plots than in control plots, except for root collar diameter in March 2011. Increment (mm) of shoot height and root collar diameter were also higher in warmed plots ($529{\pm}30$, $5.6{\pm}0.5$) than in control plots ($464{\pm}28$, $4.5{\pm}0.4$). However, there were no significant differences between warmed and control plots except for root collar diameter. Increment (g/year) of total, aboveground and belowground biomass were higher in warmed plots ($36.88{\pm}6.52$, $11.91{\pm}3.44$, $24.97{\pm}3.73$) than in control plots ($30.59{\pm}5.51$, $8.73{\pm}1.66$, $21.86{\pm}3.88$), however, the differences were not statistically significant. Higher seedling growth and biomass of warmed plots might be related to the enhanced net photosynthetic rates in spring and the extended growing season.

Ecological Characteristics and Vegetation Structure Analysis of Eurya Japonica Community -Focusing on Busan Metropolitan City- (사스레피나무 군락의 생태적 특성 및 식생구조 분석 -부산광역시를 중심으로-)

  • Jang, Jung-Eun;Lee, Sang-Cheol;Choi, Song-Hyun
    • Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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    • v.34 no.2
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    • pp.157-169
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    • 2020
  • The purpose of this study is to investigate the ecological characteristics and vegetation structures of Eurya japonica in Busan. As a result of the TWINSPAN and DCA analysis, 89 plots of 100㎡ each were divided into 3 communities: Quercus serrata-Pinus densiflora-E. japonica community, Pinus thunbergii-E. japonica community, and P. thunbergii-Camellia japonica community. Community I consisted of the Quercus serrata-Pinus densiflora-E. japonica which was mainly located in the high altitude inland. While Q. serrata and P. densiflora competed in the tree layer, the dominant species of the understory layer was E. japonica. Since Carpinus tschonoskii, one of the climax species, was distributed evenly from shrub to tree layers, it was likely that deciduous oak trees or Carpinus tschonoskii would become dominant species in community I. In community I, E. japonica was found in higher altitude than the other evergreen broad-leaved tree and was expected to maintain their tree vigor even if the vegetation structure is converted into the deciduous forest. Community II, the P. thunbergii-E. japonica community, was predicted to maintain its tree vigor unless there were unexpected disturbance factors. Community III, consisting of P. thunbergii-C. japonica and located in Dongbaek Island, was under artificial management. In community III, P. thunbergii was the only species in the tree layer, while C. japonica was predominant in the understory layer. E. japonica and various evergreen broad-leaved tree species were present in the understory layer and shrub layer, which were unmanaged areas. Therefore, it is expected that unless C. japonica is continuously managed, E. japonica is likely to become the dominant species. There were also various evergreen broad-leaved species, such as Machilus thunbergii and Pittosporum tobira, present in the shrub layer. If the temperature continues to rise, the habitat is expected to become evergreen broad-leaved forests in the future as P. thunbergii community declines. The result of Pearson's correlation coefficient analysis of E. japonica and species appearing in 89 plots showed that 9 species were had a statistically significant relationship (p<0.05). Four species, including P. tobira and Q. dentata, had a positive correlation. Five species had a negative correlation, and C. japonica, which had the same ecological position as E. japonica, showed the most negative correlation at -0.384.

THE ECOLOGY, PHYTOGEOGRAPHY AND ETHNOBOTANY OF GINSENG

  • Hu Shiu Ying
    • Proceedings of the Ginseng society Conference
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    • 1978.09a
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    • pp.149-157
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    • 1978
  • Ginseng is the English common name for the species in the genus Panax. This article gives a broad botanical review including the morphological characteristics, ecological amplitude, and the ethnobotanical aspect of the genus Panax. The species of Panax are adapted for life in rich loose soil of partially shaded forest floor with the deciduous trees such as linden, oak, maple, ash, alder, birch, beech, hickory, etc. forming the canopy. Like their associated trees, all ginsengs are deciduous. They require annual climatic changes, plenty of water in summer, and a period of dormancy in winter. The plant body of ginseng consists of an underground rhizome and an aerial shoot. The rhizome has a terminal bud, prominent leafscars and a fleshy root in some species. It is perennial. The aerial shoot is herbaceous and annual. It consists of a single slender stem with a whorl of digitately compound leaves and a terminal umbel bearing fleshy red fruits after flowering. The yearly cycle of death and renascence of the aerial shoot is a natural phenomenon in ginseng. The species of Panax occur in eastern North America and eastern Asia, including the eastern portion of the Himalayan region. Such a bicentric generic distributional pattern indicates a close floristic relationship of the eastern sides of two great continental masses in the northern hemisphere. It is well documented that genera with this type of disjunct distribution are of great antiquity. Many of them have fossil remains in Tertiary deposits. In this respect, the species of Panax may be regarded as living fossils. The distribution of the species, and the center of morphological diversification are explained with maps and other illustrations. Chemical constituents confirm the conclusion derived from morphological characters that eastern Asia is the center of species concentration of Panax. In eastern North America two species occur between longitude $70^{\circ}-97^{\circ}$ Wand latitude $34^{\circ}-47^{\circ}$ N. In eastern Asia the range of the genus extends from longitude $85^{\circ}$ E in Nepal to $140^{\circ}$ E in Japan, and from latitude $22^{\circ}$ N in the hills of Tonkin of North Vietnam to $48^{\circ}$ N in eastern Siberia. The species in eastern North America all have fleshy roots, and many of the species in eastern Asia have creeping stolons with enlarged nodes or stout horizontal rhizomes as storage organs in place of fleshy roots. People living in close harmony with nature in the homeland of various species of Panax have used the stout rhizomes or the fleshy roots of different wild forms of ginseng for medicine since time immemorial. Those who live in the center morphological diversity are specific both in the application of names for the identification of species in their communication and in the use of different roots as remedies to relieve pain, to cure diseases, or to correct physiological disorders. Now, natural resources of wild plants with medicinal virtue are extremely limited. In order to meet the market demand, three species have been intensively cultivated in limited areas. These species are American ginseng (P. quinquefolius) in northeastern United States, ginseng (P. ginseng) in northeastern Asia, particularly in Korea, and Sanchi (P. wangianus) in southwestern China, especially in Yunnan. At present hybridization and selection for better quality, higher yield, and more effective chemical contents have not received due attention in ginseng culture. Proper steps in this direction should be taken immediately, so that our generation may create a richer legacy to hand down to the future. Meanwhile, all wild plants of all species in all lands should be declared as endangered taxa, and they should be protected from further uprooting so that a. fuller gene pool may be conserved for the. genus Panax.

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