Distribution of trees in the island region of the Korean Peninsula
Hyunhee KIM, Department of Geography, Kyoto University, Japan
Kazuharu MIZUNO, Department of Geography, Kyoto University, Japan
There are about 3,500 islands on the Korean Peninsula. The islands are located between 33° and 38° north latitude, and various climatic zones appear from a warm climate to a cold climate compared to a narrow area. This study intends to analyze the distribution characteristics of trees that are growing wild by using the entire island region of the Korean Peninsula as a research area. The ultimate aim is largely as follows. 1) What are the current status and distribution characteristics of trees distributed in the island area? 2) What is the geographical value of the islands from the point of view of phytogeography? 3) Can the traditional island biogeography theory be applied to the island regions? (The size of the island, the distance from the land, elevation and species diversity)
For this purpose, a variety of academic materials that have undergone rigorous peer review were secured. Through this, 457 species of flora data (trees) distributed in a total of 125 islands were integrated into one plant database and used as raw data. The average relative frequency of trees distributed on the 125 islands was 0.16, and only 7.2% of the species with 0.5 or higher. On the other hand, the number of species less than 0.1 is 53.8%. These results show that the distribution of trees in island areas is geographically very limited.
This study is a comprehensive study on trees distributed in the island region of the Korean Peninsula. Island areas are geographically isolated and biogeographical hot spots where many endemic species are native. In particular, the native plants existing in the island area are species that have adapted to the unique environment(small area, steep slope, strong wind, etc.) of the island area. However, such isolated geographical characteristics and high uniqueness make them vulnerable to environmental changes. Therefore, research on native plants in island areas should be continued for a long time.
Mots clés : Island Biogeography|Phytogeography|Species diversity|Native plants|Environment of Island
A103037HK