Invasion of Korean Pine Seedlings Originated from Neighbour Plantations into the Natural Mature Deciduous Broad-leaved Forest in Gwangneung, Korea

摘要

Establishments of the seedlings inside the natural forest from adjacent artificial forests would be an important factor in forest stand dynamics. This study was conducted to see the invasion of Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis) seedlings which is not native in this region, into the natural deciduous broad-leaved forest in Gwangneung, Korea. There is no mother tree at the 1 ha study site while the number of naturally regenerated P. koraiensis seedlings was 345 trees and 56% of them were clumped with morethan two seedlings at each point. Applying the image segmentation method to IKONOS satellite image of January, 2003, the distance from the center of 1 ha study site to the nearest mother tree and plantation of Korean pine were 200 m and 270 m, respectively. The average height and root-collar diameter of the seedlings were 34 cm and 7 mm, respectively and the age of 207 seedlings (60%) were below 5 years old. Most abundant range of soil moisture gradient and LAI (leaf area index) were from 16 to 20% andthose of LAI were from 3.1 to 3.5. To understand the dynamics and seed dispersal pattern of Korean pine in the Gwangneung natural deciduous broad-leaved forests, additional studies not only long-term monitoring of growth and mortality of naturally regenerated Korean pine seedlings but also application of stable isotope analysis and molecular genetic techniques was recommended.