Joon Hwan Shin

Changes in Butterfly Abundance in Response to Global Warming and Reforestation

ABSTRACT In the Republic of Korea, most denuded forest lands have been restored since the 1960s. In addition, the annual mean temperature in the Republic of Korea has increased ≈1.0°C during the last century, which is higher than the global mean increase of 0.74°C. Such rapid environmental changes may have resulted in changes in the local butterfly fauna. For example, the number of butterflies inhabiting forests may have increased because of reforestation, whereas the number of butterflies inhabiting grasslands may have declined. Furthermore, the number of northern butterflies may have declined, whereas the number of southern butterflies may have increased in response to global warming. Therefore, we compared current data (2002≈2007) regarding the abundance of butterfly species at two sites in the central portion of the Korean Peninsula to data from the late 1950s and early 1970s for the same sites. Changes in the abundance rank of each species between the two periods were evaluated to determine whether any patterns corresponded to the predicted temporal changes. The predicted changes in butterfly abundance were confirmed in this study. In addition, the results showed a different response to habitat change between northern and southern species. In northern butterfly species, butterflies inhabiting forests increased, whereas those inhabiting grasslands declined. However, the opposite was true when southern butterfly species were evaluated. Changes in the abundance indicate that habitat change may be one of the key factors related to the survival of populations that remain around the southern boundary of butterfly species.

Erratum to: Effects of forest fires on forest ecosystems in eastern coastal areas of Korea and an overview of restoration projects

Recent large fires have highlighted the importance of understanding post-fire processes in forest ecosystems, in order to implement ecologically sound post-fire forest restoration practices. Restoration principles should be based on a thorough understanding and appropriate integration of the ecological, social, and economic factors associated with forest ecosystems. In Korea, forest fires mainly affect pine forests, which provide habitats for pine mushrooms, a major source of income for local residents. Curculionid beetles can easily attack fire-damaged trees because of the trees’ weakened defense mechanisms. On the other hand, fire accelerates the decomposition of organic matter and nutrient release, thereby improving forest productivity. Natural restoration after large fires depends on regeneration (e.g., from seeds and sprouts) of the remaining trees that have sustained less damage, until secondary forests are established. However, severely burned areas may require rapid artificial regeneration depending on the specific climatic (e.g., summer rainy season), geographic (e.g., shallow surface soil and land erosion), and economic (e.g., local mushroom harvesting) objectives. A restoration plan should include constructing fuel breaks to reduce the fire risk if the area is replanted mainly with pine species.

Forest monitoring in times of climate change from the Asian view

Climate, as a source of energy and water, acts as the primary control for forest ecosystems and forest ecosystems provide significant feedback to climate. Asian forests from taiga to tropical regions are very diverse and unique as compared with other continents. To establish a good forest monitoring system in times of climate change for Asian regions, it is necessary to monitor forest information from a national forest inventory to changes in species composition by air temperature increase. Furthermore, a global forest monitoring system has to be established. It is also recommended to monitor symbiotic relationships, traditional knowledge and valuation trends.

Forest research and education in the republic of Korea

Forest ecosystems of Korea are very diverse but have been degraded or mostly fragile. Korean society also progressed too rapidly and forest scientists of Korea faced an urgent and challenging task to solve these issues. The aims of this paper are to understand the changes in forest research fields and to identify research subjects that need to be undertaken corresponding to these forest conditions and social changes. Furthermore, we studied on the problems in conventional education of forestry and possible solutions to the problems for the future generation.