Jung Hwa Chun

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.

Modelling Vulnerability and Range Shifts in Ant Communities Responding to Future Global Warming in Temperate Forests

Global warming is likely leading to species’ distributional shifts, resulting in changes in local community compositions and diversity patterns. In this study, we applied species distribution models to evaluate the potential impacts of temperature increase on ant communities in Korean temperate forests, by testing hypotheses that 1) the risk of extinction of forest ant species would increase over time, and 2) the changes in species distribution ranges could drive upward movements of ant communities and further alter patterns of species richness. We sampled ant communities at 335 evenly distributed sites across South Korea and modelled the future distribution range for each species using generalized additive models. To account for spatial autocorrelation, autocovariate regressions were conducted prior to generalized additive models. Among 29 common ant species, 12 species were estimated to shrink their suitable geographic areas, whereas five species would benefit from future global warming. Species richness was highest at low altitudes in the current period, and it was projected to be highest at the mid-altitudes in the 2080s, resulting in an upward movement of 4.9 m yr−1. This altered the altitudinal pattern of species richness from a monotonic-decrease curve (common in temperate regions) to a bell-shaped curve (common in tropical regions). Overall, ant communities in temperate forests are vulnerable to the on-going global warming and their altitudinal movements are similar to other faunal communities.

Predicting the Changes of Yearly Productive Area Distribution for Pinus densiflora in Korea Based on Climate Change Scenarios

Division of Forest Ecology, Korea Forest Research Institute, Seoul 130-712, Koera(Received February 26, 2014; Revised March 26, 2014; Accepted March 28, 2014)ABSTRACTThis study was conducted to predict the changes of yearly productive area distribution for pinusdensiflora under climate change scenario. For this, site index equations by ecoprovinces were firstdeveloped using environmental factors. Using the large data set from both a digital forest site mapand a climatic map, a total of 48 environmental factors including 19 climatic variables were regressedon site index to develop site index equations. Two climate change scenarios, RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5,were then applied to the developed site index equations and the distribution of productive areas forpinus densiflora were predicted from 2020 to 2100 years in 10-year intervals. The results from thisstudy show that the distribution of productive areas for pinus densiflora generally decreases as timepasses. It was also found that the productive area distribution of Pinus densiflora is different over timeunder two climate change scenarios. The RCP 8.5 which is more extreme climate change scenarioshowed much more decreased distribution of productive areas than the RCP 4.5. It is expected thatthe study results on the amount and distribution of productive areas over time for pinus densifloraunder climate change scenarios could provide valuable information necessary for the policies ofsuitable species on a site.Key words : Climatic change scenario, Digital site map, Climatic map, Site index equation, Productive area

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.

Understory Vegetation Structure by Altitude and Azimuth Slope and Indicator Species Analysis in Mt. Gyebang

본 연구는 유전자원보호구역 및 국립공원으로 지정된 계방산의 하층식생구조와 고도 및 사면별 지표종을 구명하기 위해 실시하였다. 조사지 출현식물은 80과 203속 303종 38변종 5품종 4아종 총 350분류군으로 확인되었다. 중요치 분석결과, 관목층에서는 미역줄나무(9.143%), 당단풍나무(7.594%), 노린재나무(6.347%) 등이 우점 하였고, 초본층에서는 조릿대(8.653%), 오리방풀(2.936%), 대사초(2.897%) 등이 우점 하는 것으로 나타났다. NMS 분석결과, 주요종의 분포범위는 고도별 영향이 있는 것으로 밝혀졌다(관목층: R2>0.3, 초본층: R2>0.6). Plexus diagram 분석결과, 당단풍나무는 함박꽃나무, 청시닥나무, 참회나무 등과 연관성이 있으며, 초본층의 벌깨덩굴은 투구꽃, 박새, 귀룽나무등과 연관성이 있는 것으로 분석되었다. 고도에 따른 유의성 있는 지표종은 60종, 사면방위별 유의성 있는 지표종은 30종이 분석되었다. MRPP-test 결과, 고도에 따른 집단 간 종조성은 이질적이며, 사면방위에 따른 종조성은 NE와 SW 간에 이질성이 큰 것으로 분석되었다.