Abstract

Community structure, size and age distribution of tree species of the subalpine Korean fir (Abies koreana) forest at the elevation of 1, 400~1, 700m were strudied in the north-west side of Chonwangbong Peak (1915m) in Mt. Chiri for the purpose of better understanding of the population dynamics of Abies koreana. Eight 20m X 20m permanent quadrats were established in 1991, and trees $\geq$ 2.5cm DBH for all species were marked with numbered aluminum tag, and saplings of Korean fir and Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis) were also tagged with aluminum sheet. These two conifer species comprised more than 60% of the total density and total basal area of the community. Quercus mongolica and Acer pseudo-sieboldianum were subdominats. Oridination study showed that cool temperate species such as Sorbus commixta, Betula costata, Acer tschonoskii and Acer ukurunduense occurred in close association with Abies koreana and Pinus koraiensis. Major tree species, especially Abies koreana and Pinus koraiensis, were well represented in samller size classes, indicating that they were regenerating well. Age distributuion of the Abies koreana and Pinus koraiensis showed that the former has longer physiological longevity than the latter, and that establishment were episodic and varied with sites, which implies the importance of the role of natural and artificial disturbances in this Abies kireana forest.

Keywords

• Abies koreana;
• Age distribution;
• Mt. Chiri;
• Ordination;
• Pinus koraiensis;
• Size-frequency distribution