Ecological Characteristics and Distribution of Plant Resources of Pyrus and Malus sp. in Jindong Valley, Gangwon Province

Abstract

Four major naturally populated areas around the Jindong valley in Inje-Gun, Gangwon province for wild Pyrus ussuriensis, Malus sieboldii, and Malus baccata are mostly located on the southeast side of the mountains at 630-745m in altitude at sea level and are in very good sunny areas. The total of 77 taxa dividing into 32 families, 58 genera, 65 species, and 12 varieties has been inhabited in these areas. Most of these plants are heliophytes, which love sunshine, but some of rhizo-plants such as Sasa borealis, climbing plants such as Actinidia arguta and Celastrus orbiculatus, or naturalized plants like Bidens frondosa are also shown. These areas have been continually destroyed, so it is possibly thought that the second transition has been progressed. The index of species diversity of plant groups in these areas is 0.672∼1.465 based on the Shannon-Wiener's method, but its index for the area that rhizo-plants like Sasa borealis are growing as an under planting decreases relatively. In this study, the oldest plant of Pyrus ussuriensis in Korea, which is 120cm in diameter at breast height (DBH), 19m in tree height and 25m in width, has been found.

Keywords

• Jindong valley;
• Pyrus;
• Malus;
• heliophytes;
• naturalized plants;
• species diversity;
• genetic resources