Korea Arboreta And Gardens Institute
In March 2023, due to the worst drought in 50 years, large forest fires broke out in the Uljin and Samcheok regions of the East Coast in South Korea. The total damaged area is about 20,676ha, of which about 30% is a protected area such as a forest genetic resources reserves and Deokgu County Park, which requires ecological restoration considering the original management purpose and forest function before the damage. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to classify forest damage types, identify vegetation structures by type, and set the direction of restoration in order to find out the status of forest damage before establishing a practical restoration plan.
The types of forest fire damage was classified according to physiognomy (coniferous forest, broad-leaved forest), forest fire severity(severe, medium, light), and topography(ridge, slope, valley). Forest fire damaged types were classified into 27 types, and a total of 154 vegetation surveys were conducted by the Braun-Blanquet method. Soil samples for each type of forest fire damage were collected to analyze pH, electrical conductivity(EC), organic matter(OM), total nitrogen(TN), available phosphate(AP), and cation exchange capacity(CEC). Vegetation structure was analyzed the location environment, important value, species diversity, crown vitality, and mortality rate by forest fire damaged types.
In addition, areas with more than 3,000 sprouts per ha and areas with a vegetation coverage of 2/3 or more were judged as natural resilience area, and an ecological restoration plan was established by dividing the direction of restoration into natural and artificial restoration methods. Through this, it is expected to contribute to efficient forest ecological restoration.
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