Conservation of Korean Rare and Endangered Plants

-Present Status and Future Perspective-

Kim Yong-Shik^* & Yoo-Mi Lee^**

ABSTRACT

Many wild Korean plant species have become endangered mainly due to human activities, and particularly the Korean war in the early 1950's, as well as by the rapid industralization in the 1960's. Other major threats come as a result of human impacts, such as the mass illegal collections in the wild for medicinal or ornamental purposes and habitat disturbance due to recreational activities.

The present conservation activities of Korean rare and endangered plant species were introduced. Among the species in the wild of Korea, the conservation criteria were applied to evaluate the conservation values. Habitat or species restoration for rare and endangered species were applied for some species in Korea, and this works will be increased dramatically in the recent future. Modern methods of recovery plan for Abeliophyllum distichum Nakai, Oleaceae, to restore the wild habitats were also introduced.

* College of Natural Resources, Yeungnam University, Kyongsan 712-749, Republic of Korea

fax: +82 53 813 6470 e-mail: yskim1@ynucc.yeungnam.ac.kr

** Kwangnung Arboretum, Pochon, 487-820, Republic of Korea

INTRODUCTION

The Korean peninsula lies at circa 34^o 00'-42^o 00'N and 124^o 00'-131^o 00'E, bordering China and Russia to the northwest and north, respectively. This land mass role as an eco-bridge between the Asian Continent and the insular Japanese Archipelago. The main bioclimatic zones are warm temperate, temperate and cold temperate. The natural vegetation of Korea is largely forest. Forest still covers 65,310 km²(66% of the land area) in South Korea. There are three major variations in vegetation related to climate and topography such as evergreen broadleaved forest, deciduous and mixed deciduous coniferous forests and alpine forest(Taiga), from the south to north, respectively.

The Korean peninsula has topographically two major mountain ranges; one is the Taebaek Mountains stretching from the north to the south, and the other one is the Sobaek Mountains which is extending to the southwest accrossing the heart of the peninsula. This range of the mountains holds very diverse flora which distinct to Korean flora including Korean rare and endangered plant species, and the most of the Korean National Parks are centred in this ranges. It's floristic regions are part of the Japanese-Korea Province in the Eastern Asiatic Region. The natural forest of Korea extends from the Subtropical Forest Zone to an Alpine Forest Zone, from south to north(Kim et al, 1993).

The purpose of this paper is to introduce various actitivities for the present activites on conservation of Korean rare and endangerd plants.

PRESENT STATUS OF KOREAN RARE AND ENDANGERED PLANTS

The Korean peninsula has circa 25,000 taxa of animal and plants, which is somewhat diverse compared to other temperate regions. Among them, the plants exceed over 8,300 taxa(K.N.P.A., 1995). The rate of endemics of the Korean peninsula is about 14.0% which somewhat higher compare to other regions in North and South Asia(World Conservation Monitoring Centre, 1991).

The Korean native plant species is recorded as 4,164 taxa; 170 families, 897 genera, 2,899 species, 7 subspecies, 929 varieties, 305 formas, and 24 hybrids(Lee, 1980), and the areas of Korean national parks holds 2,631 taxa of vascular plants. The rare and endangered plant taxa which distributed in the areas of 20 Korean national parks can be figured out as 127 taxa(K.N.P.A., 1995). Among them, many species are commonly distributed in neighbor regions such as China, Japan and East Asiatic Russia; 2,000 taxa between Korea and Japan, and 1,100 taxa between Korea, Northern China, Ussuri, and Far Eastern Siberian regions. There are 33 woody indigenous families, 51 species, 16 varieties and 159 taxa in Korea(Kim et al., 1993). Taktarjan(1986) mentioned that there are 40 indegineous woody families and 64 indeginous woody genera in Korea. Kim & Chun(1991) compiled the Korean woody endemic plant species and re-established 160 taxa, reserved 47 taxa, and excluded 17 taxa from the current Korean woody endemic taxa. Among them, in the biogeographical point of view, 26 taxa of woody plants in Cheju Island(including 13 taxa only of this island), 17 taxa in Ulnung Island(including 12 taxa only of this island), and 74 taxa in North Korea(including 35 taxa only of this region). Also 49 taxa of woody endemic plant species showed an intensively localized phytogeographic distribution.

Traditionally the Korean peoples have always had a strong awareness for nature and the need for its preservation. Both the Buddhism and the Taoism influenced much for this conception of nature conservation. As we know from the very beginning of the human race, man and trees have been intimately associated(Li, 1974), this phenomenon of mystical symbols and objects of worship are remnant throughout the whole nation. The local inhabitants considered an old and big tree in the village as a sacred. In spite of this facts of old traditions for the nature and some of individual trees, many Korean plant species have became endangered rapidly mainly due to human activities, and particluarly by the rapid industrialization in the 1960's, as well as the collapse of the traditional philosophy towards to the nature. Other major threats came because of human impacts, such as the mass collections in the wild for medicinal or ornamental purposes and projected works in the nation.

The Korean Association of Conservation of Nature recorded 115 plant taxa as the rare and vulnerable species in Korea(K.A.C.N., 1981). The Ministry of Environment, Korea, in order to protect the rare and endangered plants from their deteriorated wild habitats, designated 51 families and 126 taxa of vascular plants, in 1993, as rare and endangered plants.

CONSERVATION OF RARE AND ENDANGERED PLANTS

The habitats of wild plants has been rapidly destructed by the various types of human activities such as habitats destructions by heavy projected works, heavy trampling, and mass collections for medicinal or ornamental uses. In order to conserve the habitats and specific plant species, the conservation of Korean rare and endangered plants has been supported under auspices of the laws such as the Cultural Property Protection Act, the Environment Protection Act, the Natural Parks Act, the Wildlife Protection Act and the Forest Act. The civilian groups such as the Korean Association for Conservation of Nature(K.A.C.N.), the Korean Central Council for Nature Preservation(K.C.C.N.P.) and the National Parks Association of Korea(N.P.A.K.) are major NGO bodies to conserve the rare and endangered plants and their habitats in Korea(Woo, 1990).

Recently the IUCN prepared a new red list categories for the conservation of rare and endangered species(Mace & Stuart, 1994). Under the new conception for categorization, the work of conservation category for the Korean rare and endangered species has some difficulties to be applied, just because this tool needs some quantitative informations for the plant which considered for conservation.

With the rapid growing concerns for the conservation of rare and endangered plant species both at national or international levels, the protcetion of threatened plants in the wild is one of the most important management priorities in Korean botanical gardens and arboreta. For example, the Kwangnung Arboretum, a major government-supporting botanical institution, started a 10-year long-term conservation program, aimed mainly for the conservation criteria determination, collection, propagation and restoration of the threatened plants into their original habitats in Korea(Kwangnung Arboretum, 1995).

RESTORATION OF SPECIES AND HABITATS

The history of the rare and endangered plant species restoration works dated back to early in 1970's in Korea. The wild habitats of Abeliophyllum disticum Nakai of Oleaceae, one of the Korean endemics and rare plants, was severely destructed by the mass collections by local peoples for ornamental uses. The vegetatively propagated seedlings were transplanted to the destructed habitat. As the modern conceptions of restoration ecology or conservation biology was not introduced to Korea for the species at that time, so the conventional methods could applied in the process of species restoration. Since the restoration of Abeliophyllum distichum in 1970's, another restoration works was launched. A part of Korean scientists realised that the trials and error for the recovery of rare plant species in the past was enough to modify the restoration works in the wild in Korea.

The Kwangnung Arboretum, Office of Forestry, Korea, in collaborating with the Yeungnam University has started the long-term project for the restoration of Korean rare and endangered plant species since 1995. The major contents of the project is to the selection of rare and endangered plant species, re-examination of Korean endemic species, collection in the wild, both ex situ and in situ conservation and finally restore the species to the original habitats(Figure 1). The Kwangnung Arboretum conducts some of conservatio works in 1996 for some species(Table 1). The major works included the establishment of conservation criteria, field survey for the habitats, collection and mass propagation, in situ conservaion and restoration for 5 species such as Metanarthecium luteo-viride Max. of Liliaceae, Jeffersonia dubia Benth of Berberidaceae, Acanthopanax seoulense Nakai of Araliaceae, Cypripedium macranthum Sw. of Orchidaceae and Osmanthus insularis Koidz. of Oleaceae(Kwangnung Arboretum, 1995).

Table 1. Some of informations obtained from the field investigations in 1996.

Species Name	Habitat Characteristics	Habitat Status
Hylomecon hylomeconoides T.Lee (Papaveraceae)	Narrow endemic in Mts. Halla and Chri Conservation measures are needed by its narrow distribution Long periods of flowering and merits for ornamental uses Along the edge of the trail on the shady side. From lowland to ca. 1,200 m	Relatively safe from illegal collections Needs conservation by its limited distribution patterns
Aconitum trilobum I. Yang (Ranunculaceae)	Very limited distribution in one area, Mt. Chongyong and the Yongjae Peak, Taegu City . Small size of population with limited distribution Merits for both medicinal and ornamental uses Size of population 100 x 100 m Pollinator: insects & seal	very small number of individuals and needs mass propagation Needed seed collection
Corylopsis coreana Uyeki (Hamamelidaceae)	Korean endemic and first recorded at Mt. Paekun Mt.Paekun, Chollanam-do Province Wide distribution in Korea, but small size of populations Merit for ornamental uses	Natural wild population
Rhododendron tchonoskii Max. (Ericaceae)	Very limited distributed at the summit of the high altitudes, such as Mt Chiri and Mt. Kaya Ridge of the rocks at 1,600-1,650m, Deciduous shrub with flowering white in May Strong possibilities for ornamental uses	Grows on the rocks Vulnerable from trampling and illegal collections
Swamp in Suwon City	Distributed in Mt. Chilbo, Suwon City Habitat size is dramatically decreased by development . Majorspecies: Habenaria radiata, Drosera rotundifolia, Utricularia japonica, Uticularia bifida Previous cultivd land & surrounded with the Pinus rigida forest	Openland vicinity from the road One of the important swamp Susceptible by over collection

Source: Kwangnung Arboretum, 1996

Abeliophyllum distichum Nakai is one of the endemic and also a monotypic genus, belongs to the Oleaceae, in Korea. This species limited to 5 known populations. Most wild populations have a small number of individual plants. All known populations are protected as the Natural Monuments under the Korean Natural Monument Acts. One population of Chinchon in Chugnchongpuk-do Province was extinct in the wild in 1969, and discarded from the list of the Korean Natural Monuments(Table 2). Fortunately some of material of this species is being gathered from cultivated sources to set up a collection at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, U.K. and Yeungnam University, Korea, with the long term aim of repatriating stock to Korea. It is likely that the clones in European and North American gardens represent populations now extinct in the wild(Maunder, 1993).

The pattern of distribution of this species shows a scattered populations in the central part of south Korea. The main population appears to be restricted to the central area of the Republic of Korea. Herbarium collections exist from Mt. Changsoo and Nanam from North Korea(Lee & Kil, 1991), however no information is available on the wild status of the species in North Korea. It grows as an understory shrub in mixed deciduous woodland. Current threats include such as expansion of traffic road and dam construction, visitor pressure and the illegal collection of plants for an

Table 2. Status of Abeliophyllum distichum Nakai in Korea

Population location	Size of population (estimate)	Land tenure	Canopy clearance	Notes
1. Yongdong	ca. 200	Natural Monument(NM) on local government land, population fenced	Canopy intact	Only protected population under intact Quercus canopy
2. Yongdong (outskirts)	ca. 30	Unprotected on private land, not fenced	Open scrub site with no site management	Unprotected population
3. Yulchi-ri	ca. 150	Natural Monument on provate land, population fenced	canopy clearance	Population imcreasing
4. Songdok-ni	ca. 120	Natural Monument on private land, population fenced	canopy clearance	Population supplemented with un-sourced material from local gardens
5. Chujom-ni	ca. 40-50	Natural Monument on private land, population fenced	canopy clearance	Population declining due to illegal collecting
6. Puan	1) ca. 50 2) ca. 250	1) Natural Monument on private land within National Park 2) University school forest plots within National Park		Large wild population translocated in anticipation of hydrodam development. One population survives in wild(1), rest translocated(2)
7. Chinchon	Extirpated after overcollecting for landscape trade	Natural Monument cancelled		Probable source of cultivated stock in Korea, Europe and U.S.A.

ornamental uses. There is no reasons to assure that any of these threats will diminish. The ecology of the species requires study, there is little evidence of seedling recruitment in wild populations, this may be a result of overshading and competition.

In order to identify the main ecological factors impacting upon Abeliophyllum distichum in the wild, to allow practical in situ management to secure the survival of existing wild populations.

The main concept of recovery plan for this species can be explained as firstly the protect populations. Protect and secure plants on private property is the key for this. Secondly, is to assess and preserve existing genetic diversity, thirdly, monitor populations to determine population trends and develop management protocols, fourthly, search for additional populations, fifthly, re-establish populations and augment populations at protected sites, if deemed necessary, sixthly, use management techniques to maintain and /or enhance populations, and lastly to educate and conservation professionals.

For the species recovery, we are planned five steps for actions needed in the future. Firstly, establish recovery team incorporating expertise in conservation biology, plant ecology, protected areas management, population genetics, plant propagation, etc., secondly undertake extensive field surveys, thirdly, initiate genetic surveys by use of RAPDs, fourthly, initiate monitoring programme and trial habitat management, and lastly, implement agreed recovery plan incorporating in situ management, the establishment of ex situ collections and re-introduction.

To achieve above items, we should secure all existing populations an establish new viable wild populations; firstly, an increase in the nature of existing plants to at least 250 individuals per population, second, each existing population is demographically secure and regenerating, third, results achieved from research into the ecology and regeneration incorporated into management plans and implementd. In order to achieve these objectives, information will be obtained regarding distribution, ecology, phenology, biology of growth, flowering seed set and germination, propagation techniques and threatening factors.

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