Abstract

This study surveyed the distribution and characteristics of epiphytes and host trees in Jejudo's warm-temperate evergreen forests area. The gathered data will be used for evaluating ecological changes according to climate change. The study found 46 species of epiphytes in Jejudo; 12 of which were species of pteridophytes and 5 species of orchids, totaling 17 species of epiphytes. The appearance frequency was the greatest with Lepisorus thunbergianus, followed by Lemmaphyllum microphyllum and Lepisorus onoei. The area with the greatest diversity of epiphytes was nutmeg tree forests which have the largest number of 2.89 average species. Lemmaphyllum microphyllum had the greatest percent cover of the epiphytes whose importance was found to be the greatest. The factors involved were the epiphytes' diversity index (0.64), maximum species diversity (1.23), evenness (0.52), and dominance (0.48). The study has noted the distribution characteristics of epiphytes according to altitudes above sea level. The Lemmaphyllum microphyllum can survive at an altitude of 600 m above sea level, Lepisorus thunbergianus at 200 - 1,400m above sea level, Lepisorus onoei. at 400 - 1,000 m, and Gonocormus minutus at an altitude above 800 m. The host trees, consisting of Quercus serrata, Castanopsis cuspidata var. sieboldii, and Carpinus laxiflora, stands at 2-19 m high and 2.5 - 120 cm wide, showing diverse kinds of trees and sizes. Jejudo's warm-temperate evergreen forests have lower epiphyte diversity compared with those of subtropical and tropical areas in Japan and China. Based on the characteristics of the host trees order, epiphytes' distribution associated with the altitude above sea level was typical.

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