A Study on the Plants for Phenology of the Mt. Jiri National Park

Abstract

This study monitored forest plant species vulnerable to climate change in Jiri Mountain, one of Korea's representative alpine regions, in order to securely preserve plant genetic resources susceptible to climate change and to utilize the results as basic data for bioclimatology prediction and management on a long-term basis. A majority of indicator plants tended to blossom one week to one month later in 2010 than in 2009. As with the blooming dates, the falling dates of blossoms became later in most species, with the exception for Weigela florida and Oplopanax elatus. Leaf bursting as well fell on later dates in a majority of species excluding Carpinus laxiflora and Cupressus sempervirens, displaying the most obvious differences among the data of analysis of the 2009-2010 physiological cycle changes. It is believed that was due to the fact that temperatures in February, March and April, which affect plants' blossoming and leaf bursting, were lower in 2010 than in 2009 and that cold temperatures in the winter lasted for a longer period in 2010 than in 2009. The dates of leaves being changed to red were similar in 2009 and 2010 by being or later or earlier by several weeks in 2010 than in 2009 without any regularity. Most species' leaves began to fall at similar dates in 2009 and 2010 or at later dates by one to two weeks in 2010 than in 2009. The temperature differences in late 2009 and late 2010 were not so large, resulting in similar dates of falling leaves, and gaps in several indicator plants' physiological cycles without any regularity can be attributed to each individual plant's physiological and environmental characteristics.