Alpine Vegetation on the Paekdu-San (Changbaishan) Summit of the North-east China

Abstract

We aim to provide a syntaxonomical scheme for the alpine tundra vegetation of volcano Mount Paekdu (Changbaishan) bordering China and North Korea. From the field investigations in 1991, 2004, and 2009 a total of 89 phytosociological releves were sampled by the Braun-Blanquet method. Obtained data sets were analyzed by tabular hand-sorting technique. Syntaxonomic position and nomenclature of units were determined by comparison with mainly Japanese relevant communities. Ten rankless units in four physiognomic vegetation types were classified: alpine desert vegetation (Papaver radicatum var. pseudoradicatum community, Minuartia arctica community, Polytrichastrum alpinum-Minuartia macrocarpa var. koreana community), alpine windswept dwarf vegetation (Chrysanthemum zawadskii var. alpinum-Festuca ovina var. koreano-alpina community, Scirpus maximowiczii community, Oxytropis anertii-Salix rotundifolia community, Carex longirostrata-Dryas octopetala var. asiatica community), snow-bed vegetation (Phyllodoce caerulea-Tofieldia coccinea community, Viola biflora-Calamagrostis langsdorfii community), and colluvial drainage channel vegetation (Carex atrata-Sanguisorba stipulata var. riishiriensis community). The variation of the vegetation resulted from primarily the rock and soil particle size and soil mobility, and slope inclination. Some of the plant communities were regarded as local and endemic types. Yet we firmly believe that further researches are requested by much richer materials and syntaxonomical comprehensive evaluation in between elsewhere in the Pan-East Sea (Sea of Japan).