Land Suitability Evaluation for Wild-Simulated Ginseng Cultivation in South Korea

Sung Soo Kim,Hyun Kim,So Hui Jeon,Soo Im Choi,Hag Mo Kang,Chong Kyu Lee

doi:10.3390/land10020094

Abstract

Wild-simulated ginseng (WSG) is highly sensitive to growth conditions. Nevertheless, the suitability evaluation of actual WSG cultivation sites for a sustainable yield has not been conducted in South Korea, nor at a global level. This study aimed to evaluate the suitability of actual WSG cultivation sites to understand the status of these sites and to present a methodology that can be applied to the determination of WSG cultivation sites by combining the major factors essential for WSG growth. Suitability was evaluated for the WSG cultivation sites using geographic information systems (GIS). The study region has a high forest coverage of 77%, of which 48.7% was possibly suitable (including suitable sites) for WSG cultivation. However, of the area of actual WSG cultivation sites, 43.6% was probably unsuitable (including unsuitable sites). The WSG yield showed a relatively low rate of increase compared to the rate of increase in the cultivation area, and the rate of increase in the production amount showed a tendency to decrease. In regions and countries with high forest coverage, the application of scientific techniques, such as GIS should be considered to identify suitable WSG cultivation sites. The application of the methodology of this study will be a useful method for the production of high-quality WSG and sustainable yield.

Highlights

This study was conducted to understand the status of actual Wild-simulated ginseng (WSG) cultivation sites and present a methodology that can be applied to the selection of cultivation sites for WSG, which is sensitive to the cultivation environment
It was found that both WSG growers and policy authorities neglected the suitability evaluation of actual WSG cultivation sites or planned WSG cultivation sites, which should be the basis for determining the sites to be used
As a clear demonstration of why this information should be used in decision-making, this study suggests a lower rate of yield or a reduction in the increasing rate of production in these poorly suited areas, compared to the increasing rate of the WSG cultivation area

Summary

Introduction

One of the recent changes in the consumption of agri-food in Korea, due to the global pandemic (COVID-19), is the increased intake of healthy functional foods, mainly those rich in vitamins and minerals, and ginseng [1]. This may be because ginseng is well-known for its ability to strengthen human immunity against harmful viruses and bacteria, among its other various effects [2,3]. Sales of healthy functional foods are approximately 864% higher than those observed during the Middle East Respiratory

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