| Title |
Distribution of Alien Plants in the Gyeong-In Ara Waterway, Korea |
| Authors |
안지홍 ( Ji-hong An ) ; 김중현 ( Jung-hyun Kim ) ; 박환준 ( Hwan-joon Park ) ; 김선유 ( Sun-yu Kim ) ; 박성애 ( Sung-ae Park ) |
| DOI |
https://doi.org/10.15681/KSWE.2017.33.3.291 |
| Keywords |
Alien plants; Monitoring; Restoration plan; Vegetation stratification |
| Abstract |
This study was carried out to investigate the distribution of alien plants in the Gyeong-In Ara Waterway. The alien plants were a total of 82 taxa: 17 families, 63 genera, 80 species, and 2 varieties. This number corresponds to 25.5% of the alien plants identified in Korea. The proportion of alien plants in every year increased from upstream to downstream. Given our analysis of vegetation stratification, a riverbank was covered with artificial materials to prevent vegetation from growing; it had a step-type cross section. The flood plain consisted of the waterfront area. The array of vegetation was not a typical dispersion, and terrestrial and alien plants dominated the Gyeong-In Ara Waterway. Evaluation of naturalness based on the vegetation stratification showed grade 3 or 4. In order to solve a problem, the method and level of restoration should be chosen based on diagnostic assessment. Therefore, we need to restore the step-type cross section as pool type one. From waterfront to bank in this waterway, we recommend introducing native plants by imitating reference species composition. Since the invasion by alien plants is expected to be accelerated by the continuous artificial disturbance，we recommend quantitative investigation of the invasion by alien plants and monitoring the change of distribution. |