DOI QR코드

DOI QR Code

Characteristics of woodland changes in an urban fringe in Gwangju city

도시외곽지역의 산림변화 특성

  • Kim, Keun-Ho (Department of Landscape Architecture, College of Natural Resources, Yeungnam University)
  • Received : 2012.05.23
  • Accepted : 2012.06.18
  • Published : 2012.06.30

Abstract

It is widely recognised that changes in size and isolation of habitat patches have a negative impact on species richness and the distribution and persistence of populations. Thus, the aim of the research was to analyze the change, distribution and spatial characteristics of woodlands in an urban fringe landscape. The results indicated that there was a common trend of woodland loss across all landscape types while no new woodlands were established during 1976 and 2009. Small patches (less than 5 ha in size) were particularly vulnerable to and more likely to disappear due to human activities such as urbanisation. Changes in woodland cover were clearly observed between 1976 and 2009. Loss of many woodlands was caused by residential and infrastructural developments. As a result, woodlands were becoming smaller and more isolated. This trend probably had adverse effects on biodiversity. This woodland information can be used to identify the potential and specific needs for conservation planning in rapidly developing urban areas.

Keywords

References

  1. Andren H. 1994. Effects of habitat fragmentation on birds and mammals in landscapes with different proportions of suitable habitat. Oikos 71: 355-366. https://doi.org/10.2307/3545823
  2. Antrop M. 2004. Landscape change and the urbanisation process in Europe. Landscape and Urban Planning 67: 9-26. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-2046(03)00026-4
  3. Bender DJ, Contreras TA, Fahrig L. 1998. Habitat loss and population decline: a meta-analysis of the patch size effect. Ecology 79: 517-533. https://doi.org/10.1890/0012-9658(1998)079[0517:HLAPDA]2.0.CO;2
  4. Gwangju City. 2010. Gwangju Statistical Yearbook. Gwangju City, Gwangju. [in Korean]
  5. Hanski I. 1999. Metapopulation Ecology. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
  6. Hinsley SA, Bellarmy PE, Newton I, Sparks TH. 1994. Factors Influencing the Presence of Individual Breeding Bird Species in Woodland Fragments-Research Report 99. English Nature. Peterborough.
  7. Kim KH, Pauleit S. 2005. Landscape metrics to assess the ecological conditions of city regions: application to Kwangju city, South Korea. International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology 12(3): 227-244. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504500509469634
  8. Kim KH, Pauleit S. 2009. Woodland changes and their impacts on the Landscape structure in South Korea, Kwangju city region. Landscape Research 34(3): 257-277. https://doi.org/10.1080/01426390902868032
  9. Korea Forest Service. 2011. Statistics. Assessed in http://www.foa.go.kr on 5 May 2011. [in Korean]
  10. Kwon J, Cho H, Cho M, Oh J. 2005. Vegetation landscape characteristics and assessment of biotope diversity in the isolated forests on the urban areas: case study on the three parks, Daegu Metropolitan City. Journal of Korean Forest Society 94(6): 462-467. [in Korean]
  11. Mazerolle MJ, Villard MA. 1999. Patch characteristics and landscape context as predictors of species presence and abundance: a review. Ecoscience 6: 117-124. https://doi.org/10.1080/11956860.1999.11952204
  12. McIntyre N.E. 1995. Effects of forest patch size. Landscape Ecology 10(2): 85-99. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00153826
  13. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. 1997. Environmental Performance Reviews-Korea. OECD. Paris.
  14. Pirnat J. 2000. Conservation and management of forest patches and corridors in suburban landscapes, Landscape and Urban Planning 52: 135-143. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-2046(00)00128-6