The Korea National Park Service (KNPS) announced that it had analyzed the influence of weather situations such as heavy rain, severe cold and drought on the natural ecosystem of the sub-alpine zone such as Jirisan, Deogyusan and Sobaeksan National Parks.
The National Park Research Center, affiliated to KNPS, has collected meteorological data from equipments which measure environmental factors including temperature, ground temperature, humidity, rainfall and soil moisture, etc. at 30-minute intervals in the sub-alpine zone such as Jirisan, Deogyusan and Sobaeksan since last year.
The research has aimed at analyzing the influence of climate change on the natural ecosystem of the sub-alpine zone and found out that the zone has been exposed to more severe natural environment than other areas.
While the number of day whose daily precipitation rate exceeded 100mm was four in Jirisan National Park's Korean Fir Forest from July to August last year, just two days recorded more than 100mm of the daily precipitation rate in the neighboring area, Namwon-si during the same period.
In particular, while a rainfall in Namwon-si is 787mm from July to August last year, it recorded nearly double, 1,419mm, in Dwaeji pyeongjeon in Jirisan. Also, areas which located at an altitude of more than 1,300m in Jirisan, Sobaeksan and Deogyusan recorded average temperature of -14.8℃, -16.1℃ and -14.9℃ respectively in this January but their adjacent areas -- Namwon, Youngju and Jangsu -- recorded only -6.3℃, -6.1℃ and -8.8℃ respectively.
In addition, needleleaf trees such as the Korean Fir, khingan fir and yew distribute in the sub-alpine zone but the Korean Fir forest has declined in Hallasan and Deogyusan. According to the result of previous researches, evapotranspiration rate has increased suddenly in Jirisan and Deogyusan owing to global warming, taking moisture and slowing growth and development of a Korean fir in the area.
The director of the National Park Research Center, Kwon Hyeok-gyun said although climate change is the main cause of decline of coniferous forests in alpine regions, there has hardly been meteorological information on the regions. Thus, continuous meteorological measurement will contribute to analyzing interrelation between climate change and ecological change, he said.
source: APEC-VC Korea
