Outline
The Jeju Experimental Forests located in Jeju island ? the southernmost part of Korea, consist of Hannam, Seogwipo, and Gotjawal Experimental Forests. The forests started their history as experimental forests when the Hannam and the Seogwipo Experimental Forests were designated as national forests in 1922.
Hannam Experimental Forest
The forest is located on the southeastern side of Mt. Halla with an altitude of 300-750 m a.s.l.. The terrain in the forest is flat except the areas of Saryeoni orm(parasitic volcano, 524 m), geoinak (529 m) and maboonak (425 m). The forest holds the averaged annual precipitation of 3,000 mm and temperate, warm-temperate and subtropical climate patterns. The dominant trees in the forest are evergreen trees including Quercus acuta, Castanopsis sieboldii, Neolitsea acicularis and Daphniphyllum macropodum and deciduous trees such as Carpinus laxiflora, Quercus serrata and Styrax japonica. Some of plantations of Japanese cedar remains with a sporadic distribution.
Hannam-ri, Namweon-up, Seogwipo city, Jeju-do province
Area : 1,203 ha| Timber production | Recreation | Water resource management | Nature conservation | Seed orchard | The others | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Area(ha) | 582.1 | 36.9 | 120.1 | 300.2 | 156.4 | 7.3 | 1,203 |
| Proportion(%) | 48.4 | 3.1 | 10.0 | 24.9 | 13.0 | 0.6 | 100 |
- Artificial forest(18.0%) : 217 ha
- Natural forest(68.4%) : 823 ha
| Deciduous forest | Coniferous forest | Mixed forest | Evergreen forest | Mixed broadleaved forest | The others | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Area(ha) | 210 | 217 | 159 | 12 | 443 | 162 | 1,203 |
| Proportion(%) | 17.5 | 18.0 | 13.2 | 1.0 | 36.8 | 13.5 | 100 |
Seogwipo Experimental Forest
The forest is located at the foot of Mt. Halla with an altitude of 500-900 m. It adjoins Seondol valley of Namjeju-gun to the east, Mt. Halla national park to the north and is situated between Siorm to the west. The south northern side of the forest has a steep slope and the east western side has a mild slope.
Sanghyo-dong, Seogwipo city, Jeju-do province
Area : 1,550 ha| Timber production | Water resource management | Nature conservation | Seed orchard | The others | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Area(ha) | 341.9 | 357.6 | 589.4 | 230.3 | 30.8 | 1,550 |
| Proportion(%) | 22.1 | 23.1 | 38.0 | 14.9 | 1.9 | 100 |
- Artificial forest(0.8%) : 12.0 ha
- Natural forest(80.7%) : 1,251 ha
| Deciduous forest | Coniferous forest | Mixed forest | Evergreen forest | Mixed broadleaved forest | The others | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Area(ha) | 495 | 12 | 402 | 11 | 369 | 261 | 1,550 |
| Proportion(%) | 31.9 | 0.8 | 25.9 | 0.7 | 23.8 | 16.8 | 100 |
Gotjawal Experimental Forest
The total area of Gotjawal, a lava forest, is 110 ㎢ accounting for 6% of the total land area(1,875 ㎢) of Jeju island. It is widely distributed in the eastwestern part of Jeju island and divided into four regions: Gujwa-Seongsan and Jocheon-Hamdeok regions in the east; and Hangyeong-Andeok and Aewol regions in the west. The Gotjawal not only retains a high degree of biodiversity and a unique ecosystem but also has been closely related to the life of local communities. Accordingly, it is considered as a natural heritage to be preserved. A total of 300 ha (2% of the total Gotjawal area) of Gotjawal have been designated as experimental forests by KFRI since 2011. The forest is located in the two Gotjawal regions, Jocheon-Hamdeok region(178.7 ha) and Hangyeong-Andeok region (121.1 ha)
Seonheul, Jeoji and Cheongsu-ri, Jeju city
Area : 300 haForest origin
- The forest is dominated by evergreen species. Mankyua chejuense (Mankyua is a recently discovered plant, a single species in its own genus. It is a fern in the Ophioglossales. Its only species, M. chejuense, grows only on Jeju island) and several rare and endangered plant species occur in the forest
- A total of 613 different plant species have been reported.
| Evergreen forest | Mixed forest | Coniferous forest | Deciduous forest | Shrub | The others | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seonheul Gotjawal | 140.1 | 18.4 | - | 6.6 | 12.7 | 1.2 | 179 |
| Jeoji Gotjawal | 41.8 | 30.1 | 2.9 | 19.5 | 1.7 | - | 96 |
| Cheongsu Gotjawal | 20.3 | 0.8 | - | 2.3 | 1.6 | - | 25 |
Major activities in the Jinju Experimental Forest
02 Management of the Sustainable Forest Management(SFM) model forest
03 Management of biodiversity hot-spots in the warmtemperature and subtropical forest zones
04 Monitoring and conservation of forest ecosystems in response to climate change
05 Exploration and conservation of traditional forest-related culture and knowledge in the Gotjawal
06 Research on ecosystem processes, forest productivity and changes of carbon balance in the Gotjawal
Hannam Experimental Forest
- Establishment and management of educational forests
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- 01An educational site for students
- 02Recreational areas and trails for visitors
- Management of the Sustainable Forest Management(SFM) model forest
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- 03Management of International SFM certified forests
- 04Implementation of sustainable forest management
Seogwipo Experimental Forest
- Management of biodiversity hot-spots in the warm-temperature forest zones
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- 05In situ conservation of forest genetic resources
- 06Conservation of rare plants (Michelia compressa)
- Monitoring and conservation of forest ecosystems in response to climate change
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- 07Conservation of Abies koreana growing on Mt. Halla
- 08Long-term monitoring of forest ecosystem dynamics in Jeju
Gotjawal Experimental Forest
- Exploration and conservation of traditional forestrelated culture and knowledge in the Gotjawals
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- 09Exploration of historic relics in Gotjawal
- 10Exploration of traditional forest-related culture and technology
- Research on ecosystem processes, forest productivity and changes of carbon balance in the Gotjawal
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- 11Conservation of forest ecosystems of Gotjawal
- 12Flora and fauna of Gotjawal(Terpsiphone atrocaudata)