The Forest Vegetation of Mt. Jangan County Park in Jangsu-Gun, Jeonlabuk-Do, Korea

Forest vegetation in Mt. Jangan County Park, Jeonlabuk-Do, Korea, was investigated by classification and ordination methods. By the cluster analysis (classification) method, nine groups were recognized as follows : Quercus serrata community, Quercus serrata- Carpinus laxiflora community, Cornus controversa community, Fraxinus mandshurica community, Carpinus laxiflora community, Quereus variabilis community, Quercus mongolica - Sasa borealis community. Quercus mongolica - Symplocos chinensis for. pilosa community and Quercus mongolica - Rhododendron schlippenbachii community. These groups showed differences in species composition and environmental characteristics, but Quercus mongolica - Sasa borealis community, Quercus mongolica - Symplocos chinensis for. pilosa community and Quercus mongolica - Rhododendron schlippenbachii community among them showed very similar floristic composition to each other. The interrelationship between the floristic composition of the vegetation and environmental factors was analysed by principal component analysis (PCA). Quercus mongolica community was distributed at a high altitude (900～1200 m above sea level). Fraxinus mandshurica community and Cornus controversa community were differentiated from the other communities with high contents of soil moisture and pH. On the other hand, Carpinus laxiflora community and Quercus variabilis community were distributed at places with adequate levels of soil moisture, soil organic matter. and at low altitude. In this study, the altitude and soil moisture were the main factors determining the forest vegetation. They were strongly correlated with the dominant compositional gradient at the localities examined.