The Evaluation of Correlation between Disturbance Intensity and Stand Development by Natural Forest Community Type Classification

The correlation between disturbance intensity and stand development was evaluated on the basis of natural forest community type classification in areas of Baekhaksan (more disturbed area) and Hwangaksan (less disturbed area). The vegetation data were collected by point-centered quarter sampling method, and they were subjected to cluster analysis for classifying community types and to analysis of species composition and species diversity for reviewing ecological characteristics. By the method of cluster analysis, natural forests of Baekhaksan were classified into Quercus forest community, Pinus densiflora community, Q. variabilis community, and Q. mongolica community. Those of Hwangaksan were divided into P. densiflora community, Q. mongolica community, Q. forest community, and Mixed mesophytic community. It is presumed that more developed and less disturbed forest area shows multiple species community pattern and more diversified structure than less developed and more disturbed forest area. In Korean peninsula, the abundance of red pine may play an important indicator to estimate the developmental pattern of the forest after artificial disturbance. The overall evaluation indicated that less disturbed Hwangaksan area had more developed stand pattern with mixed mesophytic community, more complicated species composition, and higher species diversity than Baekhaksan area.