Region: East Asia/Pacific
Eun-Shik
Kim
Department of Forest Resources, Kookmin University
History Over the last 40 years, Korea’s landscapes have been dramatically changed by intensive efforts toward afforestation while people convert from firewood to fossil fuel sources. Land area has been largely revegetated and the condition of vegetation is improving over time. Meanwhile, Korea has experienced degradation of the natural environment caused by intensive developmental activities and subsequent pollution. These activities include industrialization, urbanization, the construction of roads and golf courses, fossil fuel consumption, discharge of wastes to water systems, mineral extraction, land-clearing, and water control. As evidence of environmental degradation emerges slowly over decades, most of the people do not sense the symptoms with any precision. Hence extensive collection and careful analyses of relevant data over long time periods are required for better understanding and management of biotic components and the environment of Korea. Although some scientists have realized the importance of studying long-term phenomena in ecology, major advancement in long-term ecological research has not yet been made in Korea.
Recently the Korea Forest Research Institute (KFRI) included Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) as a major project in forestry research, and three sites were officially designated for long-term ecological research and biodiversity conservation and monitoring. The first LTER site in Korea is Kwangnung Experimental Forest, which represents the oldest natural forest in Korea. Some parts of the forest have been protected for more than 500 years. The other two are the forests of Mt. Kyebangsan and Mt. Keumsan. Although LTER is in its early stages in Korea, promotion and encouragement of ecologists’ activities will help to ensure the sound development of the Korean LTER program in the future. The objective of most of the research is to investigate the dynamics of structure and function of ecosystems related to the changes of environment, which is ultimately related to monitoring biodiversity and global change.
As the three official sites (Kwangnung Experimental Forest, Mt. Kyebangsan Forest, and Mt. Keumsan Forest) are managed by the same members of research team of the Korea Forest Research Institute, the cross-site research is guaranteed. All the sites have common themes or core research topics, which must be investigated and compared to each other. The core areas include primary production, population dynamics, nutrient cycling, impacts of environmental stress and disturbances, and environmental changes. As the National Arboretum and the Forest Museum are located at the Kwangnung Experimental Forest, it became a popular place for public education on nature and ecology in Korea.
In addition to the three official sites, eight other sites are proposed as potential sites, whose names are Lake Soyangho, Mt. Jumbongsan, Mt. Hallasan, Mt. Chirisan, Mt. Soraksan, Mt. Namsan, Nakdonggang River and Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in Korea. Outcomes of LTER activity become useful tools for detecting environmental changes such as regional pollution and global warming and managing natural resources such as forests, lakes, and rivers.
Network management, chairperson (or co-chairs) and principal financial sponsors
As the Korea LTER program is in early stage of development, much effort has been made to establish the LTER program and coordinate research in official and potential sites in Korea. Meanwhile, in order to facilitate communication, coordination, and cooperation among the scientists in ecology and related disciplines, the Korea LTER Committee (KLC) was established in 1997.
The Korea LTER Committee plays a major role in improving LTER program and activities in Korea. The committee consists of five members and meets quarterly to discuss major activities of research and implement. The chairperson of the Committee is Eun-Shik Kim, Department of Forest Resources, Kookmin University, Korea. At this moment, the Korea Science and Engineering Foundation (KOSEF) plays an important role as a sponsoring agency for hosting international conferences and supporting joint research, exchange programs, and domestic LTER activities in Korea. In addition, the Forest Research Institute of Korea continues to set the basic framework for the development of LTER activities in Korea. The Committee found it needed to invite several financial sponsors to activate the LTER program in Korea, however.
Partnerships (institutions, organizations)
The Korea LTER Committee actively pursues cooperative partnerships with the Korea Forest Research Institute and the Korea Science and Engineering Foundation along with the National Park Authority (NPA), local governments, and universities. These partnerships facilitate communication and cooperation among the scientists, managers, and policy makers in ecology and related disciplines.
Special activities (education, public outreach)
Collaboration with national networks in the region is made through a biennial Regional Conference. Collaboration among the global networks is facilitated via the internet, whose address is http://klter.kookmin.ac.kr.
The Korea LTER Committee hosted an International Workshop on LTER in the East Asia-Pacific Region in 1998 and the 3rd International Conference on LTER in the East Asia-Pacific Region, jointly with the Ecological Society of Korea, in 1999. These events were organized by Kookmin University and the Korea Forest Research Institute. Before the Conference, a bilateral Korea-U.S. Joint Seminar to identify and address key questions on up-to-date LTER issues in regional as well as global scale was held as a satellite meeting supported by both the Korea Science and Engineering Foundation and the U.S. National Science Foundation (US NSF), which will facilitate future cooperative research among the scientists of the countries and provide a firm stepping stone for the development of the national LTER network in Korea.
Three Korean sites are included in the GTNET-NPP Demo Project of the Global Terrestrial Observing System (GTOS), coordinated by the Network Office of US Long Term Ecological Research Network.