Monitoring study on plant diversity and water resource recovery characteristics due to restoration of desolate mountain areas

This study summarized the results of long-term monitoring of various functions obtained from forest restoration, including increased plant diversity and water resource recovery. The study area is a long-term monitoring area for degraded forests, and the characteristics of valley runoff and vascular flora have been continuously observed since 1970, and the annual changes in valley runoff and plant species diversity were compared. As a result of the study, the average runoff was confirmed to be approximately 90 days in the 1980s, approximately 310 days in the 1990s, and 365 days in the 2000s. Compared to the number of days of runoff in the initial degraded area, it increased 3.7 times in 1990 and 4.4 times after 2000. In particular, it was confirmed that the valley flow was maintained throughout the year regardless of rainfall characteristics after 2000. In the case of vascular plants, there were 30 species including Miscanthus sinensis, Lespedeza bicolor, and Arundinella hirta in the 1980s, 62 species including Quercus serrata, Callicarpa japonica, and Rhus chinensis in the 1990s, and 80 species including Quercus mongolica, Viburnum dilatatum, and Fraxinus sieboldiana in the 2000s. In a recent survey, there were 116 taxa including Maackia amurensis, Alnus japonica, and Sorbus alnifolia, and the number has continuously increased. In terms of vegetation structure, in the 1980s, simple communities of shrubs and herbs with a height of about 5 m were the main focus, but in the 1990s, they developed into 10 m tall sub-tree vegetation, and after the 2000s, broad-leaved forests and coniferous-broadleaf mixed forests with a height of about 15 m were formed. It is expected that this study can be used as basic data for estimating ecosystem services and evaluating public interest functions according to the restoration of desolate and damaged forests.