Abstract
In South Korea, woodlands are considered to be the most important biotope type for biodiversity conservation. However, they are suffering loss and degradation under strong pressure from urbanisation and agricultural expansion. In this paper, we assessed to what extent the overall decrease in woodland area in the Kwangju City region, South Korea, over a period of 26 years has modified the spatial characteristics of the woodlands at the landscape level. Four landscape types in the Kwangju City region were analysed based on aerial photographs from 1976, 1983, 1994 and 2002. Three landscape ecological metrics were used to monitor the change of ecological woodland conditions. The results indicated that woodland patches have remained very dynamic features over the past 26 years in the case study region. Scattered residential developments and roads were the main causes of woodland loss and fragmentation in the urban and urban fringe landscapes, while the expansion of agricultural activities reduced the average size of woodland patches in the agricultural landscape. The results indicated that the mountain landscape has the greatest value for biodiversity conservation in Kwangju. However, in recent times, woodlands have come under pressure in this landscape type due to the development of tourist infrastructure. This information was used to identify the potential and specific needs for landscape planning in a rapidly developing urban region in South Korea.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 257-277 |
Number of pages | 21 |
Journal | Landscape Research |
Volume | 34 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jun 2009 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Biotope
- Fragmentation
- Landscape ecological metrics
- Modern housing
- Urbanization