The pattern of landscape patches and invasion of naturalized plants in developed areas of urban Seoul

doi:10.1016/j.landurbplan.2003.10.018

Landscape and Urban Planning

Volume 70, Issues 3–4, 15 February 2005, Pages 205-219

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2003.10.018 Get rights and content

Abstract

Fragmented developed areas usually support source-sink patches for invasive organisms in urban landscapes. Invasive plants that have a different origin than the spreading source have an important role in artificial landscape restoration in degraded areas. However, many alien plant species have invaded the original habitat or ecosystem of native plants; sequentially their fast growing populations colonize neighboring ecosystems easily. Biological contamination sometimes occurs, unbalancing biodiversity in the natural landscape system. Therefore, long-term monitoring for dynamic communities after restoration in urban areas is indispensable for establishing a strategy for sustainable urban management. Under this principle we have examined the spreading of representative naturalized plant species according to recent land use changes. In this study, we have selected two representative invasive plants, Robinia pseudoacacia and Eupatorium rugosum. Their distribution pattern and patch characteristics of population were identified by the data of Seoul Biotope Map and a field survey. As a result of GIS-aided analysis of landscape patches, these two species often occurred in the same place. Concentration patterns of population distribution were found in forest edges disturbed by development of roads and human settlement. Especially, Eupatorium rugosum had extended to inner forest patches although the individuals were scattered. Distribution patterns of those species were partly related to landscape indices such as patch size and shape of the forest edge.

Introduction

Landscape ecology has taken well-conserved nature as a study object and nature conservation has been recognized to be necessary only in the boundaries of urban-rural areas and green-belt zones (Forman and Godron, 1986, Sukopp, 1994, Forman, 1995). The disturbance enforced upon land in urban and suburban area, which resulted from urbanization, caused damage to the natural environment and the rural landscape of traditional and stable quality in the perimeters of residential areas. Therefore it is necessary to seek a land use plan capable of preserving existing original landscape (Forman, 1995, Hong, 2001, Hong et al., 2001), and the heightening of public awareness about harmony and congruence with nature in urban and human settlement areas.

The methods to make ecological urban spaces are various but ecological comprehension about urban space-the analyses and assessment of urban ecosystem-is primarily needed (Sukopp, 1990, Song, 1998). Urban areas are where human land use occurs concentrative as well as where those plans are established for human land use. Therefore, the combination of these artificial environmental factors forms a unique urban ecosystem between the related biological species and the natural components. The urban spaces are divided by land use and a great mosaic-patterned biotope exists (Sukopp, 1992).

The rapid change of the urban environment stimulates the invasion of pioneer species. Most pioneer species are included in the naturalized plants. Since the industrial revolution, urban areas have become a center of naturalization and this has been accelerated by the increase of population and transportation. The naturalized plants have influence on man’s and the ecosystem’s health (NIER, 1996, Suh et al., 1997, Song and An, 1999). There are many definitions of what a ‘naturalized species’ is (Groves and Burdon, 1986, Song and An, 1999). According to NIER, 1995, NIER, 1996, a naturalized organism was defined as a “non-native species which has been introduced anthropogenously or naturally and can reproduce and survive in wild habitats by themselves. Disturbed areas such as urban developed areas often have an important role as a source habitat for naturalized plants and aids in expanding their population size (Forman, 1995). Invasion of naturalized plants is, moreover, significantly related to the processes of land transformation and ecosystem deterioration (Groves and Burdon, 1986, de Wall et al., 1994, Hong et al., 2003).

This study aims to review the relation between land use and the distributed characteristics of both species, Robinia pseudoacacia and Eupatorium rugosum, in Seoul and to analyze other factors that affect the distribution of naturalized plants. The results would be useful in understanding and assessing the management of naturalized plants and urban ecosystems as the fundamental data by the analyses of these factors.

Section snippets

Environmental profile and characteristic of land use in Seoul

Seoul is divided, topographically, into North and South by the border of the Han-river. It is characterized as a temperate climate and a terrestrial climate in which the yearly climatic difference is large due to topographical effects. Its yearly precipitation reaches 1488 mm and the average temperature is 12.5 °C (the average for last 10 years; 1991–2000) (Seoul Metropolitan Government, 2001).

Taejo, a King of the Chosun Dynasty, appointed Seoul as the capital, which centered on the current

Target species for analysis

Robinia pseudoacasia and Eupatorium rugosum were selected as the target species for analysis. The number of naturalized plants, which is listed as Korean, presently reaches almost 220 species (Kim et al., 2000). Unknown species and naturalized species, which are introduced every year, are not few in number. The numbers of these alien species has increased sharply, consistently, as most of the domestic naturalized species have been introduced mainly through Japan or those that were brought from

Distributed condition of Robinia pseudoacacia and Eupatorium rugosum

The condition map of distribution of Robinia pesudoacacia and Eupatorium rugosum in Kangnam/Kangbuk is as follows in Fig. 4. Both species in Kangbuk were mainly found at the edge of patches that had different land use except for the forest. In the case of the presence of a penetrating road into forest, even of large size, the naturalized plants were usually distributed even into the center of the forest along the wayside. This shows the neighboring artificial land use to be a primary cause by

Conclusion

In light of land management, the history of land use, and land development, this study reviewed the distributed characteristics of the naturalized plants, Roninia pseudoacacia and Eupatorium rugosum, and their relation to the neighboring land use in Kangbuk/Kangnam, and the differences between these two areas. To summarize the relation in the analysis results of the forest patch between Kangnam and Kangbuk in the distributed pattern of the naturalized plants and neighboring land use are as

Acknowledgements

We heartily appreciate J.H. Shin in Seoul Development Institute (SDI) who did us a favor by reviewing the data and the Department of Urban Planning in the Seoul Metropolitan Government that offered the data on the results of the Biotope Survey in Seoul; all of their contributions made this study possible.

In-Ju Song is a research fellow of Seoul Development Institute in Seoul. She received her PhD in engineering from Technical University of Berlin in 1998. Her specialities are urban ecology, biotope mapping, and ecological urban planning.

References (22)

de Wall, L.C., Child, L.E., Wad, P.M., Brock, J.H., 1994. Ecology and Management of Invasive Riverside Plants. Wiley,...
Forman, R.T.T., 1995. Land Mosaics: The Ecology of Regional and Landscape. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 635...
Forman, R.T.T., Godron, M., 1986. Landscape Ecology. Wiley, New York, 619...
Groves, R.H., Burdon, J.J., 1986. Ecology of Biological Invasion. Cambridge University Press,...
Hong, S.K., 2001. Factors affecting landscape changes in central Korea: cultural disturbance on the forested landscape...
Hong, S.K, Song, I.J., Choi, W.S., 2001. Theoretical comparison of modern and traditional urban plan; from an Asian...
S.K. Hong et al.
Landscape pattern and its effect on ecosystem functions in Seoul Metropolitan area: urban ecology on distribution of the naturalized plant species
J. Environ. Sci
(2003)
Kim, J.M., Yim, Y.J., Chun, E.S., 2000. Naturalized Plants of Korea. Science Books, Seoul, 281 pp....
Lee, C.B., 1993. Illustration Flora of Korea. Hyangmunsa, 990 pp....
National Bureau of Statistics Economic Planning Board, 2000. Korea Statistical Yearbook, 30...

NIER, 1995. Survey for Ecological Impact by Naturalized Organism (I). National Institute of Environment Research...

Cited by (41)

Different environmental drivers of alien tree invasion affect different life-stages and operate at different spatial scales
2019, Forest Ecology and Management
Identifying the key factors driving invasion processes is crucial for designing and implementing appropriate management strategies. In fact, the importance of (model-based) prevention and early detection was highlighted in the recent European Union regulation on Invasive Alien Species. Models based on abundance estimates for different age/size classes would represent a significant improvement relative to the more usual models based only on species’ occurrence data. Here, we evaluate the relative contribution of different environmental drivers to the spatial patterns of abundance of several height classes (or life-stages) of invasive tree populations at the regional scale, using a data-driven hierarchical modelling approach. A framework for modelling life-stages to obtain spatial projections of their potential occurrence or abundance has not been formalized before.
We used Acacia dealbata (Silver-wattle) as a test species in northwest of Portugal, a heavily invaded region, and applied a multimodel inference to test the importance of various environmental drivers in explaining the abundance patterns of five plant height classes in local landscape mosaics. The ensemble of height classes is considered here as a proxy for population dynamics, life-stages and age of adult trees. In this test with A. dealbata, we used detailed field data on population height structure and calibrated an independent model for each height class. We found evidence to support our hypothesis that the distribution of height classes is mostly influenced by distinct factors operating at different scales. The spatial projections which resulted from several height class models provide an overview of population structure and invasion dynamics considering various life-stages, that is widely used in biodiversity and invasion research.
The approach proposed here provides a framework to guide forest management to deal more effectively with plant invasions. It allows to test the effects of key invasion factors (depending on the focal species and on data availability) and supports the spatial identification of suitable areas for invasive species’ occurrence while also accounting for the structural complexity of invasive species populations, thereby anticipating future invasion dynamics. The approach thus constitutes a step forward for establishing management actions at appropriate spatial scales and for focusing on earlier stages of invasion and their respective driving factors (regeneration niche), thereby enhancing the efficiency of control actions on major forest invaders.
Effects of landscape composition on the occurrence of a widespread invasive bird species in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest
2017, Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation
Citation Excerpt :
The role of landscape composition as a regulator of the occurrence of native species in landscapes has been demonstrated in many studies (Cushman and Mcgarigal, 2004; Pardini et al., 2010), but our study is one of the first to show that landscape composition may also affect patterns of presence or absence of invasive bird species in landscapes. A common view in the literature on biological invasions is that human-disturbed areas are more susceptible to invasion (Song et al., 2005; Lockwood et al., 2007). However, in apparent contradiction to this hypothesis, the occurrence of M. monachus was negatively (rather than positively) correlated with the amount of agricultural and anthropogenic areas (Figs. 2 and 3).
Despite the growing concern and literature on biological invasions, few studies have adopted an explicit landscape perspective to understand occurrence patterns of invasive species. We investigated how landscape composition influences the occurrence of a widespread invasive bird species, the Monk Parakeet Myiopsitta monachus, across landscapes of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. We determined occurrence patterns and habitat composition in 24 sites, half of which harboring established populations of the species. Landscape composition had clear effects on species occurrence. Probability of occurrence decreased as the amounts of anthropogenic and agricultural areas in the landscape increased. Landscape composition was mostly strongly related to occurrence patterns when measured at the largest spatial scale considered (search radius = 3 km). Our results show that landscape composition may affect occurrence patterns of invasive species across landscapes. They also suggest that invasive species are not necessarily favored by habitat disturbance at the landscape level.
An index to identify suitable species in urban green areas
2016, Urban Forestry and Urban Greening
Citation Excerpt :
One of the most important factors in the selection of trees for urban environments is the existence of an increase in pathogenic agents. Numerous studies have evaluated the health of urban forests (Johnston and Shimada, 2004; Ning et al., 2008; Kontogianni et al., 2011; Mingaleva et al., 2011; Song et al., 2005), but not all of these studies were financed or aided by public administrations because of high costs or a lack of resource allocation (Fan et al., 2012), a problem that has inspired new measurement techniques (Hostetler et al., 2013) to lower costs. This cost-reduction effort is significant because related studies have revealed social (Johnston and Shimada, 2004; Mingaleva et al., 2011) and economic benefits of urban trees.
This paper presents a method that allows sorting of tree and shrub species according to their suitability for planting in urban areas of Madrid (Spain). Suitability was determined from a weighted index for each species according to the severity of damage (biotic, abiotic, and anthropogenic; stem wounds are the main problem in trees, while dead plants are the most important problem in shrubs, seasonal flowers, and vines) and to risk, which was obtained from a new measure, observed Species per Green Area per Year (SAYs). The greater the number of damaged SAYs, the less suitable a species was considered for outdoor planting. For this purpose, 49 green areas corresponding to 141 ha were sampled during 2005–2008. The tree species least recommended for planting include Robinia pseudoacacia, Ulmus sp., Acer negundo, Platanus × hybrid, Populus Boolleana. The shrubs least recommended for planting are Nerium oleander, Cotoneaster sp., Euonymus europaeus, Pyracantha coccinea, and Pittosporum tobira. Statistical analysis reveals that native species have a lower percentage of damaged SAYs than non-native species.
Exploring global scientific discourses on urban forestry
2015, Urban Forestry and Urban Greening
Citation Excerpt :
Studies in urban forest ecology and landscape ecology provide evidence that urban forests can harbour substantial biodiversity, allowing for monitoring of land use and biodiversity change due to urbanisation, and therefore, provide input for sustainable urban forest management and guidelines on how to protect biodiversity in urban forests. Methods used have been exclusively quantitative and include field measurements on randomly selected sample plots, sometimes by using transect method along urban-rural gradient (Sudha and Ravindranath, 2000; Zerbe et al., 2003; Sandström et al., 2006; Warren et al., 2011), spatial analysis by using GIS (Pirnat, 2000; Song et al., 2005; Kromroy et al., 2007), remote sensing (Dumas et al., 2008; De Chant et al., 2010; Kuruneri-Chitepo and Shackleton, 2011) and experiments (Horák, 2011). Positivistic scientific claims are dominant and solutions are provided by experts only.
The concept of urban forestry is addressed from a discursive perspective, with focus on identifying and describing various scientific discourses, their strength and development over time and on different continents. This work can help obtain a deeper understanding of the scientific discourses in terms of identifying research trends and reasons behind these trends, as a possible way forward for research. Scientific publications (N = 519) issued during the period 1988–2014 (and as listed in the SCOPUS database) were analysed with the aims to 1) systematically identify and describe scientific urban forestry discourses, 2) discuss implications of these findings for scientific practice, and 3) propose ways forward. Six discourses of various strength and geographical distribution were identified. Scientific production was found to be dominated by North American and European authors with modest contributions from authors from other continents. Scientific discourses proved mostly expert driven and reflecting the positivist scientific paradigm. Prevailingly managerial orientation and absence of qualitative approaches indicate a lack of deeper understanding of human-environment relations. Studies related to active participation of citizens and partnerships in urban forestry have been missing. More emphasis should be placed on the testing of existing, and developing new methods and modalities of public participation, and on the value of civic involvement for the decision making. Moreover, a more solid evidence base is needed for benefits from urban forests, while economic aspects of biodiversity and other ecosystem services are still insufficiently explored. Study findings also call for more research on urban forest governance and relation between urban forest benefits and existing policies (e.g. climate change adaptation, energy policy or health).
Environment and dispersal paths override life strategies and residence time in determining regional patterns of invasion by alien plants
2014, Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics
Citation Excerpt :
Mountains, on the other hand, can be prone to invasion if climate warming reduces the number of frost days in the future (Pino et al., 2005; Vicente et al., 2011), particularly if landscape composition also changes (driven by shifting patterns of land-use) towards facilitating invasions. Therefore, scientifically informed landscape design and management strategies are needed to anticipate and prevent new invasions in high nature value mountain landscapes (Song et al., 2005; Dufour et al., 2006; Minor et al., 2009). The fact that our results suggest a major role for roads and ecotones (but not for rivers) as regional dispersal corridors for alien invasive plants highlights the need to adopt integrated land planning and management, including mitigation related to infrastructure development and landscape fragmentation, as a tool in the anticipation of, and adaptation to, biological invasions.
We describe a novel dissimilarity framework to analyze spatial patterns of species diversity and illustrate it with alien plant invasions in Northern Portugal. We used this framework to test the hypothesis that patterns of alien invasive plant species richness and composition are differently affected by differences in climate, land use and landscape connectivity (i.e. Geographic distance as a proxy and vectorial objects that facilitate dispersal such as roads and rivers) between pairs of localities at the regional scale. We further evaluated possible effects of plant life strategies (Grime's C-S-R) and residence time. Each locality consisted of a 1 km² landscape mosaic in which all alien invasive species were recorded by visiting all habitat types.
Multi-model inference revealed that dissimilarity in species richness is more influenced by environmental distance (particularly climate), whereas geographic distance (proxies for dispersal limitations) is more important to explain dissimilarity in species composition, with a prevailing role for ecotones and roads. However, only minor differences were found in the responses of the three C-S-R strategies. Some effect of residence time was found, but only for dissimilarity in species richness. Our results also indicated that environmental conditions (e.g. climate conditions) limit the number of alien species invading a given site, but that the presence of dispersal corridors determines the paths of invasion and therefore the pool of species reaching each site. As geographic distances (e.g. ecotones and roads) tend to explain invasion at our regional scale highlights the need to consider the management of alien invasions in the context of integrated landscape planning. Alien species management should include (but not be limited to) the mitigation of dispersal pathways along linear infrastructures. Our results therefore highlight potentially useful applications of the novel multimodel framework to the anticipation and management of plant invasions.
Trends in the use of landscape spatial metrics as landscape indicators: A review
2013, Ecological Indicators
Citation Excerpt :
Spatial heterogeneity may have differential effects on the distribution of native and non-native plant species richness (Kumar et al., 2006). Kumar et al. (2006) and Song et al. (2005) found that distribution patterns of invasive species can be determined with the help of landscape indices. Moreover, Viaud et al. (2008) showed that field pattern (size and shape) influences the pollen distribution.
The paper gives an overview on the trends in the usage of landscape metrics as indicators for: land use changes, habitat functions (biodiversity, habitats), landscape regulating functions (fire control, microclimate control, etc.), and information functions (landscape aesthetics). We reviewed papers published in international peer-reviewed journals that are indexed by the Institute of Science Information (ISI) Web of Knowledge from 2000 to 2010. The terms “landscape metrics”, “landscape indexes” and “landscape indices” were searched. Our analysis showed that application of the landscape metrics to characterize various ecosystem services and landscape functions has broadened during the last 10 years. Number of studies related to regulating and information functions of landscapes is increasing. However, the main exploitation field of the metrics is evaluation the change in land use/land cover.

View all citing articles on Scopus

Sun-Kee Hong is a researcher of Environmental Planning Institute, Seoul National University. He received his PhD in environmental planning from Hiroshima University in 1994. He was awarded the prize for author of superior paper from The Korean Federation of Science and Technology Societies in 1999. He also awarded the official commendation from the Ministry of Environment of Korea in 2002. He was the Secretary General of the 8th International Congress of Ecology (Seoul, 2002) and is board member of INTECOL. His research fields are landscape ecology and applied vegetation science.

Hyun-Ok Kim is a PhD student at the Technical University of Berlin. Her specialties are landscape planning, remote sensing and GIS. Now she takes part in a research project “Perspectives on Urban Ecology—the Example of the European Metropolis of Berlin”. In this project her research subject is the application of high-resolution satellite images and GIS for the management of urban ecosystems, e.g. biotope mapping, monitoring, etc.

Byungseol Byun is a professor of the Department of Public Administration, Inha University, and previously was a senior research fellow of Korea Environment Institute. He received his PhD in City and Regional Planning from University of Pennsylvania in 1997. His specialties are Urban Environmental Planning, Eco-city Planning and National Territory Environmental Planning. He was awarded the official commendation of Minister of Environment in 1999. He is a co-author of Understanding Environmental Policy.

Yuri Gin is a researcher who works in Department of Urban Environment, Seoul Development Institute of Korea. She has been participating in projects, related to “Biodiversity Enhancement and Restoration in Urban Area”. Her current interesting field is Landscape Ecology and Land Assessment. She majored Landscape Architecture at Seoul National University.

View full text