A New Association of Gueldenstaedtio-Zoysietum japonicae: A Syntaxonomical and Syngeographical Description of the Southernmost Population of Gueldenstaedtia verna in South Korea

Abstract

포 특이성으로부터 애기자운 개체군에 대한 희귀성과 유 ABSTRACT. The mound grave of Korean traditional funeral culture is a unique habitat which is a Zoysiagrass lawn being sustainable in proper management. We phytosociologically described an unusual Zoysiagrass vegetation with Gueldenstaedtia verna by the Zürich-Montpellier School’s method and analyzed eco-floristic characteristics. A new association, GueldenstaedtioZoysietum japonicae ass. nov. hoc loco, was identified and subdivided into festucetosum ovinae, typicum, and trifolietosum repensae. The subassociations were distinguished by the difference in species composition resulting from site accessibility and lawn management method. The association was assigned as not only a regional but also a locally-limited vegetation type, which distributes on a particular microhabitat with strong continentality in the Daegu regional subdistrict of Bioclimatological division. The Zoysiagrass vegetation of Korea was considered as a continental type apparently different from the oceanic type of Zoysion japonicae (Miscanthetea sinensis, Caricetalia nervatae). Mound graves in Korea should be acknowledged as a meaningful habitat for the in-situ conservation of biodiversity and phytocoenosen, despite being a secondary grassland of Gueldenstaedtio-Zoysietum japonicae.