계단식 묵논습지의 지형학적 특성 및 식물종 분포

Abandoned paddy terraces (APTs) are increasing due to low accessibility and economic value of them. Although the APTs might be a kind of very valuable wetlands ecosystem in South Korea, there has been only few studies on that ecosystem so far. To understand the geomorphological characteristics and plant species distribution of APTs, three well-preserved APTs in Gyeong-gi Province were selected to investigate the wetland structure including their area, altitude, water depth of each layer, and plant species distribution in summer 2012. APTs were developed along the valley in mountainous area with multi-layer structure and water depth between layers and among wetlands varied. A number of 112 taxa including near-threatened species, Penthorum chinense and data-deficient species, Sparganium japonicum were recorded and they seemed to form very complex mosaic vegetations indicating high evenness and diversity although each layer’s morphology was relatively homogeneous. Ecological values of APTs with diverse flora should be addressed to the public and the experts and more and continuous studies to monitor and investigate the APTs in detail are suggested.