Mt.Halla - What did it historically look like?

The previous post was about Mt. Halla as a Temperate Deciduous Forest and its climatic and vegetative  characteristics. This time, I would like to introduce an article about how Jeju Island (and Mt. Halla) looked 10 or 20 thousand years ago.

In his article, "Vegetation response to climate change on Jeju Island, South Korea, during the last deglaciation based on pollen record," Chull-Hwan Chung (2007) suggests that Jeju Island has not always been a Temperate Deciduous Forest. According to Chung, the island had grassland vegetation from ca. 21,800 to 14,400 cal. Yr. BP.

Chung investigated the past vegetation of Jeju island with core sediments extracted from Hanon Maar river, which is located in Southern part of the island. The cores sediments were consisted of muds and pollens. By analyzing the pollen records and their time period, Chung figured out what type of plants grew in late Pleistocene and how climate change influenced vegetation on the island.

In short, Chung (2007) suggests that Jeju island had xerophytic Aremisia-dominated grassland vegetation from ca. 21,800 to 14,400 cal. Yr. BP. This indicates that the ecosystem was cold and dry during the LGM and late-glacial period. As the early Holocene started, however, temperate deciduous broadleaved forests started to settle in the area, and grassland vegetation began to retreat. After ca. 11,800 cal. Yr. BP, temperate deciduous broadleaved forests with warm temperate evergreen broadleaved trees have dominated the island.

As a Korean who has been to Jeju island several times, I cannot imagine that the island had had a different appearance and climate in the past. I am glad to learn, and inform you, that ecosystem can be drastically altered by climate change. From next time, I would like to talk about relationship between Mt. Halla and humans. Thank you!

<References>

Chung, Chull-Hwan. “Vegetation Response to Climate Change on Jeju Island, South Korea, during the Last Deglaciation based on pollen record.” Geosciences Journal 11 (2007): 47 – 155. Web.