Selection of pollution‐tolerant plants and restoration planning to recover the forest ecosystem degraded by air pollution in the industrial complex

Abstract

To restore the forest ecosystem severely damaged by air pollution around industrial complexes, plants tolerant to the polluted environment were selected by transplant and pot culture experiments. A restoration plan by arranging those tolerant species was prepared based on the ecological diagnostic results on an area that requires restoration. Transplant experiment in Ulsan and Yeocheon areas, the representative industrial complexes in Korea, selected eight tolerant species of Quercus aliena, Q. acutissima, Q. dentata, Q. mongolica, Q. serrata, Ligustrum japonicum, Styrax japonica, and Poncirus trifoliata. Cultivation in the polluted soil transported from the Ulsan and Yeocheon industrial complexes chose five tolerant plants of Q. aliena, Q. acutissima, Q. serrata, Styrax japonica, and Alnus firma. A plan to restore the forest ecosystem of Mt. Dotjil, which experienced the severest ecosystem degradation in the Ulsan industrial complex, was prepared by applying those tolerant species along with treatment fo...