The Vegetation, Soil Characteristics, and Soil Microarthropods of Maebongsan Urban Forest in Cheongju-si, Korea

The study was aimed to understand the ecological status of the Maebongsan urban forest in Cheongju-si through investigating the vegetation, soil characteristics, and soil microarthropods. Phytosociological analysis for twenty plots revealed that the plant communities were classified into Pinus rigida community, Robinia pseudoacacia community, Castanea crenata community, Quercus acutissima community, Pinus strobus community, Pinus koraiensis community, and Larix kaempferi community. The importance value showed that afforestation tree species like Castanea crenata, Robinia pseudoacacia, and Pinus rigida dominate the urban forest. DBH analysis indicated that although the plant communities seem to be under the succession to Quercus forest, the dominance of Castanea crenata and Robinia pseudoacacia might still persist for several more decades. The properties of soils from the plant communities showed that loamy sand and sandy loam in soil texture, low organic matters, and severe acidification. The abundance of soil microarthropods were not different among the plant communities except Castanea crenata community and Pinus koraiensis community. The two communities showed especially low abundance of collembola and acarina. Thus, we can say that Castanea crenata community and Pinus koraiensis community seem to have been influenced strongly by anthropogenic activities.