Plant Hardiness Zone Map in Korea and an Analysis of the Distribution of Evergreen Trees in Zone 7b

Jung Nam Suh, Yun-Im Kang, Youn Jung Choi, Kyung Hye Seo, Yong Hyun Kim
2021 Journal of people, plants, and environment  
and objective: This study was conducted to establish a Plant Hardiness Zone (PHZ) map, investigate the effect of global warming on changes in PHZ, and elucidate the difference in the distribution of evergreen trees between the central and southern region within hardiness Zone 7b in Korea. Methods: Mean annual extreme minimum temperature (EMT) and related temperature fluctuation data for 40 years (1981 to 2020) in each of the meteorological observation points were extracted from the Open MET
more » ... Portal of the Korea Meteorological Administration. Using EMT data from 60 meteorological observation points, PHZs were classified according to temperature range in the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map. Changes in PHZs for each decade related to the effects of global warming were analyzed. Temperature fluctuation before and after the day of EMT were analyzed for 4 areas of Seoul, Suwon, Suncheon, and Jinju falling under Zone 7b. For statistical analysis, descriptive statistics and ANOVA were performed using the IBM SPSS 22 Statistics software package. Results: Plant hardiness zones in Korea ranged from 6a to 9b. Over four decades, changes to warmer PHZ occurred in 10 areas, especially in colder ones. Based on the analysis of daily temperature fluctuation, the duration of sub-zero temperatures was at least 2 days in Seoul and Suwon, while daily maximum temperatures were above zero in Suncheon and Jinju before and after EMT day. Conclusion: It was found that the duration of sub-zero temperatures in a given area is an important factor affecting the distribution of evergreen trees in PHZ 7b.
doi:10.11628/ksppe.2021.24.5.519 fatcat:smvya5e255c7xfnhq532tui5na