Mount Odaesan National Park, successful propagation of native beech trees

(Pyeongchang=Yonhap News) Reporter Yoo Hyeong-jae = The Odaesan National Park Office announced on the 30th that they have successfully propagated the native Odaesan leaf chestnut trees through a joint research project with the Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province Forestry Science Institute and Pyeongchang County to preserve the genetic resources of the Odaesan native leaf chestnut trees.

The native leaf chestnut trees are northern-type plants mainly distributed north of Mount Geumgang, and currently, only a very small number live in South Korea, including one tree in Odaesan and a few in the Gwangneung Forest.

The Odaesan leaf chestnut tree was designated as a natural monument in 1933, as confirmed by documents from the Governor-General of Korea held by the National Museum of Korea, and is currently designated as a protected tree in Gangwon Province.

However, with an age of over 250 years, the trees have weakened, and there is a risk of death due to factors such as diseases, pests, and strong winds, raising the need to preserve the unique genetic resources.

Accordingly, a joint research project was conducted by grafting 169 Japanese leaf chestnut trees, which are genetically identical to the Odaesan leaf chestnut trees, resulting in the successful propagation of 96 successor trees, showing a 60% success rate.

Following the successful propagation of the Odaesan native leaf chestnut trees, the agencies will proceed with related businesses while conducting research on changes in the vitality of the leaf chestnut trees, etc., through a business agreement.

The 50 successfully propagated trees will be managed at the Odaesan Native Plant Observation Center, and the remaining trees will be used for genetic resource propagation and research projects at the Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province Forestry Science Institute.

In the long term, it is planned to create a natural forest composed of leaf chestnut trees and native species of the national park within the Pyeongchang County public forest.

Nam Seong-yeol, Director of Odaesan National Park, said, "Through the success of the propagation of the native leaf chestnut trees and the inter-agency agreement, we will ensure that the precious resources of Odaesan National Park are not lost and can be permanently left to future generations."

yoo21@yna.co.kr