Distribution of vascular plants along the altitudinal gradient of Gyebangsan (Mt.) in Korea

This study was conducted to examine the distribution of vascular plants along the altitudinal gradient and investigation routes of Gyebangsan (Mt.) in Korea. The total number of flora of Gyebangsan (Mt.) was 510 taxa in total, comprising 83 families, 283 genera, 449 species, four subspecies, 52 varieties and five forms. In the flora of this area, 14 taxa were Korean endemic plants and 17 taxa were rare plants. Naturalized plants in Korea numbered 27 taxa. The number of vascular plants monotonically decreased with increasing altitude. In contrast, the rare plants mostly increased with increasing altitude. The endemic plants of Korea did not show any special pattern by altitude gradient. The naturalized plants were mainly distributed at the open area below 1000 m.