Analysis on the Type of Damaged Land in DeMilitarized Zone(DMZ) Area and Restoration Direction

Spatial Pattern and Factor Analyses for Forest Sustainable Development Goals within South Korea’s Civilian Control Zone

“…It extends over an area of ~120,000 ha, accounting for ~18% of the administrative divisions intersecting the DMZ area ( Figure 1). The CCZ has a broad distribution of land use for military facilities due to its intrinsic nature but recent years have seen steady LULC changes related to the development of tourist attractions [29]. The Gyeonggi-do part of the CCZ is flat and low (<300 m above sea level) with intensive agricultural activities taking place on a residential or commuting basis.…”

“…Frequent intense clusters of cold spots in Paju-si, Yeoncheon-gun and Cheorwon-gun also indicated the high rate of change from forest to settlement in these areas. Sung et al [29] noted that deforestation in the CCZ is primarily due to the development of cropland and villages in Gyeonggi-do and the western part of Gangwon-do. Similarly, Lee [42] reported that the distribution density of villages in cities and counties with Hot spots accounted for about 74% of the overall distribution of villages in the CCZ.…”

“…Park and Nam [44] reported on the continuously increasing land used for ginseng cultivation in this area since it hosted the "Gaeseong Ginseng Festival" in 2005. Sung et al [29] also noted that expanding rice paddies and fields are a major cause of deforestation and emphasized that ginseng cultivation fields not only damage the primarily affected terrain but also cause secondary damage to surrounding terrain, weakening soils and degrading other vegetation. The increasing damage to forest edges in affected areas of Ganghwa-gun, Paju-si and Yeoncheon-gun can thus be attributed to the active ginseng cultivation operations in these areas in conjunction with broadly scattered small-scale agricultural land intermingled with forest.…”

“…However, because this plan prioritizes development, forest researchers are worried that this plan will increase deforestation and degradation. Sung et al [29] reported on continuous illegal clearing of trees and vegetation for soybean and ginseng cultivation in Yeoncheon-gun and Cheorwon-gun. The change from forest to bare land within the CCZ from Ganghwa-gun to Cheorwon-gun is thus ascribable to such land-use projects and illegal cropland development.…”

“…Unlike grassland and bare land, the indirect effects of topography on changes to settlement, cropland and water were found to be minimal. Sung et al [29] reported that increasing agricultural activity such as Ginseng cultivation is the main cause of vegetation deterioration and increasing bare land in the CCZ. Ganghwa-gun, Paju-si and Yeoncheon-gun were reported to be particularly affected by intensive agricultural activities.…”