Comparative Study on Flora Characteristics and Species Diversity on Dam Slopes for Sustainable Ecological Management: Cases of Eight Dams in Korea

Abstract

Dams are gray infrastructure, providing various benefits such as flood control, water supply, and power generation. In order to create the next generation of infrastructure that explores how nature can act as infrastructure to meet development and ecological sustainability, artificial plantings have been attempted on dam slopes in Korea since 2000. As the planted trees are now stabilized to form a forest, it is time to study the floral characteristics and functions for effective ecological management and the safety of the dams. In this study, we investigated and analyzed flora in the slopes of eight dams in Korea. The comparative study of the whole flora in both the planted zones of the slopes of dams and left and right forests of dams revealed that the number of plant species was higher in the planted zones than in the left and right forests of the same size area. The plant family containing the greatest number of species in the slopes was Asteraceae, followed by Poaceae, Fabaceae, and Rosaceae. Currently, the community structures and families in the slopes of dams exhibit the characteristics of habitats in the initial stage of vegetation succession. Our investigation of planted species and immigration species in the slopes revealed that the latter comprised 89.9%. An average of 34.4% of species were interacting with the dam slope and the left and right forests. The species diversity index on dam slopes showed a tendency to be higher as the number of planted species increased and the period time increased. Average growth heights of planted trees were identified as 0.5–1.6 m for the shrubs layer, 3.5–4.5 m for the small trees layer, and 6.0–7.2 m for the trees layer. The heights of major trees, including Pinus densiflora, Quercus spp., Prunus sargentii, Styrax japonicus, and Cornus controversa, were similar to or higher than those of their counterparts in natural forests. As a result, dam slopes were similar to natural forests, having potential as habitats for various flora. To harmoniously maintain the ecological health and safety of water resource facilities of the slopes of dams, however, it is necessary to conduct periodic and various investigations on changes of the flora and growth of trees, and actively manage them.