This study presents a survey of bryophytes in a subtropical forest of Nabeup-ri, known as Geumsan Park, located at Aewol Gotjawal in the northwestern part of Jejudo Island, Korea. A total of 63 taxa belonging to Bryophyta (22 families 37 genera 44 species), Marchantiophyta (7 families 11 genera 18 species), and Anthocerotophyta (1 family 1 genus 1 species) were determined, and the liverwort index was 30.2%. The predominant life form was the mat form. The rates of bryophytes dominating in mesic to hygric sites were higher than the bryophytes mainly observed in xeric habitats. These values indicate that such forests are widespread in this study area. Moreover, the rock was the substrate type, which plays a major role in providing micro-habitats for bryophytes. We suggest that more detailed studies of the bryophyte flora should be conducted on a regional scale to provide basic data for selecting indicator species of Gotjawal and evergreen broad-leaved forests on Jejudo Island.

This study presents a survey of the bryophytes of evergreen broad-leaved forest near Baekyaki Oreum in Gujwa-Seongsan Gotjawal in the eastern part of Jejudo Island, Korea. A total of 53 taxa belonging to Bryophyta (11 families 26 genera 39 species) and Marchantiophyta (9 families, 9 genera 14 species) were determined, and the liverwort index was found to be 26.4%. The predominant life-form was the mat type. The rates of bryophytes dominating at mesic to hygric sites were higher than those of bryophytes, which were mainly observed in xeric habitats. These values indicate that the forest areas in this study area have a high density level. Upon an investigation of the substrates, bryophytes on rocks were most diverse. It was also found that volcanic rock masses of various sizes lay scattered over the study area and offer numerous micro-habitats for bryophytes. This is related to the characteristics of Gotjawal. We consider that more detailed studies should be conducted on regional scales to establish the bryophyte flora of Gotjawal and the evergreen broad-leaved forests of Jejudo Island.

Ji Seon Lee, Eun-Young Yim* and Kwang Soo Lee. J Ecol Environ 2025;49:. https://doi.org/10.5141/jee.25.076

This study investigates the host diversity and characteristics of the rare parasitic plant Silverberry-like taxillus (Taxillus yadoriki). Seogwipo, Jeju Island, where T. yadoriki grows naturally, was examined to clarify the diversity of host species, their location, and the part of the tree where T. yadoriki is attached. A total of 687 host trees were found. Taxillus yadoriki was intensively distributed in the lowlands below 200 m a.s.l. The host trees belonged to 40 species, four varieties, three cultivars, and two hybrids from 32 genera and 21 families, of which 23 taxa were identified as host plants for the first time in this study. Incredibly, this plant was found to be able to parasitize a variety of plants from 12 orders. Taxillus yadoriki was found to be parasitic in three orders of Gymnosperms, Ginkgoales, Cupressales, and Pinales, as well as nine orders of Angiosperms, including Magnoliales, Rosales, and Ericales. Rosaceae was the most diverse at 18.0%, and most species were broad-leaved and arboreal. Among them, Cryptomeria japonica and Litsea japonica had the highest frequency of parasitization and T. yadoriki was mainly attached to the upper part of the main tree and the main branch; as a result, T. yadoriki was distributed and showed specificity in the position of disturbance on the host. T. yadoriki’s specific distribution model was built as a Maxent program. The area under the curve of the receiver operation characteristic was 0.948 ± 0.026 (mean ± standard deviation), and the performance of the constructed model was excellent. Of the total eight environmental factors, density of artistic forest and meant temperature of coldest quarter accounted for 75.3% of the total importance, which was the main distribution determinant of species. In the average distribution probability map of T. yadoriki, the critical probability for determining distribution was calculated to be 0.2898 ± 0.1018. Accordingly, the distribution of species is predicted to expand from Jeju Island to the entire southern and southeastern coasts.

Recently, it has become known that Gotjawal terrain is an important area, therefore the study on this area has conducted in the geological, ecological, and cultural aspects. The studies on bryophytes of Gotjawal, however, have not been sufficiently performed. This study presents a survey on the bryophytes of the evergreen broad-leaved forest of Cheongsu-ri at Hangyeong Gotjawal in the southwestern part of Jejudo Island, Korea. A total of 72 taxa belonging to the Bryophyta (18 families 43 genera 55 species) and Marchantiophyta (11 families 13 genera 17 species) were determined and the liverwort index was 23.6%. Predominant life-form was weft. The rates of the bryophytes dominating in mesic to hygric sites were higher than the bryophytes mainly observed in xeric habitats. These values indicate that the forests are widespread and dense in this study area. Upon an investigation of the substrates, the bryophytes on rocks were most diverse. The results appear to stem from the fact that volcanic rock masses of various sizes lay scattered over the study area, offering numerous micro-habitats for bryophyte due to one of the characteristics of Gotjawal. We suggest that more detailed studies should be conducted at the regional scale to establish the bryophyte flora of Gotjawal and the evergreen broad-leaved forests on Jejudo Island.

Background: Bryophytes are a group of three non-vascular land plant divisions, consisting of approximately 18,000 species known globally. These species are divided into mosses (Bryophyta), liverworts (Marchantiophyta) and hornworts (Anthocerotophyta). Approximately 900 species of bryophytes have been recorded in Korea. However, only a small number of researchers have discovered new taxa and conducted taxonomic review. Therefore, Bryophytes are still considered an unexplored field and are difficult to use as a resource. We describes a preliminary evaluation of the biological activity on Marchantia polymorpha L., a common liverwort species. Methods and Results: Studies on the anti-inflammatory effect were conducted to screen for biological activity. M. polymorpha was extracted using 70% ethanol (MPE). We examined the inhibitory effects of MPE on the production of pro-inflammatory factors [e. g., interleukin-1β (IL-1β) interleukin-6 (IL-6), nitricoxide (NO), and prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂)] in murine macrophage cell-line RAW 264.7 activated with LPS (lipopolysaccharide). MPE decreased the production of NO and PGE₂. Aditionally, MPE inhibited the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines (e. g., IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α). Conclusions: These results suggest that MPE has significant effects on pro-inflammatory factors and that M. polymorpha is a possible anti-inflammatory therapeutic plant.