Pines on the Korean Peninsula in danger of dying..."Climate stress is to blame".

[Anchor]
Trees representing our country and pine trees with the life and spirit of the people are on the verge of dying as a group.

The so-called "climate stress" caused by rapid climate change such as global warming is cited as the cause, and it seems urgent to come up with countermeasures.

Reporter Baek Jong-gyu reports.

[Reporter]
This is Uljin, Gyeongsangbuk-do, the largest habitat of Geumgang pine trees in Korea, last winter.On the slopes of

white snow, pine trees are uprooted even in the deep mountains.

This phenomenon occurred as the moisture-containing snow continued to fall after the spring drought, which has never happened before.

Environmental groups cited climate change caused by global warming as the cause of this phenomenon.

[Seo Jae-cheol / Green Korea Association expert: The amount of photosynthesis is trying to increase because the weather is warm, but the lack of water supply caused stress and accumulated stress....]

However, Uljin, Gyeongsangbuk-do, was not the only place where pine trees were dying helplessly.

Researchers at the National Park Service surveyed pine trees in major national parks last year:
There were 480 pine trees in Taebaeksan Mountain, 41 in Seoraksan Mountain, 34 in Sobaeksan Mountain, 11 in Odaesan Mountain, and 4 in Chiaksan Mountain.

In particular, a group death phenomenon was confirmed near Jangsudae in Seoraksan Mountain, Jorokbawibong Peak and Sarijae in Taebaeksan Mountain.

Researchers comprehensively analyzed variables such as sea level and location index,
Among the total pine trees on Mt. Seorak
, 47.8% are on the verge of dying.

In the case of Chiaksan Mountain, more than 40% of these pine trees were in the 30% range of Taebaeksan Mountain, and about 20% of Sobaeksan Mountain and Odaesan Mountain.

The high-altitude pine was distributed around the low-altitude slope, that is, the rock zone.

Experts are also speculating that 'climate stress' is the cause of this phenomenon.

[Myeong Hyun-ho / Director of the Korea National Park Service's Climate Change Research Center: Continuous climate change may lead to long-term stress and loss of physiological and ecological balance, which will shorten the lifespan compared to good environments in the past.]

Pine forests are vast, accounting for 36.9% of all forests in Korea.

For this reason, the impact of the pine tree death on the ecosystem is unimaginable, and it is time to consider that the damage will not stop at just pine trees.

I'm BAEK JONG KYU of YTN.