The Sinan Dadohae Biosphere Reserve is located in the southwest of the

Republic of Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its ea ...

and consists of 1,000 islands including

Heuksando Heuksando is an island in the Yellow Sea located off 97.2 km from the southwest coast of Mokpo, Jeollanam-do, South Korea. It covers an area of 19.7 km2 and consists of several peaks: Munamsan (문암산/ 400m), Gitdaebong (깃대봉/ 378m), ...

Hongdo Hongdo is an island in the Yellow Sea located 115 km from the southwest coast of Mokpo port, Jeollanam-do, South Korea. It covers an area of 6.47 km² and consists of steep mountain range, the highest peaks of which are Gitdaebong (� ...

, Bigeumdo, Dochodo and Jeungdo. The total area consists of five hundreds islands, with more than 1,000 km of coastline. A large tidal flat, an important habitat for marine animals and rare migratory birds, also supports fishing and salt production for local people.

Ecology

There are four distinct ecological zones in the reserve. The temperate evergreen broadleaf forest includes dominant species such as ''

Castanopsis cuspidata ''Castanopsis cuspidata'' (Japanese chinquapin; Japanese tsuburajii, 円椎) is a species of ''Castanopsis'' native to southern Japan and southern Korea. It is a medium-sized evergreen tree growing to 20–30 m tall, related to beech and oak. ...

'', silver magnolia, and camellia trees. There are also herbaceous plants such as ''

Ardisia japonica ''Ardisia japonica'', known as marlberry, is a species of ''Ardisia'' native to eastern Asia, in eastern China, Japan and Korea.Flora of China''Ardisia japonica''/ref> Growth It is a low-growing, spreading very quickly evergreen shrub 20–40& ...

'', ''

Hedera rhombea ''Hedera rhombea'', the Japanese ivy or songak, is a species of ivy in the Araliaceae family native to East Asia. Formerly named ''Hedera pedunculata'', some subspecies could be subsequently classified as a distinct species. It is common on rocky ...

'', Saeri trees, and '' Kalopanax pictus''. The dune vegetation zone includes '' Ischaemum anthephoroides'', ''

Zoysia macrostachya ''Zoysia'' (;"Zoysia."
entry at CollinsDictionary.com. Retrieved 5 September 2021. , -, ...

'', '' Vitex rotundifolia'', ''

Calystegia soldanella The morning glory ''Calystegia soldanella'' (syn. ''Convolvulus soldanella'') is a species of bindweed known by various common names such as sea bindweed, seashore false bindweed, shore bindweed, shore convolvulus and beach morning glory. Descri ...

'', '' Messerschmidia sibirica'', and a colony of '' Carex kobomugi'' on Jeungdo Island. Several unusual species, including ''

Phragmites communis ''Phragmites australis'', known as the common reed, is a species of plant. It is a broadly distributed wetland grass that can grow up to tall. Description ''Phragmites australis'' commonly forms extensive stands (known as reed beds), which may ...

'' and '' Vitex rotundifolia'' are distributed throughout the dunes. There are a number of uninhabited islands that contain evergreen coniferous forest zones. This zone includes a colony of Japanese black pine trees on the seashores and hill sides. The tidal flat zone includes wetland and coastal areas. ''

Phragmites ''Phragmites'' () is a genus of four species of large perennial reed grasses found in wetlands throughout temperate and tropical regions of the world. Taxonomy The World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, maintained by Kew Garden in L ...

'' reed communities are dominant in wetland areas. In the coastal area, various saltmarsh plants are developing such as halophyte communities. Many biological organisms are in the inter-tidal zone. The surface of the tidal flat is an important habitat for diatoms and plankton. Due to the complexity of ecological circulation and the food chain, many shells and invertebrate are found here. The biosphere reserves has two sites that are part of the Ramsar Wetland Convention, Jangdo Island High Moor and Jeungdo Tidal Flat.

Socio-economic characteristics

Research is being conducted in order to develop areas for mountain climbing and recreation. Businesses based on indigenous knowledge are conducted within the tidal flats and Dadohae National Park. Sun dried salt is a local specialty that is produced in the tidal flats. Eco-friendly fishery and fish breeding is conducted in the transitional areas.

References

{{Free-content attribution, , title = UNESCO - MAB Biosphere Reserves Directory , author = , publisher = UNESCO , source= , documentURL = http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/environment/ecological-sciences/biosphere-reserves/asia-and-the-pacific/republic-of-korea/sinan-dadohae/ , License statement URL = http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/environment/ecological-sciences/biosphere-reserves/world-network-wnbr/wnbr/ , license = CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0 Sinan County, South Jeolla Biosphere reserves of South Korea