An environmental group has released a report warning that conifers along the Baekdudaegan mountain range are dying en masse due to the deepening climate crisis. Korean fir and spruce trees — Korean fir being the original species behind Christmas trees — have already entered the stage of "extinction," the report confirmed.
Green Korea United published the "Baekdudaegan National Park Climate Crisis Conifer Report" on Saturday, Arbor Day in Korea, stating that "the biodiversity crisis caused by climate change has been confirmed across the Baekdudaegan range and national parks." The group said Korean fir and spruce trees "are rapidly dying off in large groups, centered on Hallasan and Jirisan."
According to the report, Korean fir — a species that grows only in the high-altitude areas of the southern Korean Peninsula — is dying from compounded stress linked to climate change, including reduced winter snowfall.
Korean fir trees depend on moisture supplied by snow that accumulates in winter and gradually melts through spring. Snowfall in the subalpine zones of the Korean Peninsula — areas between approximately 1,300 and 1,900 meters above sea level where Korean fir is found, including Jirisan, Hallasan and Seoraksan — has dropped to 30 percent of 1990s levels over the past decade.
"On Hallasan, dead Korean fir trees began to be observed around 2005, and mass die-off patterns emerged from 2009," Green Korea United said. "Over the past five years, 10 to 20 trees dying simultaneously within a single colony has become a recurring phenomenon."
The group noted that "the pattern of conifer die-off itself is consistent with what has been observed in Europe, North America and other regions, but conifers on the Korean Peninsula are more directly affected by high temperatures, drought and aridity because the peninsula sits at the southernmost edge of the continent." In particular, Korean fir and spruce on Jirisan and Hallasan inhabit some of the highest areas on the peninsula, leaving them unable to migrate to higher elevations, with no connecting corridor to shift their habitat northward, the group analyzed.
The group also pointed out that the government response has been inadequate. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) listed Korean fir as "Endangered" (EN) on its Red List in 2013, yet the species is not a legally protected species in Korea, and the government has not even conducted an investigation into the mass die-off, the report noted.
"Thirty-four percent of the world's conifer species are threatened with extinction, making them the fastest plant group approaching extinction," Green Korea United stressed. "This demonstrates a biodiversity crisis that requires preparedness."
The group also warned that "the increase in dead trees raises the likelihood of landslides, and fallen or broken trees along hiking trails could threaten visitor safety, potentially leading to secondary damage."