Changes in Riparian Vegetation After Restoration in a Urban Stream, Yangjae Stream

The changes in flora and distribution and structure of vegetation were monitored for seven years at a restored reach of an urban stream, the Yangjae Stream, southeast of Seoul, Korea. In the restored reach, diverse kinds of the close-to-nature stream restoration techniques were adapted and implemented in the winter of 1998-1999. The species numbers and diversity indices of riparian plants at the restored reach were higher than those at the unrestored reach seven years after the restoration implementation. But plant diversity was decreased from the early restoration stage of 1999 2001 to seven years after the implementation. The dominant species changed from a ruderal annual, Humulus japonicus, to a perennial, Phragmites australis. The floral structure was distinctly different between in the early stage and seven years later on the results of principal component analysis (PCA) because of decreasing in numbers of exotic or ruderal species and planted or introduced plants in newly disturbed habitats. The distribution areas of communities of Humulus japonicus and Erigeron annuus were decreased and those of communities Phragmites australis and Miscanthus sacchariflorus were increased after the restoration implementation. The results of detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) of plant communities revealed that the community structure were changed from the disturbed vegetations to the stable and natural vegetation after the restoration implementation. Total seven species of willows were found at the restored reach, of which two species were planted and the others were naturally introduced. The monitoring results showed that the stream ecosystem of the study reach were successfully recovered in flora and vegetation and could be used as a model site for the stream restoration in urban streams.