지리산지역의 구례 야생 차나무 분포현황과 생태적 특성

Abstract

Gurye-gun, located in south Jeollanam-do of Korea is the heart of Jirisan and the natural ecology of Seomjin River. It conserves many histories of tea origin including a tea offering statue inside of the 3 storied 4 lion pagoda in Hwaeomsa temple and the tea cup of Yaksayeore (Medicine Buddha) in Saseongam temple. Also, it is known to be the first place where tea tree had ever been planted in Korea. Gurye which is located in Jirisan, has a wide distribution of wild tea tree colonies and is geographically connected with teas in various ways throughout history. However, in reality the tea industry or its culture hasn’t been flourishing much considering Gurye being the origin of wild tea. There is not enough research for wild tea and its ecological characteristics either. This research was focused on Gurye, which is considered to be the origin of wild tea in Jirisan Mountain, and identified the distribution and environmental characteristics of the wild tea trees in the region. As a result, it is found that the wild tea trees in Jirisan region tend to grow in places near old temples, and so has close relations with the Buddhist culture. The colony of wild tea trees in this region show differences in altitude above sea level, cardinal directions and inclination. The wild tea trees remaining today live in high altitude above sea level and high inclination, therefore, it is believed to have been able to maintain the wildness due to the difficulty for other plants invading the area which they grow in. The colony of the tea trees in Gurye were especially high overall with 240~510 m of altitude above sea level. It also shows that they have different habitat environment in the research for the wild tea trees in Gurye. In order to have the competent resource for the future study, it is suggested to analyze and compare the green teas made out of the tea leaves from Gurye and different regions. This will be a useful foundation for the related research study. In conclusion, it is suggested to pursue the research study in depth on the tea trees in Gurye, especially on the weather conditions throughout the year and physiochemical characteristics of the soils that affect the growth of the tea trees. It is because environmental factors are the essential key that affect the physiochemical features of the tea trees. It is expected to have further studies on the physical characteristics of the tea trees of each colony in Gurye and the correlation among them through Molecular biological test such as DNA test for those hard to differentiate their species by the physical features. Also, it is considered that there should be a further study for the characteristics of tea producing methods in Gurye as well as restoration of the traditional tea producing methods of other temples, such as Hwaeomsa, Cheoneunsa and Yeongoksa.