Article Diagnostic Assessment and Restoration Plan for Damaged Forest around the Seokpo Zinc Smelter, Central Eastern Korea A Reum Kim 1 , Bong Soon Lim 1 , Jaewon Seol 1, Chi Hong Lim 2 , Young Han You 3, Wan Sup Lee 4 and Chang Seok Lee 1,* 1 Division of Chemistry and Bio-Environmental Sciences, Seoul Women’s University, Seoul 01797, Korea;
[email protected] (A.R.K.);
[email protected] (B.S.L.);
[email protected] (J.S.) 2 Division of Ecological Survey Research, National Institute of Ecology, Seoul 33657, Korea;
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[email protected]; Tel.: +82-2-970-5666 Abstract: Research Highlights: This study was carried out to diagnose the forest ecosystem damaged by air pollution and to then develop a restoration plan to be used in the future. The restoration plan was prepared by combining the diagnostic assessment for the damaged forest ecosystem and the reference information obtained from the conservation reserve with an intact forest ecosystem. The restoration plan includes the method for the amelioration of the acidified soil and the plant species to be introduced for restoration of the damaged vegetation depending on the degree of damage. Background and Objectives: The forest ecosystem around the Seokpo smelter was so severely damaged that denuded lands without any vegetation appear, and landslides continue. Therefore, Citation: Kim, R.A.; Lim, B.S.; Seol, restoration actions are urgently required to prevent more land degradation.