Protected areas are the cornerstone of conservation strategies worldwide. Recent studies however found extensive loss of forest habitat around protected areas, vastly contributing to increase the levels of ecological isolation. Jirisan national park (IUCN status 2) is the first designed (1967) and biggest national park (472km2) in South Korea. In the first trial on the species restoration, since 2004, Asiatic Black Bears (Ursus thibetanus ussuricus) reintroduced from North Korea and Russia have been conserved in the park. We used satellite data to estimate the extent of forest habitat and loss for the period 1991-2007 within the park and in a 5km peripheral buffer. Five administrative districts (Namwon, Gurye, Handong, Sancheong and Hamyang) in the park were also analyzed using selected fragmentation indices to quantify temporal trends on habitat fragmentation and the result was compared. Implications of the loss of forest within and surrounding the park were discussed through the calculation of the species richness capacity (SRC).

Results/Conclusions

 More than 27.4% of forest habitat was lost in the park peripheral areas, while 0.2% was converted inside the park. The degree of fragmentation of remnant forest habitat has also drastically increased. The number of forest patches has been increased and the patch size has been smaller. Smaller size reduces the habitat potential of wildlife such as Asiatic Black Bear which consequently needs to move in search of more suitable habitats. The forest in Namwon was the most fragmented and Sancheong represented the rapid fragmentation during this study years. Despite the effectiveness of the park conservation programs, we found through the SRC approach that the potential capacity of Jinisan national park to conserve species richness was decreasing. This result is primarily due to development activities taking place around the park. Protected areas depend upon, and interact with the surrounding habitats which influence their fundamental ecological flows and capacity to conserve biodiversity. A better understanding of the ecological and socioeconomic dynamics occurring in the surrounding protected areas is a key factor to achieve conservation goals in protected areas.