A second prime area for this pheasant is along the east-central 
coast between the Taebaek mountain range and the Sea of Japan. This 
area is very narrow in width and about 200 miles in length. Hills 
are from 300 to 2,000 feet in elevation. Pine trees and oaks are 
common on the hillsides. Mild winters occur here and, because only 
a small amount of land is available for cultivation, the human popula- 
tion is sparse. 
The most southern habitat of the South Korean ring-necked pheas- 
ant is on Cheju Do, the largest Korean island, some sixty miles off 
the southwestern coast. This island, of volcanic origin, is 718 square 
miles in extent and has an extremely mild climate. Due to poor soil 
conditions the land is bare or grass covered with a limited amount of 
agricultural land. Only hardy cereals, such as millet, barley, and 
buckwheat, are grown on the lower mountain slopes together with soy-~ 
beans and sweet potatoes. 
The soils of Korea are generally not too fertile; only in the 
eroded alluvial deposits of the lowlands can be found productive agri- 
cultural lands. Volcanic activity has stopped and earthquakes seldom 
occur. More than half of the Korean peninsula land area is composed 
of soils evolving from gneisses and granites. These deposits are not 
true soils, as noted by McCune (11), but are immature soils greatly 
changed by man's activities through the centuries. 
A somewhat more detailed description of the vegetation-character~ 
izing the’ principal pheasant habitats mentioned above, is informative. 
In portions. of northern and west-central South Korea, adjacent to 
croplands, one often finds grassy hillsides with brush and low stands 
of oaks, pines and alders. Located below 3,000 feet in elevation, oaks 
(Quercus spp.) are the predominant tree species while black pine (Pinus 
thunbergii) is plentiful. Other tree species include bamboos (Euonymus 
alatus), spindle tree (Euonymus japonicus), Fagara schinifolia, 
Aphananthe aspera, walnut (Platycarya strobclacea), and Prunus serrulata 
var. spondanea, 
Transplanted forest species, also present and utilized for cover 
and/or food by this ringneck, include red pine (Pinus densiflora), 
Korean white pine (Pinus korarensis), chestnut (Castanea crenata), 
larch (Larix spp.), oak (Quercus acutissima), Zelkova (Zelkova serrata), 
lacquer tree (Rhus verniciflua), acacia (Robinia pseudacacia), and 
alder (Alnus japonica). 
In the warmer portions of South Korea, south of about latitude 
35°N. and at lower elevations, are located scattered patches of pine, 
bamboo and other deciduous species. Cheju Do Island is included in 
this vegetation picture. On this island predominant tree species are: 
black pine, red pine, Cephalotexus koreana, evergreen oak (Cyclobalan- 
opsis myrsinaefolia), elm (Ulmus davidiana var. japonica), Aphananthe 
aspera, Ligustrum japonicum; camellia (Camellia japonica var. spintanea), 
Quercus major, and Machilus thunbergii. 

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