To maintain a rich biological diversity is important to develop for biomaterial resources such as Korean evergreen broad-leaved tree species, the distribution of which is restricted to the southern part of Korean peninsula. We assessed photosynthetic characteristics of Quercus acuta and Castanopsis sieboldii, the representative evergreen broad-leaved trees in Korea, in order to establish a basis for conservation strategy related to distributional change in evergreen broad-leaved tree species according to climate change. Photosynthetic characteristics were evaluated in the sun and shade leaves of the two species. Sun leaves in both species revealed higher light compensation point and maximum photosynthetic rate compared to the shade leaves. In addition, photosynthetic rate was higher in Q. acuta than C. sieboldii, which was supported by a higher leaf nitrogen content and leaf mass per area. Water use efficiency was also higher in Q. acuta as compared to that in C. sieboldii. Similar photosynthetic rate, however, was shown in photosynthetic response to CO2 concentration in the intercellular space. These results suggest that both species could respond differently to the changing environmental factors including climate change, suggesting the possibility of distributional changes resulting from a differential growth rate.

Abstract
 1. Introduction
 2. Materials and Methods
  2.1. Study site and species
  2.2. Gas exchange measurement and leaf characteristics
 3. Results and Discussion
  3.1. Photosynthetic traits
 4. Conclusion
 REFERENCES

• Dong-Hak Kim(Department of Life Science, Cheongju University)
• Yong Mok Park(Department of Life Science, Cheongju University) Corresponding author