Eun Su Kang1P, Jaewon Seol2, Ju Eun Jang1, Su-Young Jung1, Hye Been Kim1, Dong Chan Son1

1Division of Forest Biodiversity, Korea National Arboretum, Pocheon, Korea

2Division of Forest Biodiversity Conservation, Korea National Arboretum, Pocheon, Korea

We applied barrier- and stage-based biological invasion frameworks to 428 alien plant taxa listed in the Checklist of Vascular Plants in Korea (Korea National Arboretum) and assessed their characteristics, spread levels, and Rabinowitz rarity types. Alien plants in the Republic of Korea were classified into 141 casual alien plants (CAPs) and 287 naturalized plants (NPs), including 56 invasive plants (IPs). The current occurrence of 36 CAP taxa remained uncertain. Among NPs, 96 taxa showed “concerned spread (CS)” or higher, and 17 taxa were designated for management and regulation. Based on introduction time, neophytes accounted for 407 taxa, far exceeding archaeophytes, suggesting that increased international exchange may be associated with alien plant introductions. By spread level, PS was the most frequent category (289 taxa), followed by WS (51), MS (45), NS (22), and SS (21). Rabinowitz rarity analysis indicated that most taxa belonged to the Common type (389), with smaller numbers in Type 1 (24), Type 2 (10), and Type 3 (5). Overall, the proportion of IPs appears low and most taxa fall within low spread levels. However, the dominance of the Common type suggests that many alien plants have broad habitat use and high potential for forming dense populations, implying that invasive plants (IPs) may increase under continued disturbance and climate change. Therefore, continuous documentation and categorization of alien plants, along with systematic monitoring and management strategies, are needed to mitigate future invasion risks.