Evolution of the Landscape and Spatial Distribution of Citrus Orchards in Jeju Island, Korea (1526-2019)

Abstract

The citrus orchard landscape in Jeju Island, South Korea has important cultural heritage value. It is a unique agricultural landscape shaped by local people, using the special climate, hydrology, and vegetation environment of Jeju Island. The Joseon Dynasty in the 16th century established a tribute system for citrus. The Jeju government also set up a citrus garden. Since then, the regional distribution and geographic landscape of citrus groves on Jeju Island have experienced great changes. This paper combines natural factors, such as climate and water resources, with human factors, such as Korean citrus industry policies, the market, social changes, and technological progress to study the changes in the landscape and spatial distribution of citrus orchards in Jeju Island since the 15th century, and analyzes the driving forces behind the spatial changes in citrus production on Jeju Island. The results show the following. From the 16th century to 2019, citrus production on Jeju Island experienced development-historically significant ups and downs of decline and strong revival. A large migration of production space from north to south was found. The space for citrus production has expanded gradually, and the production of citrus orchards on Jeju Island has undergone a transformation from government orchards in the Joseon period to a modern experiential farm for tourism. The driving forces for citrus production space changes and geographic landscape changes are complex. Water resources were the main natural factor affecting the distribution of citrus groves during the Joseon Dynasty. The social system, transportation, and market were the main factors influencing the expansion of citrus orchard production space from the 16th century to modern times. During the development of and changes in citrus production space over the past five hundred years, human factors have continuously strengthened and influenced the optimization and adjustment of citrus space and the geographical landscape. Since the 1970s, advances in water resource development technology have changed the spatial distribution pattern of modern citrus orchards. Research on the long-term production space and geographic landscape changes in Jeju Island, and their mechanism of citrus orchards, can create a cultural landscape of citrus orchards with local characteristics for traditional citrus cultivation areas in China. It can also provides references for folk customs, cultural products, and the upgrading and development of China's citrus industry.

Keywords

• jeju island
• citrus farms
• joseon dynasty
• agricultural production space
• landscape changes