## 3 Discussion
This suggested that coniferous forests are more suitable for growing WSG than mixed forests as an aspect of growth, although mixed forests might be more suitable for growing WSG in terms of pharmacological efficacy. However, the root weight (RW) and dry weight (DW) of WSG collected from coniferous forests were less than half of that of WSG collected from mixed forests before the ginsenoside content was analyzed, suggesting that the same amount of WSG might have a higher content per unit mass. Among the various meteorological conditions measured in this study, solar radiation was significantly higher in the mixed forest WSG experimental site than in the coniferous forest WSG experimental site over the entire period (Figure 1C). Solar radiation plays a crucial role in plant photosynthesis. Thus, it can be hypothesized that the biosynthesis of various bioactive substances, including ginsenosides and active components of WSG, would be more active in mixed forest [50; 51; 52; 53; 54; 55; 56]. The results of ginsenoside content in this study also supported this hypothesis as total contents of 21 ginsenosides and most ginsenosides except for mRb1, Rb1, and Ro were higher in WSG cultivated in mixed forest. The active ingredients of most medicinal crops are secondary metabolites, which are known to play a very important role in mechanisms by which plants can defend themselves in stressful environments [57]. Ginsenosides are representative secondary metabolites of Panax ginseng [58]. They are known to have antioxidant, anti-aging, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and health-improving activities [59; 60]. The composition and content of ginsenosides can vary depending on the growing environ ment of WSG, with more harsh environments producing more ginsenosides as a defense mechanism for the plant [61; 62]. The ginsenoside content of ginseng may also depend on the planting spacing of WSG. [PERSON] et al. [63] have shown that planting at a certain spacing (8 \(\times\) 8 cm or 10 \(\times\) 10 cm) can result in a higher ginseng content. However, planting quite close together resulted in an accumulation of phytohormones and metabolites related to antioxidants and other stress resistances, suggesting that both the growing environment and planting method are related to the ginseng content. Effects of Soil Chemical Properties, Growth Characteristics, and Ginsenoside Content of Wild-Simulated Ginseng  
Since WSG should be cultivated in natural forest soils for a long period of time without using chemically synthesized pesticides or fertilizers, soil properties, soil microbial communities, and the vegetation environment, including the dominant tree species on the site, play a very important role [64; 65]. The high organic matter content in the soil is thought to increase the growth of WSG since it allows plants to absorb nitrogen through nitrogen mineralization [66]. In addition, the uptake of potassium is known to promote the uptake of nitrate, since plants take up potassium ion and nitrate simultaneously from the soil by symporter transporter proteins present in plant cell membrane [67; 68]. As contents of exchangeable potassium and total nitrogen showed significant positive correlations with the growth of WSG, it could be assumed that higher amounts of nitrogen and potassium in the soil could make it easier for the plant to absorb nitrate and potassium into the plant body and promote plant growth. On the other hand, most of the phosphorus in the soil are in an organic state. Since phosphorus is immobilized through the decomposition process by microorganisms, it is difficult for phosphorus to be used by plants due to its low mobility. This might explain why it does not show a significant correlation with plant growth [69; 70]. The community and diversity of plants comprising a plantation can influence the physical and chemical properties of forest soils [71; 72].