• Journal of agriculture & life science
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.125-136
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• 2016

The Korea Forest Service(KFS) has been initiating restoration activities of ridgeline in damaged and fragmented areas of Baekdudaegan since 2011. Completed project in Ihwaryeong, Yuksimnyeong & Beoljae(2012; 2013) were selected as sites for this study. The changes in microclimate condition, vegetation composition and soil properties between project sites and adjacent stands were compared to evaluate the effect of restoration at early stage(after 2years). Pinus densiflora was planted mainly for these restoration sites, however Robinia pseudoacacia and Alnus sibirica invaded the area two years after the restoration activities. Ihwaryeong showed the most changes in understory vegetation among the study sites. Exotic species, such as Ambrosia artemisiifolia, Oenothera odorata, Erigeron annuus, and Coreopsis tinctoria invaded Ihwaryeong, and the dominance have invaded currently. It resulted from the poor survival rate of trees and high difference in microclimate wherein there's an increased temperature and decreased humidity in both restored sites and adjacent stands. In addition, it is also caused by poor soil chemical property, especially pH and organic matter content due to lack of humus layer and its accumulation, compared to adjacent forest soil in restored sites. Significant difference on chemical soil property was observed between restored sites and adjacent forest but no significant difference was observed after two years of restoration. Ecological monitoring is needed to understand the ecological changes after restoration and to establish a long-term management strategy.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.481-495
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• 2022

This study was designed to identify the actual state of naturalized plants and invasive alien species that cause disturbances to the ecosystem, plants which are introduced after forest restoration, and explore the implications resulting from the project. Onsite examination included 29 sites which have been subjected to forest restoration by the Korea Forest Service. Once these were chosen, activity took place twice a year in the spring (May-June) and in the summer (August-September) in 2020 and 2021. Areas not relevant to the project sites were excluded from this activity so that we could identify the plants that could be understood to have been introduced or brought into the site after the actual forest restoration. And the correlation was analyzed, between the naturalized flora within the project sites and the working types applied to the site through confirmation of completion of the restoration project. The naturalized plants appearing on the entire site cover a total of 109 taxa, which includes 29 families, 80 genera, 108 species and 1 subspecies, while invasive plants included 3 families, 7 genera and 8 species. The number of classifications and the naturalization rate gradually decreased over time, after the project. While there was no significant difference between the number of classification groups and the naturalization rate for naturalized plants between project sites, given the number of taxa of naturalized plants, organized by type of damage, there were relatively more naturalized plants that appeared in the severed section of the Baekdudaegan Mountain Range, as well as at quarry and facility sites. Seeding apparently results in naturalization rates as high as 15.545%, on average, based on comparisons of naturalization rates by sowing, seeding, planting, herb planting, and sod pitching channels, all of these being methods of vegetation for planting/greening of bareland and slopes within the project areas. With no seeding, it was 9.167%, higher than the average. As for other vegetation, there was no significant difference depending on application of the working type. This means that unlike the plants subjected to planting, the working type of seed planting which makes it difficult to identify whether a certain plant is a naturalized plant greatly affects the introduction of naturalized plants to the restoration sites, even when using herb planting and sod pitching to control plants and results. Therefore the study suggests that there be inspection by experts of seeds when sowing within restoration sites. The results of this study suggest good practices that will help to direct effective vegetation restoration and follow-up management.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.113 no.1
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• pp.118-130
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• 2024

Rehabilitation of mining areas can reduce damage to ecosystems. However, the effects of rehabilitation on ecosystem services (ESs) and its contribution to local communities are not well known. Thus, the aims of this study were to clearly identify the ES beneficiaries affected by mining activities, to determine how the beneficiaries profit from surrounding areas in cooperation with local stakeholders, and to manage the rehabilitation areas for the ESs that the beneficiaries want. This study chose 18 ESs (4 provisioning, 7 regulating, 5 cultural, and 2 habitat services) based on The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity. A semi-structured questionnaire survey using an 11-point Likert scale was conducted among 87 community residents to investigate social awareness and identify key ESs. The survey results from two local communities showed high awareness and demands mainly on cultural (mental and physical health, aesthetic appreciation, and recreation) and regulating services (local climate and air quality, and moderation of extreme events). These services were related to the daily lives of residents in local communities, provided positive benefits, and potentially improved the residents' future livelihoods. However, the average questionnaire scores were limited to 6-7 points, indicating that the benefits to local communities were meager. The residents' awareness of provisioning service was negative, even if it provided goods and profit opportunities. This indicated a disconnection between local communities and provisioning services due to forest rehabilitation that did not consider local communities that traditionally relied on specific provisioning services before the onset of mining activities. Future forest rehabilitation in abandoned mine areas must consider the welfare of local communities for sustainable use of rehabilitated forests and enhancing ESs. In this study, only a qualitative evaluation based on frequency analyses was conducted. The quantification and valuation of key ESs are warranted in the future to promote ESs from forest rehabilitation in abandoned mine areas. The study results would be useful for developing site-specific ES promotion strategies for reforesting mine areas.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.57 no.2
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• pp.75-82
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• 2024

This study examined the spatial morphological patterns of forest habitats and the characteristics of roadkill occurrences in the forests of Mungyeong, Yecheon, Yeongju, Andong, and Bonghwa in Gyeongsangbukdo. It involved building a resistance map between habitats and analyzing connectivity based on the least-cost distance. The analysis of the distance between the forest habitat Cores derived from MSPA and roadkill points showed that roadkill occurrences were concentrated approximately 74.11 m away from the Cores, with most roadkills happening within 360m from the habitats. The connectivity analysis between core habitats larger than 1 km² revealed 141 core habitats and 242 least-cost paths between them. The corridor distance value was found to be highest in Mungyeong city, indicating an urgent need for strategies to enhance habitat connectivity there. This research is expected to serve as foundational data for developing strategies to enhance ecosystem connectivity and restore habitats, by analyzing ecosystem connectivity and roadkill issues due to habitat fragmentation.

• The Korean Journal of Ecology
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.29-33
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• 2003

This study was conducted to clarify the influence of national road construction on breeding bird community from April to June 2002 in 8 fragmented forest areas of Baekdudaegan mountain ranges, Korea. There were more observed birds in 50∼100m areas than in 50m areas from road. Guild structures were different between both areas. Number of species and individuals belong to hole nesting and canopy foraging guilds were lower in 50m areas than in 50∼100m areas from roads. Habitat structure of breeding bird community would be changed by road construction.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.439-449
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• 2023

This study was conducted to verify the role of forest roads in the extinction of large forest fires in Korea. The study area was the forest fire-damaged area of Gangneung City, Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province, in April 2023, which is one of the areas with the highest road density among the major forest fires that have occurred so far. The scope of the forest fire damage area was confirmed through on-site survey, and the intensity of the fire was carried out through Sentinel-2 satellite imagery analysis. After that, the relationship between the damage range and intensity and the forest road was examined. About 59.6 km of roads were built within 50 m from the boundary of the forest fire damage area, which can easily access the entire 149.1 ha of forest fire damaged area. The road density is as high as 168.9 m/ha. All forests that were fragmented by roads were fragmented into 83 places, and all of these forests could be judged to have spread by spotting fire. As a result of analyzing the distribution of damage intensity by distance from the road to see the extent of damage according to the ease of access of fire extinguishing vehicles, it was confirmed that the proportion of areas with low-intensity damage has increased sharply even from 75 m or more away from the road. The results of analyzing the distribution of damage intensity by altitude to see the extent of damage according to the ease of access of fire extinguishing showed that the proportion of areas with low-intensity damage increased as the altitude increased, while the proportion of areas with damage of more than strong intensity decreased as the altitude increased. It was confirmed that there is no data that roads inside or adjacent to forests in the forest fire area of Gangneung City are effective in extinguishing forest fires. These results are contrary to the logic that increasing the road density in forests is effective in extinguishing forest fires. In the case of this fire area in Gangneung City, the road density is 43 times higher than the current road density in Korea claimed by the Korea Forest Service of 3.9 m/ha. This study suggests that roads can be a hindrance to extinguishing forest fires.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.432-441
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• 2016

In this study, we predicted species distributions in Mt. Inwang and Mt. An as preceding research to build ecological corridor by considering connectivity of habitats which have been fragmented in the city. We analyzed species distributions by using Maxent (Maximum Entropy Approach) model with species presence. We used 23 points of mammals and 15 points of Titmouse (Parus major, P. palustris, P. varius) as target species from appearance points of species examined. We build 4 geography factors, 4 vegetation factors, and 2 distance factors as model variables In case of mammals, factors that affected species distribution model was Digital Elevation Model(DEM, 34%) followed by Distance from edge forest to interior (24.8%) and Species of tree (10%). On the other hand, in case of Parus species, factors that affected species distribution model were DEM (39.6%) followed by distance from road (35.4%) and Density-class (8.2%). Therefore, birds and mammals prefer interior of mountain, and this area needs to be protected.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.307-315
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• 2022

In terms of habitat conservation, it is essential to develop a habitat assessment system that can evaluate not only the suitability of the current habitat, but also the health and stability of the habitat. This study aimed to develop a methodology of habitat quality assessment for endangered species by analyzing various existing habitat assessment methods. The habitat quality assessment consisted of selecting targeted species, planning of assessment, selecting targeted sites, assessing performance, calculating grade, and expert verification. Target sites were selected separately from core and potential habitats using a species distribution model or habitat suitability index. Habitat assessment factors were classified into ecological characteristic, landscape characteristic, and species-habitat characteristic. Ecological characteristic consisted of thirteen factors related to health of tree, vegetation, and soil. Landscape characteristic consisted of five factors related to fragment and connectivity of habitat. Species-habitat characteristic consisted of factors for evaluating habitat suitability depending on target species. Since meanings are different depending on characteristics, habitat quality assessment of this study could be used by classifying results for each characteristic according to various assessment purposes, such as designation of alternative habitats, assessment of restoration project, and protected area valuation for endangered species. Forest habitat quality assessment is expected to play an important role in conservation acts of endangered species in the future through continuous supplementation of this system in regard to quantitative assessment criteria and weighting for each factor with an influence.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.96 no.4
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• pp.419-424
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• 2007

The urban forest offer many opportunities to maintain and enhance local and regional biological diversity. Pinus densiflora stands in isolated urban forest in five areas of Seoul, Incheon, Daegu, Ulsan, and Cheongju were investigated by landscape and community ecological methods for diagnosis of current status and construction of conservation plan. Species composition of five study areas revealed regional characteristics. As the result of stand dynamics, absence of pine seedlings and saplings were observed. Cheongju, significantly, revealed highest species diversity (H'=1.86) and richness (24) among study areas, and the opposite was true for Daegu (1.35 for H', and 14 for richness). Ratio of alien species was highest in Daegu (15.8%) (F=5.05, p=0.0016). Based on landscape analysis, complexity of pine patch was higher in local city than metropolitans, but statistically not significant (p=0.133). Complexity of pine patch revealed significant positive correlation with diversity and richness, but not with percentage of aliens. Synthetically, ecological management based on community and landscape ecological information was recommended. Cautious artificial regeneration strategy was necessary to regenerate pine forest in urban area.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.459-466
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• 2004

The purpose of the precent investigation was to investigate diversity patterns in a fragmented Young-do forested landscape. It was conducted on sloping 18 plots (twelve 50$\times$50 m plots and six 10$\times$100 m plots). Total 1562 individuals were identified and measured in the 50$\times$50 m plots. These were a total of 68 species of 23 families present in the three sites. Least significant differences (LSD) by post hoc analysis revealed that fragments site A had significantly greater densities than site B. Shannon-Wiener functions differed significantly among forests (F=4.12, p＜0.05), with site A forest having significantly higher value (3.401) than the others (2.590 for site B and 2.648 for site C). Pinus thunbergii and Quercus aliena were dominant on most sites. site. The Pinus densiflora forest of sites A and C is distributed better in the NE exposures compared with the opposite ones. Ficus erecta and Pinus densiflora largely occupied the southern exposures. The spatial distribution in southern Young-do's littoral forest was very heterogeneous, reflected by most species having low densities and patchy distributions.