• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.469-477
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• 2018

Hanabusaya asiatica is an endemic species whose distribution is limited in the mid-eastern part of the Korean peninsula. Due to its narrow range and small population, it is necessary to protect its habitats by identifying it as Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) adopted by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). In this paper, we estimated potential natural habitats for H. asiatica using maximum entropy model (MaxEnt) and identified candidate sites for KBA based on the model results. MaxEnt is a machine learning algorithm that can predict habitats for species of interest unbiasedly with presence-only data. This property is particularly useful for the study area where data collection via a field survey is unavailable. We trained MaxEnt using 38 locations of H. asiatica and 11 environmental variables that measured climate, topography, and vegetation status of the study area which encompassed all locations of the border region between South and North Korea. Results showed that the potential habitats where the occurrence probabilities of H. asiatica exceeded 0.5 were $778km^2$, and the KBA candidate area identified by taking into account existing protected areas was $1,321km^2$. Of 11 environmental variables, elevation, annual average precipitation, average precipitation in growing seasons, and the average temperature in the coldest month had impacts on habitat selection, indicating that H. asiatica prefers cool regions at a relatively high elevation. These results can be used not only for identifying KBAs but also for the reference to a protection plan for H. asiatica in preparation of Korean reunification and climate change.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.18-26
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• 2020

Echinosophora koreensis (Nakai) Nakai an endemic plant with limited distribution in some parts of the Korean Peninsula, is designated as "Endangered" species on the IUCN Red List. The species is under the threat of deterioration in nature due to various environmental changes causing loss of natural habitats. We investigated the distribution pattern and population structure of E. koreensis to serve as a basic reference for identifying the dynamics and persistence of natural populations of this species in the future. To determine the characteristics of the E. koreensis population, we laid two to three large plots sized 20m×30m on the ridgeline as the reference in Yanggu, Chuncheon, and Hongcheon and laid four to seven small quadrats sized 1m×1m on the transect. A total of 530 plots were laid, 10 each at 2m interval, to measure the number of the stems, the number of fruiting, height, and other factors. The collected distribution information was compared with the existing IUCN assessed categories by applying IUCN Red List ver 3.1 Criteria B. The average population density of the three surveyed areas was 3.47 stem/㎡; the density of each area was 3.95 stems/㎡ in Yanggu, 3.37 stems/㎡ in Chuncheon, and 2.87 stems/㎡ in Hongcheon. The number of fruiting per stem was 0.0038, indicating only 7 fruits out of 1,837 stems and that vegetative reproduction is likely to be more dominant than sexual reproduction. The distribution tendency of population density in the small plots in three surveyed areas showed that the density of E. koreensis tended to decrease toward the center of the forest with low crown openness and around the mountain ridge with high crown openness. It indicated that the quantity of light could be a very important factor for the growth of individuals of this species. The analysis of the heights of individuals present in the surveyed plots showed a range of 2.3 ~ 68.5cm and an average of 20.1cm. An analysis on the stage-structure of the E. koreensis population based on the sieve height found that the appearance frequency decreased with increasing height above 15 ~ 20cm and that the percentage of individuals lower than 10cm, which were presumed to be seedlings, was severely low, indicating a necessity of study on the population sustainability based on the monitored data. The occupied area calculated with the collected species distribution information was 200㎢, indicating the EN category according to the IUCN Red List Reference B.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.39 no.1 s.115
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• pp.110-118
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• 2006

The Namyang Stream in Hwaong polder was planned for several water uses including recreation, where people can contact the water and consume some amount during the recreational activity. A human health risk was assessed from exposure to E. coli in the Namyang Stream, which receives partially treated wastewater from watershed. The QUAL2E model was applied to simulate stream water quality, and this model was calibrated and verified with field monitoring data. The calibration result showed a high correlation coefficient of greater than 0.9. The mean concentration of E. coli in the Namyang Stream from the QUAL2E output was in the range of 5,000 ${\sim}$ 8,000 MPN 100 mL^{-1}$, which exceeded national and international guidelines. The Beta-Poisson was used to estimate the microbial risk of pathogens ingestion and the Monte-Carlo analysis (10,000 trials) was used to estimate the risk characterization of uncertainty. The Microbial risk assessment showed that the risk ranged from 7.9 ${\times}\;10^{-6}\;to\;9.4\;{\times}10^{-6}$. Based on USEPA guidelines, the range of $10^{-6}\;to\;10^{-8}$ was considered reasonable levels of risk for communicable disease transmission from environmental exposure, and the risk above $10^{-4}$ was considered to be in the danger of infection. Therefore, water quality of the Namyang Stream might not be in the danger of infection although it exceeded national and international guidelines. However, it was in the range of communicable disease transmission, and thorough wastewater collection and treatment at the source is recommended to secure safe recreation water quality.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.127-142
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• 2008

This study was carried out to germination characteristics by temperature conditions and allelopathic effects of aqueous extracts on Amaranthus spinosus L. in order to investigate the competitive dominant in plant ecosystem and possibility application of natural herbicide. A. spinosus L. sprouted after 24 hour from seeding in $30{\sim}45^{\circ}C$ treatment. The germination ratio of A. spinosus L. was the highest estimated at 63.3(${\pm}2.9$)% in $40^{\circ}C$ treatment, followed by 33.3(${\pm}2.9$)% in $35^{\circ}C$, 1.7(${\pm}2.9$)% in $30^{\circ}C$ and 5.0(${\pm}0.0$)% in $45^{\circ}C$ treatment. It was generally decreased the Relative Germination Ratio(RGR), the Relative Elongation Ratio(RER), the Relative Fresh weight Ratio(RFR) of receptor plants by the aqueous extracts of concentration of A. spinosus L. but it was differently inhibited the kind of receptor plant species. And it was different effected among growing regions that aqueous extracts of concentration of A. spinosus L. inhibited more root than shoot. The total phenolic compounds content of A. spinosus L. was decreased gradually middle, first and last of growth stage, and gradually decreased to leaves, roots and stems. We think that A. spinosus L. appeared high germination ratio at a short period and showed allelopathic effects on other plants. Therefore A. spinosus. L. hold the competitive dominant of plant ecosystem in Jeju Island and possibility application of natural herbicide.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.700-708
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• 2012

In order to optimize a method to determine the firmness of Chinese cabbage, hardness of midrib tissues was examined based on their chronological order of emergence. Texture measurement using volodkevich bite jaws gave a consistent and highest regression ($r^2=0.85$) between firmness and the order of leaf emergence, while blade set, cylinder probe, and crisp fracture support rig showed a lower coefficient of determination. Thickness of midrib tissue within an individual head from 16 cultivars of Chinese cabbage was positively correlated with the order of emergence, becoming thinner toward inner leaves. Mean thickness of midrib tissue from the head ranged from 7.74 mm for 'CR-shingshing' and 9.28 mm for 'Norangyeorum'. The covariance of leaf thickness within a head was highly cultivar-dependent, ranging from 23.6% for 'Chihili' and 5.8% for 'Bulam'. Firmness of the midrib tissue, defined as maximum peak height per tissue thickness, became higher from outer to inner leaves, showing $2^{nd}$ order of regression. Mean firmness of the midrib tissue from individual head varied from 1.58 N for 'Rangno' to 3.46 N for 'CR-shingshing'. The $10^{th}$ or $11^{th}$ leaf brought the best correlation coefficient (r = 0.81) between firmness of an individual leaf and the mean firmness of the entire leaves in a head, suggesting a reliable and rapid method to estimate the firmness of a head in lieu of examining all leaves in the head. The relationship between firmness of midrib tissue and dry mass ($r=0.70^{**}$) as well as cell wall content ($r=0.58^*$) of the head were positively correlated. Results obtained from the present study suggested that a new method to determine midrib firmness would enable to clarify the relationship between textural quality of fresh Chinese cabbage and their processed product, 'Kimchi'. It will also be important to apply this method to screen textural quality of various genotypes under breeding programs.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.477-486
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• 2016

We investigated the growth pattern of Red-tongued viper snakes (Gloydius ussuriensis), which were captured from the islet of the Jeju Island, Gapado between April, 2006 and November, 2009. The results indicated that there were some snakes that grew relatively fast, but most snakes either almost did not grow or grew around 10mm in snout-vent length during one year period. High growth rates was April and June. Since the growth rate of snakes is highly correlated with their foods, these results implied that the feeding activity of Red-tongued viper snakes is high during this period compared to other months. In female, difference in body condition between good-conditioned and bad-conditioned snakes became large as time elapsed from April to June. The body condition of the male Red-tongued viper snakes improved with the progression of time from April till June. Many of the Red-tongued viper snakes were captured between April and June, while they were rarely captured between July and September. Some of the Red-tongued viper snakes were captured during the autumn season. This tendency was because snakes were rarely active during hibernation and peak summer seasons. Thus, Red-tongued viper snakes are active between April and June and between September and November. They then go into hibernation as the temperature dropped in November. Furthermore, the limitation of the movement period of the Red-tongued viper snakes restricted their feeding activities while foods became scarce, which ultimately restricted their overall growth rate. The growth rate of the snakes decreased with age. The snout-vent length of the Red-tongued viper snakes and growth rate showed a negative correlation (r = -0.591), however, it was not statistically significant due to small sample size. The findings from this study could provide meaningful information in the further study of the life cycle of Red-tongued viper snakes.

• The Korean Journal of Pesticide Science
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.261-267
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• 2007

The acute toxicity of several pesticides on 4 Korean water flea was investigated to develop a new standard species used for ecological risk assessment of pesticide. Four Korean freshwater cladocerans, Daphnia obtusa, Daphnia sp., Moina macrocopa and Simocepholus vetulus were exposed to five different pesticides during 48 hours to compare their sensitivity with a standard test species, Daphnia magna, endorsed formally by the major international organizations. The synthetic pyrethroid, fenpropathrin was the most toxic pesticide to cladocerans. Diazinon, carbofuran, iprodione and myclobutanil were in the order of their toxicity to cladocerans tested. There was no consistent difference in sensitivity to five pesticides for four Korean cladocerans tested. In conclusion, the ecological risk assessment using single species toxicity referred to base set data should not be enough to protect to every species in the field environment.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.345-354
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• 2020

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of soil amendment treatments, such as hydroball, and active carbon, and planting Pennisetum alopecuroides for reducing calcium chloride (CaCl₂) of soil leachate and the growth of Pennisetum alopecuroides. The experiment planted Pennisetum alopecuroides in a plastic pot with a diameter of 10 cm and a height of 9 cm in a greenhouse April-October 2018. The experimental group comprised six treatments, including Non-treatment (Cont.), Hydroball (H), Active carbon (AC), planting Pennisetum alopecuroides (P), hydroball + planting Pennisetum alopecuroides (H + P), and active carbon + planting Pennisetum alopecuroides (AC + P). The dissolution of the CaCl₂ concentration 200ml of 10g/L was irrigated once every two weeks. We measured the growth (plant height, leaf length, leaf width, number of leaves), EC, pH, and exchangeable cations (K⁺, Ca²⁺, Na⁺, and Mg²⁺) according to the high concentration of CaCl₂ in the plant and soil leachate. In a treatment with the 'hydroball' amendment, the soil leachate electrical conductivity (EC), and the cation exchangeable were decreased more than those of the control, while the growth of Pennisetum alopecuroides relative growth rate(RGR) increased. Overall, application with the hydroball amendment added the planting of Pennisetum alopecuroides improved the salt reduction effect more than the control group. These results indicate that the application of the soil amendment agent hydroball was suitable soil amendments in accordance with the high concentration of calcium chloride (CaCl₂). Also, Planting Pennisetum alopecuroides is expected to be appropriate for salt-tolerant plant for soil affected by deicing salt agents.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.334-344
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• 2020

A total of 24 families, 44 species, and 658 benthic macroinvertebrates were identified, and Ecdyonurus dracon Kluge (13%) was the dominant species in forested streams within the Yeonyeopsan (Mt.). A total of four habit categories (i.e., clingers (56%), burrowers (19%), swimmers (14%), and sprawlers (56%)) were identified, and clingers were the dominant habit at all survey points except point one (UP1). Habitat characteristics were depended on the hydraulic factors (e.g., flow velocity, depth, and substrates), water quality (e.g., DO and water temperature), and the habitat characteristics were differed in the riffle, which has a faster the flow velocity, compared by in the stagnant pool. In other words, in riffles, the clingers dominated in high flow velocity with the large maximum and median grain size for substrates in the habitats regardless of depth, but the burrowers and sprawlers were dominant in low flow velocity with the small maximum and median grain size for substrates in the habitats. Moreover, DO and flow velocity were in positive correlation (y = 0.6666x - 0.659, R² = 0.0851), and the habitat for burrowers was wider than that for sprawlers or clingers. The water depth was negatively correlated with water temperature (y = -26.397x + 283.87, R² = 0.1802) since the water temperature is more sensitive to insolation in shallow depth. pH was positively correlated with water temperature. The investigation of the habitat characteristics by separating the relations between pH and DO in upstream and downstream showed the low pH and high DO in the upstream with a high crown density of 68%, regardless of community composition. On the other hand, high pH and low DO in the downstream with a relatively low crown density of 51%. It was considered that the riparian forest played a role in suppressing the growth of attached algae and the controlling water temperature in headwater streams. Our findings identified the habitat characteristics of benthic macroinvertebrates in a headwater stream. We expected that the finding can provide reference data for suggesting conservation and management plans in a headwater stream and increasing academic value.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.107 no.1
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• pp.96-107
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• 2018

This study analyzed the linkage between the Forestry sector Official Development Assistance (ODA) Project in South Korea and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of United Nations (UN), Suggested direction of ODA project focusing on the implementation of the SDGs. Forestry sector ODA project data in South Korea have collected from Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) statistical inquiry system developed by The Export-Import Bank of Korea. According to the analysis result, Forestry sector ODA project in South Korea have been actively implemented in the fields of forestry development, forestry policy and administration. In both fields, Korea Forest Service and Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) carried out the most projects. The Forestry sector ODA project data in South Korea are classified technical development, capacity building, construction of infrastructure and afforestation based on their objectives and contents. SDGs emphasizes the importance of national implementation assessment and this study analyze linkage between ODA activity content in each classification item and 2016 Korea Forest Service Performance Management Plan indicator. Analyzed the 2016 Korea Forest Service Performance Management Plan indicator and SDGs target and SDGs indicator were identified. finally, SDGs goals were recognized. In conclusion, Forestry sector ODA project in South Korea are associated with the SDGs Goal 1 (No Poverty), Goal 2 (Zero Hunger), Goal 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), Goal 13 (Climate Action), Goal 15 (Life on Land) and Goal 17 (Partnership for The Goals). Therefore, With the launch of the SDGs, This study analyzed the linkage among the Forestry sector ODA Project in South Korea, the 2016 Korea Forest Service Performance Management Plan and the SDGs. it presented the limitations of Forestry sector ODA Project in South Korea and made proposals for the implementation of the SDGs.