• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.409-419
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• 2017

Although Korean red pine (Pinus densiflora) forests near temples are valuable as forests of the cultural landscape, they are likely to be deteriorated because of vegetation succession and climate changes. The purpose of this study is to investigate the vegetation structure, the pine vitality, and the site environmental characteristics of the pine forests near temples to identify the correlation between pine tree growth and location environment. We selected Chuneunsa, Wonhyosa, Jeungsimsa, and Taeansa Temples since these four areas still had the healthy pine forests. In all four studied area, the pine trees dominate the canopy layers while the deciduous broadleaf trees mostly inhabited appeared in the lower layers. The growth of pine trees in Jeungsimsa and Wonhyosa areas was not as good as Chuneunsa area where the pine trees tended to be older. We found higher total nitrogen content in soil in Jeungsimsa area than other areas, maybe because of increase in total nitrogen caused by the development of low vegetation in the area. This peculiarity may have led to the pine trees in the area to fall behind the deciduous broadleaf trees in competition for nitrogen nutrient and thus to show deteriorated growth. The altitude and the twig length showed a negative correlation as did the degree of slope and the mean importance percentage of the pine tree. In other words, the growth environment such as soil became poorer when the altitude and the degree of slope increased, and thus the growth amount and dominance of the pine trees were lower. The degree of slope showed a positive correlation with the twig length of the pine tree. Within boundaries of location environment where the pine tree forests were dominant, it seemed that growth of the pine trees was more favorable as the slope was steeper because the trees could avoid competition with deciduous broadleaf trees. On the other hand, the growth of pine trees deteriorated as the electrical conductivity of soil increased; increase in soil nutrients might have accelerated vegetation development of deciduous broadleaf trees and thus aggravated the growth environment of pine trees to negatively affect maintaining the health of the pine tree forests.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.116-130
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• 2019

In South Korea, forest fire occurrences are increasing in size and duration due to various factors such as the increase in fuel materials and frequent drying conditions in forests. Therefore, it is necessary to minimize the damage caused by forest fires by appropriately providing the probability of forest fire risk. The purpose of this study is to improve the Daily Weather Index(DWI) provided by the current forest fire forecasting system in South Korea. A new Fire Risk Index(FRI) is proposed in this study, which is provided in a 5km grid through the synergistic use of numerical weather forecast data, satellite-based drought indices, and forest fire-prone areas. The FRI is calculated based on the product of the Fine Fuel Moisture Code(FFMC) optimized for Korea, an integrated drought index, and spatio-temporal weighting approaches. In order to improve the temporal accuracy of forest fire risk, monthly weights were applied based on the forest fire occurrences by month. Similarly, spatial weights were applied using the forest fire density information to improve the spatial accuracy of forest fire risk. In the time series analysis of the number of monthly forest fires and the FRI, the relationship between the two were well simulated. In addition, it was possible to provide more spatially detailed information on forest fire risk when using FRI in the 5km grid than DWI based on administrative units. The research findings from this study can help make appropriate decisions before and after forest fire occurrences.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.53 no.9
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• pp.701-715
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• 2020

This study compared several reference evapotranspiration estimated using eight methods such as FAO-56 Penman-Monteith (FAO PM), Hamon, Hansen, Hargreaves-Samani, Jensen-Haise, Makkink, Priestley-Taylor, and Thornthwaite. In addition, by analyzing the monthly deviations of the results by the FAO PM and the remaining seven methods, monthly optimized correction coefficients were derived and the improvement effect was evaluated. These methods were applied to 73 automated synoptic observation system (ASOS) stations of the Korea Meteorological Administration, where the climatological data are available at least 20 years. As a result of evaluating the reference evapotranspiration by applying the default coefficients of each method, a large fluctuation happened depending on the method, and the Hansen method was relatively similar to FAO PM. However, the Hamon and Jensen-Haise methods showed more large values than other methods in summer, and the deviation from FAO PM method was also large significantly. When comparing based on the region, the comparison with FAO PM method provided that the reference evapotranspiration estimated by other methods was overestimated in most regions except for eastern coastal areas. Based on the deviation from the FAO PM method, the monthly correction coefficients were derived for each station. The monthly deviation average that ranged from -46 mm to +88 mm before correction was improved to -11 mm to +1 mm after correction, and the annual average deviation was also significantly reduced by correction from -393 mm to +354 mm (before correction) to -33 mm to +9 mm (after correction). In particular, Hamon, Hargreaves-Samani, and Thornthwaite methods using only temperature data also produced results that were not significantly different from FAO PM after correction. It can be also useful for forecasting long-term reference evapotranspiration using temperature data in climate change scenarios or predicting evapotranspiration using monthly or seasonal temperature forecasted values.

• Proceedings of The Korean Society of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology Conference
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• 2014.10a
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• pp.1-24
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• 2014

This study uses geo-spatial crop modeling to quantify the biophysical impact of weather extremes. More specifically, the study analyzes the weather extreme which affected maize production in the USA in 2012; it also estimates the effect of a similar weather extreme in 2050, using future climate scenarios. The secondary impact of the weather extreme on food security in the developing world is also assessed using trend analysis. Many studies have reported on the significant reduction in maize production in the USA due to the extreme weather event (combined heat wave and drought) that occurred in 2012. However, most of these studies focused on yield and did not assess the potential effect of weather extremes on food prices and security. The overall goal of this study was to use geo-spatial crop modeling and trend analysis to quantify the impact of weather extremes on both yield and, followed food security in the developing world. We used historical weather data for severe extreme events that have occurred in the USA. The data were obtained from the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). In addition we used five climate scenarios: the baseline climate which is typical of the late 20th century (2000s) and four future climate scenarios which involve a combination of two emission scenarios (A1B and B1) and two global circulation models (CSIRO-Mk3.0 and MIROC 3.2). DSSAT 4.5 was combined with GRASS GIS for geo-spatial crop modeling. Simulated maize grain yield across all affected regions in the USA indicates that average grain yield across the USA Corn Belt would decrease by 29% when the weather extremes occur using the baseline climate. If the weather extreme were to occur under the A1B emission scenario in the 2050s, average grain yields would decrease by 38% and 57%, under the CSIRO-Mk3.0 and MIROC 3.2 global climate models, respectively. The weather extremes that occurred in the USA in 2012 resulted in a sharp increase in the world maize price. In addition, it likely played a role in the reduction in world maize consumption and trade in 2012/13, compared to 2011/12. The most vulnerable countries to the weather extremes are poor countries with high maize import dependency ratios including those countries in the Caribbean, northern Africa and western Asia. Other vulnerable countries include low-income countries with low import dependency ratios but which cannot afford highly-priced maize. The study also highlighted the pathways through which a weather extreme would affect food security, were it to occur in 2050 under climate change. Some of the policies which could help vulnerable countries counter the negative effects of weather extremes consist of social protection and safety net programs. Medium- to long-term adaptation strategies include increasing world food reserves to a level where they can be used to cover the production losses brought by weather extremes.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.530-542
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• 2020

This study surveyed the central mountain area of Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) from March to October 2018 to reveal the appearance patterns of freshwater fish. We collected 7,744 individuals of 43 species in 12 families with skimming nets and cast nets in 12 stations during the survey. The dominant species was Zacco koreanus (30.3%), and the subdominant species was Z. platypus (18.5%), followed by Rhynchocypris oxycephalus (10.0%), R. steindachneri (6.7%), Microphysogobio yaluensis (5.9%), Acheilognathus signifer (4.5%), Pungtungia herzi (4.2%), and Orthrias nudus (2.6%). Among the collected species, four were legally protected. They included Hemibarbus mylodon, which was a natural monument, and Lethenteron reissneri, A. signifer, and Pseudopungtungia tenuicorpa, which were class II endangered wildlife designated by the Ministry of Environment. Twenty Korean endemic species (46.5%) and one exotic species, Micropterus salmoides, were also collected. Additionally, three climate-change sensitive species, R. kumgangensis, Ladislavia taczanowskii, and Cottus koreanus, and three landlocked species, L. reissneri, C. koreanus, and Rhinogobius brunneus appeared. The dominant species in each station were Z. koreanus (15 stations), Z. platypus (four stations), R. oxycephalus (four stations), and C. koreanus (one station). The species dominance index decreased from upstream to downstream (mainstream of Gimhwanamdae Stream), while the species diversity index and the species richness index increased. The community structure of the rivers was divided into the uppermost stream, upper stream, Han River, and Imjin River. Compared to antecedent surveys, this study collected the highest number of species. Two new species (Sarcocheilichthys variegatus wakiyae and Micropterus salmoides) were caught, while six species (Siniperca scherzeri, Leiocassis ussuriensis, Brachymystax lenok tsinlingensis, Rhodeus ocellatus, Abbottina springeri, Aphyocypris chinensis) did not appear. Gimhwanamdaecheon Stream has high biological value with the inhabitation of many species, including species under legal protection and high diversity and richness index scores. This paper also discussed a protection plan for this area.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.268-278
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• 2020

Flowering time has been put forward due to the recent abnormally warm winter, which often caused damages of flower buds by late frosts persistently. In the present study, cumulative chill unit and cumulative heat unit of Niitaka pear, which are required for releasing the endogenous dormancy and for flowering after breaking dormancy, respectively, were compared between flowering time prediction models used in South K orea. Observation weather data were collected at eight locations for the recent three years from 2018-2020. The dates of full bloom were also collected to determine the confidence level of models including DVR, mDVR and CD models. It was found that mDVR model tended to have smaller values (8.4%) of the coefficient of variation (cv) of chill units than any other models. The CD model tended to have a low value of cv (17.5%) for calculation of heat unit required to reach flowering after breaking dormancy. The mDVR model had the most accurate prediction of full bloom during the study period compared with the other models. The DVR model usually had poor skills in prediction of full bloom dates. In particular, the error of the DVR model was large especially in southern coastal areas (e.g., Ulju and Sacheon) where the temperature was warm. Our results indicated that the mDVR model had relatively consistent accuracy in prediction of full bloom dates over region and years of interest. When observation data for full bloom date are compiled for an extended period, the full bloom date can be predicted with greater accuracy improving the mDVR model further.

• Journal of Mushroom
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2020

Mycorrhiza refers to the association between a plant and a fungus colonizing the cortical tissue of the plant's roots during periods of active plant growth. The benefits afforded by plants from mycorrhizal symbioses can be characterized either agronomically, based on increased growth and yield, or ecologically, based on improved fitness (i.e., reproductive ability). In either case, the benefit accrues primarily because mycorrhizal fungi form a critical linkage between plant roots and the soil. The soilborne or extramatrical hyphae take up nutrients from the soil solution and transport them to the root. This mycorrhizae-mediated mechanism increases the effective absorptive surface area of the plant. There are seven major types of mycorrhizae along with mycoheterotrophy: endomycorrhizae (arbuscular mycorrhizae, AM), ectomycorrhizae (EM), ectendomycorrhizae, monotropoid, arbutoid, orchid, and ericoid. Endomycorrhizal fungi form arbuscules or highly branched structures within root cortical cells, giving rise to arbuscular mycorrhiza, which may produce extensive extramatrical hyphae and significantly increase phosphorus inflow rates in the plants they colonize. Ectomycorrhizal fungi may produce large quantities of hyphae on the root and in the soil; these hyphae play a role in absorption and translocation of inorganic nutrients and water, and also release nutrients from litter layers by producing enzymes involved in mineralization of organic matters. Over 4,000 fungal species, primarily belonging to Basidiomycotina and to a lesser extent Ascomycotina, are able to form ectomycorrhizae. Many of these fungi produce various mushrooms on the forest floor that are traded at a high price. In this paper, we discuss the benefits, nutrient cycles, and artificial cultivation of mycorrhizae in Korea.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Traditional Landscape Architecture
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.25-35
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• 2017

The purpose of this study is to re-exam of the modern values of a moat to utilize it with various functions such as a military defense on the outskirts of the castle, dividing the space by its boundary, controlling the micro-climate in the worsening modern environment with temperature rise due to climate change and habitat reduction of animals, and providing the habitat of animals to modern urban space, etc. The scope of the study is focusing on the castles with the moat installed to prevent the enemy from accessing directly to the wall using a pond or water path for military defense on the outskirts of the castle or to divide it into boundaries. In the Orient, the Nakan Eupseong, Haemi Eupseong, Gyeongju Wolseong in Korea and the Forbidden City in China, and Nijo Castle and Osaka Castle in Japan were selected. In the West, Edinburgh Castle in Britain, Blois Castle in France, Chillon Castle in Switzerland, and Frederiksborg Castle in Denmark were selected for the study. As a research method, literature research and field research were conducted. For the Orient, it was conducted in parallel with the literature research and field research. For the western, it was mainly conducted with literature research. For the literature research, the origin of the moat, the concept of the moat, the function of the moat, the history and culture of the western moat are based on the data from the related institutions and previous studies. For the Orient field research, exploring was conducted in two to three times from Jan. 2016 to Dec. 2016 in each of the target areas of Nakan Eupseong, Haemi Eupseong, Gyeongju Wolseong in Korea and the Forbidden City in China, and Nijo Castle and Osaka Castle in Japan. The contents of the research were analyzed through interviews, photographs, measurements, and observations on the function, size, and characteristics of the moat of each target. The results of this study are as follows. The moat was a structure installed to set a boundary for military defense facilities on the outskirts of a castle and it played an important role as a part of the city in the ancient times of Asia and the West through the Middle Ages. The role of the moat is gradually disappearing due to the disappearance of the purpose of military defense. However, moats are excluded from modern landscape planning, despite the fact that a moat filled with water is a hydrophilic space with great historical and cultural value such as various cultural activities and providing habitats for animals. By reflecting on the moats various functions in modern cities and utilizing it, it is expected to be utilized to bring pleasant air into the city where the circulation of air is blocked and energize the city as a hydroponic element.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.53-68
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• 1998

Observation of hydrometeors' behavior in the atmosphere is important to understand weather and climate. By conventional observations, we can get the distribution of water vapor at limited number of points on the earth. In this study, the precipitable water has been estimated from the split window channel data on GMS-5 based upon the technique developed by Chesters et al.(1983). To retrieve the precipitable water, water vapor absorption parameter depending on filter function of sensor has been derived using the regression analysis between the split window channel data and the radiosonde data observed at Osan, Pohang, Kwangiu and Cheju staions for 4 months. The air temperature of 700 hPa from the Global Spectral Model of Korea Meteorological Administration (GSM/KMA) has been used as mean air temperature for single layer radiation model. The retrieved precipitable water for the period from August 1996 through December 1996 are compared to radiosonde data. It is shown that the root mean square differences between radiosonde observations and the GMS-5 retrievals range from 0.65 g/$cm^2$ to 1.09 g/$cm^2$ with correlation coefficient of 0.46 on hourly basis. The monthly distribution of precipitable water from GMS-5 shows almost good representation in large scale. Precipitable water is produced 4 times a day at Korea Meteorological Administration in the form of grid point data with 0.5 degree lat./lon. resolution. The data can be used in the objective analysis for numerical weather prediction and to increase the accuracy of humidity analysis especially under clear sky condition. And also, the data is a useful complement to existing data set for climatological research. But it is necessary to get higher correlation between radiosonde observations and the GMS-5 retrievals for operational applications.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.55-64
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• 2019

The flowering seasons can be advanced due to climate change that would cause an abnormally warm winter. Such warm winter would increase the frequency of crop damages resulted from sudden occurrences of low temperature before and after the vegetative growth stages, e.g., the period from germination to flowering. The degree and pattern of freezing damage would differ by the development stage of each individual fruit tree even in an orchard. A critical temperature, e.g., killing temperature, has been used to predict freeze damage by low-temperature conditions under the assumption that such damage would be associated with the development stage of a fruit flower bud. However, it would be challenging to apply the critical temperature to a region where spatial variation in temperature would be considerably high. In the present study, a phenological model was used to estimate major bud development stages, which would be useful for prediction of regional risks for the freeze damages. We also derived a linear function to calculate a probabilistic freeze risk in spring, which can quantitatively evaluate the risk level based solely on forecasted weather data. We calculated the dates of freeze damage occurrences and spatial risk distribution according to main production areas by applying the spring freeze risk function to apple, peach, and pear crops in 2018. It was predicted that the most extensive low-temperature associated freeze damage could have occurred on April 8. It was also found that the risk function was useful to identify the main production areas where the greatest damage to a given crop could occur. These results suggest that the freezing damage associated with the occurrence of low-temperature events could decrease providing early warning for growers to respond abnormal weather conditions for their farm.