• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• v.38 no.3 s.113
• /
• pp.341-351
• /
• 2005

Ecological stream health, based on the index of biological integrity (IBI) , was evaluated at five sampling locations of Youdeung Stream during August-October 2004. For the study, we also analyzed spatial and temporal patterns of conventional water quality over tine period of 1995 ${\sim}$ 2004, using the water chemistry dataset, obtained from the Ministry of Environment, Korea. The water quality parameters used here were conductivity, total suspended solids (TSS), biochemical oxygen demand $(BOD_5)$, chemical oxygen demand $(COD_{mn})$, total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP). The multi-metric model values averaged 27.8 in the stream and ranged 24 ${\sim}$ 32. The health condition was judged as 'Fair' to 'Poor' conditions, according to the stream health criteria of US EPA (1993). Longitudinal variation occurred from the upstream to downstream reach; largest differences in all water quality variables occurred between Site 5 and the other sites. This was mainly attributed to the impacts of wastewater treatment plants near the locations. Also, relative proportions of tolerance and omnivore species increased in downstream reaches. The model values, however, did not match the values, based on water quality parameters. We assume that this may be associated with primarily reduced water volumn during dry season in the stream along with modified physical habitat conditions.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• v.37 no.4 s.109
• /
• pp.436-447
• /
• 2004

Wetland plants have evolved specialized adaptations to survive in the low-oxygen conditions associated with prolonged flooding. The development of internal gas space by means of aerenchyma is crucial for wetland plants to transport $O_2$ from the atmosphere into the roots and rhizome. The formation of tissue with high porosity depends on the species and environmental condition, which can control the depth of root penetration and the duration of root tolerance in the flooded sediments. The oxygen in the internal gas space of plants can be delivered from the atmosphere to the root and rhizome by both passive molecular diffusion and convective throughflow. The release of $O_2$ from the roots supplies oxygen demand for root respiration, microbial respiration, and chemical oxidation processes and stimulates aerobic decomposition of organic matter. Another essential mechanism of wetland plants is downward water movement across the root zone induced by water uptake. Natural and constructed wetlands sediments have low hydraulic conductivity due to the relatively fine particle sizes in the litter layer and, therefore, negligible water movement. Under such condition, the water uptake by wetland plants creates a water potential difference in the rhizosphere which acts as a driving force to draw water and dissolved solutes into the sediments. A large number of anatomical, morphological and physiological studies have been conducted to investigate the specialized adaptations of wetland plants that enable them to tolerate water saturated environment and to support their biochemical activities. Despite this, there is little knowledge regarding how the combined effects of wetland plants influence the biogeochemistry of wetland sediments. A further investigation of how the Presence of plants and their growth cycle affects the biogeochemistry of sediments will be of particular importance to understand the role of wetland in the ecological environment.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• v.37 no.4 s.109
• /
• pp.411-422
• /
• 2004

A limnological survey was conducted in a reservoir, Lake Hoengsung located in Kangwondo, Korea, from July 2000 to September 2001 on the monthly basis. Phosphorus loading from the watershed was estimated by measuring total phosphorus concentration in the main tributary. Secchi disc transparency, epilimnetic (0-5 m) turbidity, chlorophyll a (Chl-a), total phosphorus (TP), total nitrogen(TN) and silica concentration were in the range of 0.9-3.5 m, 0.1-8.5 NTU, 0.3-32.4 mgChl $m^{-3}$, 5-46 mgP $m^{-3}$, 0.83-3.55 mgN $L^{-1}$ and 0.5-9.6 mgSi $L^{-1}$, respectively. Green algae and cyanobacteria dominated phytoplankton community in warm seasons, from July through October, 2000. In July a green alga (Scenedesmus sp.) was dominant with a maximum cell density of 10,480 cells mL. Cyanobacteria (Microcystics sp.) dominated in August and September with cell density of 3,492 and 295 cells mL ,respectively. Species diversity of phytoplankton was highest (2.22) in July. The trophic state of the reservoir can be classified as eutrophic on the basis of TP, Chl-a, and Secchi disc transparency. Because TP concentration was high in flood period, most of phosphorus loading was concentrated in rainy season. TP loading was calculated by multiplying TP and flow rate. The dam managing company measured inflow rate of the reservoir daily, while TP was measured by weekly surveys. TP of unmeasured days was estimated from the empirical relationship of TP and the flow rate of the main tributary; $TP=5.59Q^{0.45}\;(R^2=0.47)$. Annual TP loading was calculated to be 4.45 tP $yr^{-1}$, and the areal P loading was 0.77 gP $m^{-2}\;yr^{-1}$ which is similar to the critical P loading for eutrophication by Vollenweider's phosphorus model, 0.72 gP $m^{-2}\;yr^{-1}$.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• v.47 no.2
• /
• pp.116-126
• /
• 2014

To evaluate the relationship between dynamics of Cyanobacterial bloom and rainfalls, a monthly monitoring of water quality and phytoplankton from the three serial lakes (Lake Ui-am, Lake Chung-pyeong and Lake Pal-dang) in the North Han River System were examined 12 times from May 2012 to March 2013. A dense bloom of cyanobacterium Anabaena spp., was occurred over three lakes in the summer season of 2012. In Lake Ui-am, the Anabaena population appeared in June, showed a peak in July (43,850 cells $mL^{-1}$) and disappeared in November 2012. In Lake Chung-pyeong and Lake Pal-dang, Anabaena population commonly appeared in July, showed the peaks (31,648 cells $mL^{-1}$ and 7,136 cells $mL^{-1}$, respectively) in August, and entirely disappeared in September 2012. Over the three lakes, the phytoplankton community was commonly dominated by diatoms before Monsoon, cyanobacteria during Monsoon, and diatoms after Monsoon, respectively, indicating a Monsoon-dependent succession. A correlation analysis revealed that dynamics of Anabaena population was strongly related with rainfall (r=0.72, r=0.83, r=0.88, P<0.01 for three lakes), and partly with nutrients, inflow and outflow of lakes. Therefore, this study indicates that the outbreak and destruction of Anabaena bloom in North Han River System between 2012 and 2013 was impacted by rainfalls. However, a high density of cyanobacteria in Lake Ui-am remained after Monsoon, and thus, may paroduce bad-order and toxins from phytoplankton.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.38 no.5 s.174
• /
• pp.535-545
• /
• 2005

Environmental survey from some abandoned metal mine areas was undertaken on to assess the risk of adverse health effects on human exposure to arsenic influenced by past Au-Ag mining activities. Elevated levels of As were found in tailings from the studied mine areas. This high concentration may have a impact on soils and waters around the tailing piles. In order to perform the human risk assessment, chemical analysis data of soils, rice grains and waters fur As have been used. The HQ values fer As via the rice grain and groundwater consumption were significantly higher compared with other exposure pathways in all metal mine areas. However, there were minimal soil and water dermal contact risks. The resulting Hl values of As from the Dongil, Okdong and Hwacheon mine areas were higher than 5.0, and their toxic risk due to drinking water and rice grain was strong in these mine areas. The cancer risk of being exposed to As by the rice grain route from the Dongil, Okdong and Hwacheon mine areas was $5.2\times10^{-4},\;6.0\times10^{-4}\;and\;8.1\times10^{-4}$, respectively. The As cancer risk via the exposure pathway of drinking water from these mine areas exceeded the acceptable risk of 1 in 10,000 fer regulatory purposes. Thus, the daily intakes of groundwater and rice grain by the local residents from the Dongil, Okdong and Hwacheon mine areas can pose a potential health threat if exposed by long-term arsenic exposure.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.30 no.2
• /
• pp.137-142
• /
• 1997

At the tailings dam of the disused Brukunga pyrite mine in South Australia, reaction of groundwater with the tailings causes the formation and discharge of sulphuric acid. There is a need to improve remediation efforts by decreasing groundwater flow through the tailings dam. Geophysical methods have been investigated to determine whether they can be used to characterise variations in depth to watertable and map preferred groundwater flow paths. Three methods were used: transient electromagnetic (TEM) soundings, direct current (DC) soundings and profiling, and self potential (SP) profiling. The profiling methods were used to map the areal extent of a given response, while soundings was used to determine the variation in response with depth. The results of the geophysical surveys show that the voltages measured with SP profiling are small and it is hard to determine any preferred channels of groundwater flow from SP data alone. Results obtained from TEM and DC soundings, show that the DC method is useful for determining layer boundaries at shallow depths (less than about 10 m), while the TEM method can resolve deeper structures. Joint use of TEM and DC data gives a more complete and accurate geoelectric section. The TEM and DC measurements have enabled accurate determination of depth to groundwater. For soundings centred at piezometers, this depth is consistent with the measured watertable level in the corresponding piezometer. A map of the watertable level produced from all the TEM and DC soundings at the site shows that the shallowest level is at a depth of about 1 m, and occurs at the southeast of the site, while the deepest watertable level (about 17 m) occurs at the northwest part of the site. The results indicate that a possible source of groundwater occurs at the southeast area of the dam, and the aquifer thickness varies between 6 and 13 m. A map of the variation of resistivity of the aquifer has also been produced from the TEM and DC data. This map shows that the least resistive (i.e., most conductive) section of the aquifer occurs in the northeast of the site, while the most resistive part of the aquifer occurs in the southeast. These results are interpreted to indicate a source of fresh (resistive) groundwater in the southeast of the site, with a possible further source of conductive groundwater in the northeast.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
• /
• v.29 no.5
• /
• pp.689-700
• /
• 1996

Fisheries products have to be produced and maintained by work processes from the environment, sometimes helped by people. In Korean fisheries both environmental production and its economic use are included within the windows of system approach. EMERGY is the sum of all inputs expressed as one form of solar energy required directly and indirectly to make a product. Calculating EMERGY flows into Korean fisheries evaluates the real wealth contributed by environmental production and its economic use. Several indices calculated from EMERGY analysis table and a three-arm diagram give perspective on the type and efficiency of the environmental uses. Net EMERGY yield ratio is a measure of its net contribution to the economy beyond its own operation. For adjacent waters fisheries in Korea, the net contribution to the economy is 11.85 or higher, which is a stimulus to the economy that is able to purchase it. EMERGY investment ratio measures the intensity of the economic development and the loading of the environment. The ratio for Korean fisheries as a whole is 0.50, for the adjacent waters fisheries 0.09 and for the shallow-sea cultures 1.28, which is lower than the same index for the industry of the developed country (7.0). The component of environment drawn into production are large compared to purchased investment in Korean fisheries. Much more EMERGY is contained in fisheries products than in the paid services used to process the products. The EMERGY exchange ratio for Korean fisheries as a whole is 6.98, for the adjacent waters fisheries is 10.69 and for the shallow-sea cultures is 1.25. Using market values to evaluate wealth of environment resources is found to be many times too small. Money is paid only to people for their contribution, and never to the environment for its contribution. Macroeconomic value is the appropriate measure for discussing large-scale considerations of an economy, including environment and human goods & services.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
• /
• v.36 no.6
• /
• pp.43-54
• /
• 2009

This study attempted to develop a model for selecting sites for ecologically effective, multi-functional wetlands during the environmental and ecological planning stage, prior to land use Planning. This model was developed with an emphasis upon the creation of a water circulation system for a newly-created city, dispersing and retaining the run-off that is increased due to urbanization and securing spaces to create wetlands that can promote urban biodiversity. A series of Precesses for selecting sites for wetland restoration and creation - watershed analysis, selection of evaluation items, calculation of weights, reparation of thematic maps and synthesis - were incorporated into the model. Its potentials and limitations were examined by applying it to the recently-planned WiRae New Community Development Area, which is located in the Seoul metropolitan region. At the watershed analysis stage, the site was divided into 13 sub-catchment areas. Inflow to watersheds including the area was $3,020,765m^3$ Run-off before and after development is estimated as $1,901,969m^3$ and $1,970,735{\sim}2,039,502m^3$, respectively. The total storage capacity required in the development area amounts to $68,766{\sim}137,533m^3$. When thematic maps were overlapped during the selection stage for wetland sites, 13 sub-catchment areas were prioritized for wetland restoration and creation. The locations and areas for retaining run-off showed that various types of wetlands, including retaining wetlands (area wetlands), riverine wetlands (linear wetlands) and pond wetlands (point wetlands), can be created and that they can be systematically connected. By providing a basic framework for the water circulation system plan of an entire city, it may be used effectively in the space planning stage, such as planning an urban eco-network through integration with greet areas. In order to estimate reasonable run-off and create an adequate water circulation system however, a feedback process following land use planning is required. This study strived to promote urban changes in a positive direction while minimizing urban changes in negative forms.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
• /
• v.29 no.4
• /
• pp.425-437
• /
• 2007

Flow distribution of water and sedimentation rate were investigated to understand the hydrodynamics and settling characteristics of particulate materials in a constructed wetland for treatment of non-point sources pollutants, the Sihwa constructed wetland, Korea. The Sihwa constructed wetland is divided into three sub-wetlands(the Banwol, the Donghwa and the Samhwa wetlands) to treat the polluted water from three streams, the Banwol stream, the Donghwa stream and the Samhwa stream. From the results of water flow experiment using dye(Rhodamine 50WT Red), it was found that the water flow in the wetland was prevailing at the waterway and open water. Dye was spread slowly in the closed water area planted by plants. The mean hydraulic retention time(HRT) at the upper area of high wetland and lower wetland of Banwol, was found to be 34.1 hr at the upper area and 74.6 hr at the lower area respectively, totaling approximately 108.7 hr(4.5 days). The sedimentation rate was higher at lower area(sites of B, C and D) of the wetland than upper area(site of A which is settling zone). Based on the forecast for 20 years as to the amount of sediment that can be deposited in the open water in the future, the sediment depth of each area would be like this: A: 6.3 cm, B: 8.3 cm, C: 7.0 cm, D: 9.5 cm. The contents of organic materials in the sediment deposited within the sediment trap were found to be higher overly in the first investigation period which had much rainfall, and B, C and D areas were found to have an increased COD accumulation than A area. Also, nitrogen and phosphorus were found to increase in the down-stream of the wetland. The results of this study suggest that a sustainable research and management for the characteristics of water flow pattern and sedimentation changeable as time passes is needs to maintain or improve the efficiency of water treatment in the constructed wetland.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
• /
• v.38 no.1
• /
• pp.127-136
• /
• 2020

This study was conducted to investigate the population characteristics of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) in the Daegu Metropolitan City thermal effluent stream (Dalseo Stream) from January to November 2019. The collected fish were identified as 4,247 individuals of 20 species from a total of eight families. The dominant species was O. niloticus with 1,306 individuals and a high relative abundance (30.75%). The water temperature of Dalseo Stream was maintained above 10℃ throughout the year, which means that O. niloticus could inhabit it even in winter. The length-weight analysis showed a regression coefficient b of 3.1496, and a condition factor (k) of 0.0025 with a positive slope. Comparing the water temperature of Dalseo Stream and the total length of O. niloticus per investigation period, the 0-age individuals appeared May 29 when the water temperature was maintained above 22℃. In conclusion, the thermal effluent of Dalseo Stream allowed O. niloticus to survive in winter and maintain stable growth conditions and life cycles. The results of this study will inform ecological information on O. niloticus, which suggests that river management efforts should consider the management of O. niloticus populations for the conservation of fish species diversity.