• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.140-150
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• 2023

The Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra) is an apex predator of the riparian ecosystem. It is a keystone and an indicator species; consequently, its presence suggests a sustainable water environment. Otter is a keystone species as a predator at the top of the food web in the aquatic environment and an indicator species representing the health of the aquatic environment. Although Eurasian otters disappeared from the Han River urban water system because of anthropogenic activities like habitat destruction, poaching, and environmental pollution in the 1980s, the species were sighted in the Cheonggye Stream, Jungrang Stream, and Seongnae Stream, which are urban sections of the Han River, in 2016 and 2021. Therefore, it is pertinent to assess the habitat potential in the area for conservation and management measures to ensure its permanent presence. However, existing studies on otter habitats focused on natural rivers and reservoirs, and there is a limit to applying them to habitats artificially confined habitats in narrow spaces such as tributaries in urban areas of the Han River. This study selected the Cheonggye Stream, an artificially restored urban stream, to evaluate its potential as a habitat for Eurasian otters in urban water environments using the habitat suitability index (HSI). The HSI was calculated with selected environment attributes, such as the cover, food, and threat, that best describe the L. lutra habitat. According to the results, the confluence area of Seongbuk Stream and Cheonggye Stream and the confluence area of Cheonggye Stream and Jungnang Stream were suitable otter habitats, requiring appropriate conservation efforts. The HSI model suggests a valuable method to assess the habitat quality of Eurasian otters in urban water environments. The study is crucial as it can help rehabilitate the species' populations by identifying and managing potential Eurasian otter habitats in highly urbanized areas of the Han River basin and its tributaries.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.100-118
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• 2015

This study established a land-cover classification method on objects using satellite images, and figured out distributional patterns of land cover according to categories through spatial statistics techniques. Object-based classification generated each land cover classification map by spectral information, texture information, and the combination of the two. Through assessment of accuracy, we selected optimum land cover classification map. Also, to figure out spatial distribution pattern of land cover according to categories, we analyzed hot spots and quantified them. Optimal weight for an object-based classification has been selected as the Scale 52, Shape 0.4, Color 0.6, Compactness 0.5, Smoothness 0.5. In case of using the combination of spectral information and texture information, the land cover classification map showed the best overall classification accuracy. Particularly in case of dry fields, protected cultivation, and bare lands, the accuracy has increased about 12 percent more than when we used only spectral information. Forest, paddy fields, transportation facilities, grasslands, dry fields, bare lands, buildings, water and protected cultivation in order of the higher area ratio of DMZ according to categories. Particularly, dry field sand transportation facilities in Yanggu occurred mainly in north areas of the civilian control line. dry fields in Cheorwon, forest and transportation facilities in Inje fulfilled actively in south areas of the civilian control line. In case of distributional patterns according to categories, hot spot of paddy fields, dry fields and protected cultivation, which is related to agriculture, was distributed intensively in plains of Yanggu and in basin areas of Cheorwon. Hot spot areas of bare lands, waters, buildings and roads have similar distribution patterns with hot spot areas related to agriculture, while hot spot areas of bare lands, water, buildings and roads have different distributional patterns with hot spot areas of forest and grasslands.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.21 no.spc
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• pp.98-106
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• 2019

The coefficient and exponent of the MUSLE(Modified Universal Soil Loss Equation) runoff factor in the SWAT(Soil and Water Assessment Tool) model are 11.8 and 0.56 respectively, which are equally applied to the estimation of soil erosion regardless of land use. they could derive overestimation or underestimation of soil erosion, which can cause problems in the selection of soil erosion-vulnerable area and evaluation of reduction management. However, there are no studies about the estimation of coefficients and exponent for the MUSLE runoff factor by land use and their applicability to the SWAT model. Thus, in order to predict soil erosion and sediment behavior accurately through SWAT model, it is necessary to estimate the coefficient and exponent of the MUSLE runoff factor by land use and evaluate its applicability. In this study, the coefficient and exponent of MUSLE runoff factor by land use were estimated for Gaa-cheon Watershed, and the differences in soil erosion and sediment from SWAT model were analyzed. The coefficient and exponent of runoff factor estimated by this study well reflected the characteristics of soil erosion in domestic highland watershed. Therefore, in order to apply the MUSLE which developed based on observed data of US agricultural basin to the domestic watershed, it is considered that a sufficient modification and supplementation process for the coefficient and exponent of the MUSLE runoff factor depending on land use is necessary. The results of this study can be used as a basic data for selecting soil erosion vulnerable area in the non-point source management areas and establishing and evaluating soil erosion reduction management.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.90 no.1
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• pp.90-104
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• 2001

This study is aimed to analyze and to evaluate the revegetation and soil conservation technology in desertification-affected sandy land, resulting from the project of "Studies on the desertification combating and sand industry development". Main native plants for combating desertification : The general characteristics of vegetation distribution in desertified regions are partially concentrated vegetation distribution types including the a) desert plants in low zone of desert or sanddune of depressed basin, b) salt-resistant plants around saline lakes, c) grouped vegetation with Poplar and Chinese Tamarix of freshwater-lakes, saline-lakes and river-banks, d) gobi vegetation of gravel desert and e) grassland and oasis-woods around the alluvial fan of rivers, etc. Generally, Tamarix ehinensis Lour., Haloxylon ammodendron Bunge., Calligonum spp., Populus euphratica Oliver., Elaeagnus angustifolia L., Ulmus pumila L., Salix spp., Hedysarum spp., Caragana spp., Xanthoceras sorbifolia Bunge., Nitraria tangutorum Bobr., Lespedeza bicolor, Alhagi sparsifolia Shap., Capparis spinosa L., Artemisia arenaria DC., etc. are widely distributed in desertified regions. It is necessary for conducting research in the native plants in desertified regions. Analysis of intensive revegetation technology system for combating desertification : In the wind erosion region, the experimental research projects of rational farming systems (regional planning, shelterbelts system, protection system of oasis, establishment of irrigation-channel networks and management technology of enormous farmlands, etc.), rational utilization technology of plant resources (fuelwood, medicinal plants, grazing and grassland management, etc.), utilization technology of water resources (management and planning of watershed, construction of channel and technology of water saving and irrigation, etc.), establishment of sheltetbelts, control of population increase and increased production technology of agricultural forest, fuelwood and feed, etc. are preponderantly being promoted. And in water erosion region, the experimental research projects of development of rational utilization technology of land and vegetation, engineering technology and protection technology of crops, etc. are being promoted in priority. And also, the experimental researches on the methods of utilization of water (irrigation, drainage, washing and rice cultivation, etc.), agricultural methods (reclamation of land, agronomy, fertilization, seeding, crop rotation, mixed-cultivation and soil dressing works, etc.) and biological methods (cultivation of salt-resistant crops and green manure and tree plantation, etc.) for improvement of saline soil and alkaline soil in desertified-lands are actively being promoted. And the international cooperations on the revegetation technology development projects of desertified-lands are sincerely being required.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.237-251
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• 2019

This study evaluated the ecological value of waterside parks by investigating the animal distribution and ecological feature in 92 waterside parks and analyzed the change of ecological awareness by users and non-users of waterside parks through ecological education and promotion based on the investigation results. The result confirmed inhabitation of various animals including 9 endangered species (Pernis ptilorhynchus orientalis, Accipiter soloensis, Falco subbuteo, Charadrius placidus, Felis bengalensis euptilura, Lutra lutra, Kaloula borealis, Polyphylla laticollis manchurica, and Leptalina unicolor) in waterside parks. Although waterside parks were constructed to be hydrophilic areas for human use, some of them with high natural characteristics are valued as biological habitat. We investigated user status in 5 areas (Daejeon, Sejong, Cheongju, Kongju, and Buyeo) located at Guem river basin to evaluate people's perception of waterside parks and carried out the ecological education and promotion based on the investigation result. The survey of 200 people showed that there were more users of waterside parks than non-users and that people in their 40's showed the highest use rate. The use frequency of waterside parks located in Daejeon and Cheongju was lower than in other areas (Sejong, Kongju, and Buyeo). We considered it was because Daejeon and Cheongju were urban areas and had relatively more leisure areas such as sports facilities and cafe than other areas, and thus the residents had a lower reliance on waterside parks. Moreover, users used waterside parks more frequently when they were nearer to users' residence. It is because most users perceived waterside parks as the leisure sports facility and thus preferred them to be within walking distance. The users' perception of waterside parks as the ecological space "to be preserved" increased after the ecological education and promotion. The change of the perception was higher among users (80%) than non-users (38%). Therefore, ecological education and promotion were potentially more effective to people who user waterside parks and thus had a higher understanding of the characteristics and specification. In conclusion, 1) although waterside parks were constructed for human use, some parts had high ecological value for the distribution of endangered species and outstanding natural beauty, and 2) it is necessary to change the perception of waterside parks from the hydrophilic attribute to the conservation attribute. Such change of perception would contribute to establishing waterside parks that feature both hydrophilic and conservation attributes in the management or upgrading plan of waterside parks in the future.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.289-301
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• 2023

Forests within watersheds are essential in maintaining ecosystems and are the central infrastructure for constructing an ecological network system. However, due to indiscriminate development projects carried out over past decades, forest fragmentation and land use changes have accelerated, and their original functions have been lost. Since a forest's structural pattern directly impacts ecological processes and functions in understanding forest ecosystems, identifying and analyzing change patterns is essential. Therefore, this study analyzed structural changes in the forest landscape according to the time-series land cover changes using the FRAGSTATS model for the dam watershed of the Geum River upstream. Land cover changes in the dam watershed of the Geum River upstream through land cover change detection showed an increase of 33.12 square kilometers (0.62%) of forests and 67.26 square kilometers (1.26%) of urbanized dry areas and a decrease of 148.25 square kilometers (2.79%) in agricultural areas from the 1980s to the 2010s. The results of no-sampling forest landscape analysis within the watershed indicated landscape percentage (PLAND), area-weighted proximity index (CONTIG_AM), average central area (CORE_MN), and adjacency index (PLADJ) increased, and the number of patches (NP), landscape shape index (LSI), and cohesion index (COHESION) decreased. Identification of structural change patterns through a moving window analysis showed the forest landscape in Sangju City, Gyeongsangbuk Province, Boeun County in Chungcheongbuk Province, and Jinan Province in Jeollabuk Province was relatively well preserved, but fragmentation was ongoing at the border between Okcheon County in Chungcheongbuk Province, Yeongdong and Geumsan Counties in Chungcheongnam Province, and the forest landscape in areas adjacent to Muju and Jangsu Counties in Jeollabuk Province. The results indicate that it is necessary to establish afforestation projects for fragmented areas when preparing a future regional forest management strategy. This study derived areas where fragmentation of forest landscapes is expected and the results may be used as basic data for assessing the health of watershed forests and establishing management plans.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.471-480
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• 2008

This study was conducted to investigate the characteristics of breeding bird community in relation to altitude and vegetation in Jirisan National Park. The survey was carried over 4 study sites by point counts method to figure out habitat environment and breeding bird community from March to August in 2006. The study results are summarized as follows: Total 32 species were recorded, and 27 species and density of 37.31 ea/ha in low altitude mixed forest, 23 species and 34.99 ea/ha in low altitude deciduous forest, 18 species and 23.95 ea/ha in high altitude mixed forest, 19 species and 20.21 ea/ha in high altitude deciduous forest, respectively. Eleven species were observed only in the low altitude sites, 4 species were observed only in the high altitude sites. Number of species and density were high in the low altitude sites, and they were high in the mixed forests. In nesting guild analysis, the low altitude sites are similarly found species number of three types but canopy nesting species in the high altitude sites are advent less. In foraging guild analysis, the species number of canopy foraging appeared most highly in all study sites. In the difference analysis of each species density. Four species which are showed the difference in the low altitude sites, owing to vegetation. Long-tailed Tit(Aegithalos caudatus) and Great tit(Parus major) are difference because of difference in volume of canopy layer, and Coal Tit(Parus ater) was difference because of coniferous forest preference quality. Four species(Hazel Grouse, Winter Wren, Pale Thrush, Yellow-throated Bunting) which are showed the difference of the density in the high altitude sites because of thick growth of the bush layer. Ten species which are showed the difference in study sites, owing to altitude. Oriental Cuckoo(Cuculus saturatus), Winter Wren(Troglodytes troglodytes), Siberian Blue Robin(Luscinia cyane), Arctic Warbler(Phylloscopus borealis), Coal Tit(Parus ater), and Yellow-throated Bunting(Emberiza elegans) appeared highly in the high altitude sites, Pale Thrush(Turdus pallidus), Long-taild Tit(Aegithalos caudatus), Varied Tit(Parus varius), and Eurasian Nuthatch(Sitta europaea) appeared highly in the low altitude sites. It seems that bush layer coverage volume and canopy layer total coverage volume do influences on the breeding bird community, because the bush layer was thick growth, and canopy layer coverage volume was difference. It would be needed the management and maintenance of bush layer coverage volume and canopy layer with multi-layer structure to increase foliage height diversity and total coverage volume for the protection and management of bird community in Jirisan National Park.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.283-296
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• 2014

The distribution of heavy metals in the stormwater runoffs from industrial sites around Shihwa Lake that implements the total pollutant load management system (TPLMS) was studied to characterize the temporal changes of metal concentrations and to assess the ecological risk in dissolved and particulate phases of the selected metals. The dissolved Co and Ni concentration demonstrated first flush and tended to decrease with increasing of the duration of rainfall. The intensity of precipitation was found to be the main controlling factor of particulate metals in the stromwater runoffs. The particulate concentration of Pb accounted for 97.2% so the particulate phase was its main form. Other metals followed the sequence: Pb>Cu>Cd>Co>Zn>Ni. The particulate-dissolved partitioning coefficient ($K_d$) indicated that the $K_d$ of Pb were bigger than that of other metals because the metal Pb in the stormwater runoffs is quickly removed into the particulate phase. In a single day rainfall event, total runoff fluxes for total metals as the sum of dissolved and particulate forms through only two sewer outlets were 2.21 kg for Co, 30.5 kg for Ni, 278.3 kg for Cu, 398.3 kg for Zn, 0.39 kg for Cd and 40.0 kg for Pb, respectively. Given the annual rainfall, the number of rain days and the basin area for total pollutant load management system (TPLMS) of Shihwa area, enormous amount of non-point metal pollutants were entered into Lake with any treatment. The dissolved metals (e.g., Ni, Cu and Zn) in the stormwater runoffs exceeded the acute water quality criteria. Additionally, all metals were significantly enriched in the particulate phase and exceeded the PEL criteria of sediment quality guidelines (SQGs). These results indicated that the heavy metals in the stormwater runoffs may pose a very high ecological risk to the coastal environments and ecosystem.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.18-24
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• 2007

Paddy fields are apparently nonpoint source pollution and influence water environment. In order to improve water quality in rivers or lakes, to low nutrient load from paddy fields are required. To establish comprehensive plan to control agricultural non-point source pollution, it is imperative to get a quantitative evaluation on pollutants and pollution load from paddy fields. A field monitoring study was carried out to investigate the water balance and losses of nutrients from fields in Sumjin river basin. The size of paddy fields was 115 ha and the fields were irrigated from a pumping station. The observed total nitrogen loads from paddy fields were larger than those of the unit loads determined by Ministry of Environment data (MOE). It is because the nitrogen fertilization level at the studied field was higher than the recommended rate and the high irrigation and subsequent drainage amount. On the contrary, total phosphorus loads were less than those addressed by MOE since phosphorus fertilization level was lower than that of standard level. Therefore, it was found that fertilization, irrigation, and drainage management are key factors to determine nutrient losses from paddy fields. When the runoff losses of nutrients were compared to applied chemical fertilizer, it was found that 42 to 60% of nitrogen lost via runoff while runoff losses of phosphorus account for 1.3 to 7.6% of the total applied amount during the entire year.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.54 no.12
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• pp.1339-1348
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• 2021

In accordance with the River Law, the basic river maintenance plan is established every 5-10 years with a considerable national budget for domestic rivers, and various river surveys such as the river section required for HEC-RAS simulation for flood level calculation are being conducted. However, river survey data are provided only in the form of a pdf report to the River Management Geographic Information System (RIMGIS), and the original data are distributedly owned by designers who performed the river maintenance plan in CAD format. It is a situation that the usability for other purposes is considerably lowered. In addition, when using surveyed CAD-type cross-sectional data for HEC-RAS, tools such as 'Dream' are used, but the reality is that time and cost are almost as close as manual work. In this study, RAUT (River Information Auto Upload Tool), a tool that can solve these problems, was developed. First, the RAUT tool attempted to automate the complicated steps of manually inputting CAD survey data and simulating the input data of the HEC-RAS one-dimensional model used in establishing the basic river plan in practice. Second, it is possible to directly read CAD survey data, which is river spatial information, and automatically upload it to the river spatial information DB based on the standard data model (ArcRiver), enabling the management of river survey data in the river maintenance plan at the national level. In other words, if RIMGIS uses a tool such as RAUT, it will be able to systematically manage national river survey data such as river section. The developed RAUT reads the river spatial information CAD data of the river maintenance master plan targeting the Jeju-do agar basin, builds it into a mySQL-based spatial DB, and automatically generates topographic data for HEC-RAS one-dimensional simulation from the built DB. A pilot process was implemented.