• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
• /
• v.26 no.1
• /
• pp.74-81
• /
• 2012

Decay rate and nutrient dynamics during leaf litter decomposition of deciduous Quercus acutissima and evergreen Quercus mysinaefolia were studied for 24 months from December 2008 to December 2010 in Gongju, Chungnam Province, Korea. Percent remaining weight of Q. acutissima and Q. mysinaefolia leaf litter after 24 months elapsed was $46.3{\pm}5.4%$ and $37.8{\pm}2.5%$, respectively. Decomposition of evergreen Q. mysinaefolia leaf litter was significantly faster than that of deciduous Quercus acutissima leaf litter. Decay constant(k) of Q. acutissima and Q. mysinaefolia leaf litter after 24 months elapsed was 0.38 and 0.49, respectively. Initial C/N and C/P ratio of Q. mysinaefolia leaf litter was significantly lower than those of Q. acutissima leaf litter. Initial C/N and C/P ratio of Q. acutissima leaf litter was 46.8 and 270.9, respectively. After 24 months elapsed, C/N and C/P ratio of decomposing Q. acutissima leaf litter decreased to 22.5 and 104.2, respectively. Initial C/N and C/P ratio of Q. mysinaefolia leaf litter was 22.4 and 41.7, respectively. After 24 months elapsed, C/N and C/P ratio of decomposing Q. mysinaefolia leaf litter decreased to 16.7 and 89.7, respectively. Initial concentration of N, P, K, Ca and Mg in leaf litter was 8.31, 0.44, 4.18, 9.38, 1.37 mg/g in Q. acutissima, and 19.88, 2.73, 7.06, 8.24, 2.61 mg/g in Q. mysinaefolia, respectively. Initial concentration of N and P in Q. mysinaefolia leaf litter was significantly higher than those in Q. acutissima. After 24 month elapsed, remaining N, P, K, Ca and Mg were 100.91, 114.75, 32.99, 50.63, 15.51% in Q. acutissima, and 43.22, 11.35, 12.98, 82.22, 44.23% in Q. mysinaefolia, respectively. N and P in decomposing leaf litter was immobilized in Q. acutissima, and mineralized in Q. mysinaefolia.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
• /
• v.29 no.2
• /
• pp.171-180
• /
• 2020

The effect of three different light qualities on growth, photosynthesis, quality and safe parameters of hydroponic cultivated spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) were investigated indoor. Three different light qualities were created of red (660 nm), blue (450 nm) and green (550 nm) LEDs corresponding at ratio R660/B450 = 4/1 (RBL); R660/B450/G550= 5/2/3 (WWL); R660/B450/G550 = 1/1/1 (WL), which were tested at the same intensity (PPFD =190 μmol m^-2 s^-1). The results showed that the plant height and leaf number were the lowest in WL treatment. The SPAD, Net photosynthesis rate Pn, Fv/Fm, Leaf area index LAI values and all parameters of root characteristics were the highest in RBL treatment and were significantly different from two others. Fresh weight of stem, leaf and root, dry weight of root in the three light qualities were significantly different. In contrast, the highest K⁺ content in WL was different from WWL and RBL treatments, while Ca²⁺ and Fe²⁺ content were the highest in the RBL treatment. Vitamin C content was significantly different between the three treatments. nitrate and oxalic acid contents were the highest in WL treatment, whereas soluble-solids contents and vitamin C contents were the highest in RBL treatment. Oxalic acid, nitrate contents were observed tending reduced under WWL although oxalic acid content in RBL treatment was not different from WL and WWL treatments. In all three different light treatments were not detected Salmonella, E.coli. Our results suggest that RBL may be appropriate light for growth of spinach, but supplementary green light to a combination of red and blue LEDs at the reasonable rate can change the quality of spinach in a positive direction. Hydroponic cultivated spinach was safe for users.

• Food Science and Preservation
• /
• v.25 no.1
• /
• pp.7-18
• /
• 2018

In this study, soy-powder yogurt (SPY) with enhanced levels of ${\gamma}$-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and isoflavone aglycone was produced from sprouting high-protein soybeans (HPSs). The fermented steam-HPS sprouts (0 to 4 cm) were fermented (72 h) with Lactobacillus brevis, and the total free amino acids (FAAs) of the formed mixtures were determined to be 79.53, 489.93, 877.55, 780.53, and 979.97 mg/100 mL in the fermented HPS (FHPS), and the fermented steam-HPS with 0 cm (FSHPS-0), 1 cm (FSHPS-1), 2 cm (FSHPS-2), and 4 cm sprouting lengths (FSHPS-4), respectively. The levels of glutamic acid (GA) and GABA were observed to be the highest, 100.31 and 101.60 mg/100 mL, respectively, in the unfermented HPS (UFSHPS-1, 1 cm) and FSHPS-1 sprouts, respectively. Moreover, the total contents of the isoflavone glycoside form decreased proportionally to the increasing total levels of isoflavone aglycones after fermentation in FSHPS-0, FSHPS-1, FSHPS-2, and FSHPS-4. The levels of isoflavone aglycones were detected as 350.34, 289.15, 361.61, 445.05, and $491.25{\mu}g/g$ in FHPS, FSHPS-0, FSHPS-1, FSHPS-2, and FSHPS-4, respectively. While FSHPS-1 exhibited the highest DPPH (63.28%) and ABTS (73.28%) radical scavenging activities, FSHPS-4 contained the highest isoflavone aglycone ratio (81.63%). All in all, the FSHPS-1 mixture prepared in this study exhibited high GABA content and functional prosperity, thereby making it suitable for potential applications in the soy-dairy industry.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
• /
• v.37 no.1
• /
• pp.86-93
• /
• 2023

This study investigated the ecological characteristics of Odontobutis interrupta at the Geumdang Stream from January to December 2021. The riverbed structure of the species habitat was rich in sand and mud. The water was deep, ranging from 21 to 124 cm, with an average of 48 cm. The stream velocity was slow at 0.24 (0.08-0.36) m/sec. The ratio of females to males was 1:0.98, and the total length of collected individuals ranged from 23 mm to 162 mm. The age according to the total length-frequency distribution as of May indicated that the group with a total length of 23-59 mm was one year old, the group with 60-99 mm was two years old, the group with 100-139 mm was three years old, and the group with 140-162 mm was four years old. As a secondary gender characteristic, the females genital papilla had a cylindrical shape, a hollow inside of the tip, and a longer diameter than males. The males had a cone shape with a pointed end. Sexually mature males had the nuptial color, with a black abdomen and whole body. Some females with a length ranging from 60 to 69 mm and all females 70 mm longer were sexually mature. Some males with a length ranging from 70 to 79 mm and all males 80 mm longer were sexually mature. The spawning season was from May to July, and the water temperature was between 19.6℃ to 29℃ during that period. The prosperous spawning season was June (26℃). The average number of eggs in the ovaries was 2,473 (883-4,955) per matured female, and the matured eggs were yellowish and spherical with a mean diameter of 1.42 (1.20-0.54) mm. The correlation between total length and weight was BW=0.0000006TL^3.21 with the constant a as 0.0000006 and parameter b as 3.21. The condition factor (K) was 1.67 (1.18-2.43) on average, and the slope was 0.116.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.33 no.2
• /
• pp.158-168
• /
• 2023

Natural products have been used to mitigate the effects of cancer and infectious diseases, as they feature diverse bioactivities, such as antioxidant, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory effects. Here, we chose 10 natural products that are well-known as pulmonary enhancers and investigated their bactericidal effects on Streptococcus pneumoniae. In the disk diffusion assay, the growth of S. pneumoniae was significantly regulated by G. fructus treatment regardless of extraction method used. We first adopted spraying as a novel delivery method for G. fructus. Interestingly, mice exposed to G. fructus three times a day for 2 weeks were resistant to S. pneumoniae intranasal infection (shown both through body weight loss and survival rates compared to the control group). Moreover, we confirmed that exposure to G. fructus regulated the colonization of the bacteria despite the sustained inflammation in the lung after exposure to S. pneumoniae, indicating that migrated inflammatory immune cells may involve a host defense mechanism against pulmonary infectious diseases. While a similar number of granulocytes (CD11b⁺Ly6C⁺Ly6G⁺), neutrophils (CD11b⁺Ly6C^intLy6G⁺), and monocytes (CD11b⁺Ly6C^intLy6G^-) were found between groups, a significantly increased number of alveolar macrophages (CD11b⁺CD11c^hiF4/80⁺) was detected in BAL fluids of mice pre-exposed to G. fructus at 5 days after S. pneumonia infection. Taken together, our data suggest that this usage of G. fructus can induce protective immunity against bacterial infection, indicating that facial spray may be helpful in enhancing the defense mechanism against pulmonary inflammation and in evaluating the efficacy of natural products as immune enhancers against respiratory diseases.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• v.55 no.1
• /
• pp.35-48
• /
• 2022

Fish assemblage of total 325 of Korean peninsula estuaries were surveyed to analyze the characteristics of community structure and diversity by sea areas for three years from 2016 to 2018. The scale (stream width) of Korean estuaries were various (14~3,356 m), and 68.9% of all estuaries showed salinity of less than 2 psu. Total 149 species classified into 52 families of fish were identified, and the dominant and sub-dominant species were Tribolodon hakonensis (relative abundance, RA, 12.5%) and Mugil cephalus (RA, 9.5%), respectively. The estuary of the Korean Peninsula had different physical and chemical habitat environments depending on the sea area, and accordingly, fish community structure also showed statistically significant differences (PERMANOVA, Pseudo-F=26.69, P=0.001). In addition, the NMDS (nonmetric multidimensional scaling) results showed the patterns that indicating fish community difference by sea areas, even though low community similarity within sea area (SIMPER, 21.79~26.39%). The estuaries of east sea areas were distinguished from the others in the aspects of which, the higher importance of migratory fishes and endangered species, and that of brackish species were characterized at south sea estuaries. However, the estuaries of west sea showed higher importance of species that have a relation with freshwater (primary freshwater species, exotic species), which is the result that associating with the lower salinity of west sea estuaries because of the high ratio of closed estuaries(78.2%). The SIMPER analysis, scoring the contribution rates of species to community similarity, also showed results corresponding to the tendency of different fish community structures according to each sea area. So far, In Korea, most studies on fish communities in estuaries have been conducted in a single estuary unit, which made it difficult to understand the characteristics of estuaries at the national level, which are prerequisite for policy establishment. In present study, we are providing fish community structure characteristics of Korean estuaries in a national scale, including diversity index, habitat salinity ranges of major species, distribution of migratory species. We are expecting that our results could be utilized as baseline information for establishing management policies or further study of Korean estuaries.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• v.55 no.1
• /
• pp.84-98
• /
• 2022

Estuary is important in terms of biodiversity because it has the characteristics of transition waters, created by the mixing of fresh- and seawater. The estuarine water circulation provides a variety of habitats with different environments by inducing gradients in the chemical and physical environment, such as water quality and river bed structure, which are ultimately the main factors influencing biological community composition. If the water circulation is interrupted, the loss of brackish areas and the interception of migration of biological communities will lead to changes in the spatial distribution of biodiversity. In this study, among the sites covered by the Estuary Aquatic Ecosystem Health Assessment, we selected study sites where changes in biodiversity can be assessed by spatial gradient from the upper reaches of the river to the lower estuarine area. The α-, γ- and β-diversity of diatom, benthic macroinvertebrates, and fish communities were calculated, and they were divided into open and closed estuary data and compared to determine the trends in biodiversity variation due to estuarine circulation. As results, all communities showed higher γ-diversity at open estuary sites. The benthic macroinvertebrate community showed a clear difference between open and closed estuaries in β-diversity, consequently the estuarine transects were considered as a factor that decreases spatial heterogeneity of their diversity among sites. The biodiversity trends analyzed in this study will be used to identify estuaries with low γ- and β-diversity by community, providing a useful resource for further mornitoring and management to maintain estuarine health.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
• /
• v.38 no.2
• /
• pp.148-155
• /
• 2024

This study investigated the ecological characteristics of Odontobutis platycephala at Jaho stream from January to December 2022. The riverbed structure of the species' habitat was rich in cobble and pebble. The water was deep, ranging from 22 to 153 cm, with an average of 64 cm, and the stream velocity was rapid at 0.89 (0.42-1.46) m/sec. The ratio of females to males was 1:1.02, and the total length of collected individuals ranged from 38 to 156 mm. The age according to the total length frequency distribution as of May indicated that the group with a total length of 38-69 mm was one year old, the group with 60-99 mm was two years old, the group with 100-139 mm was three years old, and the group 140-156 mm was four years or older. As a secondary gender characteristic, the genital papilla was cylindrical in females and cone-shaped with a pointed tip in males. Some females with a length ranging from 60 to 69 mm and all females 70 mm or longer were sexually mature. Some males with a length ranging from 70 to 79 mm and all males 80 mm or longer were sexually mature. The spawning season was from May to July, and the water temperature was between 17 ℃ and 28 ℃ during that period. The prosperous spawning season was June (24 ℃). The average number of eggs in the ovaries was 988 (284-2,722) per mature female, and the mature eggs were yellowish and spherical with a mean diameter of 1.46 (1.19-1.71) mm. The correlation between total length and body weight is BW=0.00000006TL^3.12 with the constant a as 0.00000006 and the parameter b as 3.12. The mean condition factor (K) was 1.44 (0.96-2.26), and the slope was negative at -0.0007