• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.92-106
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• 2008

The purpose of this study is to identify land use types and to develop and evaluate biotope maps for Gangseo-Gu (ward) in Busan Metropolitan City, South Korea, using the Degree of Hemeroby. Hemeroby is a measurement concept or tool to assess the magnitude of human impact on ecosystems. Gangseo-Gu is the second largest Gu in Busan and is under strong development pressure. Before the field survey, biotopes were pre-classified based on digital maps, aerial photos and high-resolution satellite images. The method employed in biotope survey and mapping was adopted from the modified method used in Seoul, which carried out the first biotope mapping in Korea in 2000. In the field survey, a comprehensive biotope mapping method was used. The results showed that the total surface area of biotopes in Gangseo-gu was $172,620,207m^2$(42,655 acres) and there were 29 biotope types with 13,631 polygons. The ratio of urban or built-up area 22.6% and the remaining areas were forest and open spaces, of which 22.6% were actual forest areas and 35.6% were paddy fields and other field areas. The Hemeroby Index of Gangseo-gu was 54.7, which suggests that Gangseo-gu has not yet been developed extensively and needs a long-term conservation and coordinated development plan.