• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.359-367
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• 2018

As an effort to explore fungal diversity, fungal survey was undertaken in 2017 in the vicinity of demilitarized zone (DMZ) located in Yeoncheon-gun, Gyeonggi-do, Korea. For the survey, wild plants and soils were sampled and subjected to fungal isolation. A total of 18 genera and 23 species including five unrecorded fungal species, Mortierella sclerotiella, M. sossauensis, M. verticillate, Eupenicillium saturniforme, and Trichoderma hispanicum, were obtained from the survey. This study described their morphological characteristics including colony features formed on media, light microscopic images and molecular characteristics of nucleotide sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, 18S and 28S rDNA, ${\beta}-tubulin$ gene, calmodulin, and translation elongation factor $1{\alpha}$ ($tef1{\alpha}$) nDNA genes.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2017

This study has been carried out for the purpose of predicting the potential habitat sites of invasive alien plants in the DMZ and providing the basic data for decision-making in managing the future DMZ natural environment. From 2007 to 2015, this study collected the data for the advent of Ambrosia trifida var. trifida through fieldwork around the DMZ area, and simulated the potential distribution area of Ambrosia trifida var. trifida using Maxent model among the models of species distributions. As a result, it showed that the potential distribution area of the Ambrosia trifida var. trifida was concentrated in the western DMZ with relatively low altitude and scanty in the central east regions with relatively high elevation and forest cover rate. Because the invasive alien vegetation is a significant threatening factor in the agriculture and restoration of ecology and it costs a lot to restore the area already invaded by invasive alien vegetation, advance precautions are necessary to prevent biological invasions. It is expected that it is possible to predict the disturbed ecosystems through this study for the efficient land use within DMZ in the future and to apply this study in setting up the areas for the development and conservation within the DMZ.

• Journal of The Geomorphological Association of Korea
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.1-14
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• 2010

This paper deals with the classification and distribution of geomorphic surfaces and analysis on effects of geomorphic processes on the landforms in the inaccessable DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) to Wonsan Bay of East Sea coast of Chugaryeong Rift Valley, Central Korea. DEM (Digital Elevation Model) and Landsat images are used for the above anlaysis. The geomorphic surfaces are classified by TPI (Topographical Position Index) for the analysis of the convexity and concavity calculated using topographical elements such as elevation, steepness, and relief. In the Chugayreong Valley, 10 geomorphic surfaces are classified as steep valley, shallow valley, upland drainage, U-shaped valley, plain, open slope, upper slope, local ridge, midslope ridge, and high ridge. Zonal Statistics presents average characteristics of geomorphological processes of surfaces by the relationships between bedrock and relief, surface and relief, and between surface and NDVI. So, these analysis can help to understand geomorphological process such as dissection of lava plateau and watershed divide evolution.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.355-372
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• 2018

The purpose of this study was to investigate the distribution of vascular plants in Mt. Daedeukbong. The study is significant because surveying the flora of old-growth forest in Mt. Daedeukbong is a way of understanding what kind of plant species exist in DMZ as the geographical characteristics of Mt. Daedeukbong adjacent to Korean DMZ have the role of a buffer zone connecting the DMZ and its southern region. We collected the vascular plants 7 times from May 2015 to May 2017 and found a total of 393 taxa consisting of 84 families, 245 genera, 341 species, 4 subspecies, 43 varieties and 5 forms. The observed rare plant species as designated by Korea Forest Service were 8 taxa, and the endemic species were 6 taxa. 44 taxa were listed as specific plant species based on phytogeographical in the investigated area. 23 taxa were recorded as naturalized plants, and the naturalized rate and urban index were 5.3% and 8.7%, respectively.

• Proceedings of the National Institute of Ecology of the Republic of Korea
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.285-292
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• 2021

We investigated habitat use and home range of a rescued and released white-naped crane using GPS tracking technology in Cheorwon, South Korea, from October 2016 to March 2017. Four types of roosting sites were identified: frozen reservoirs, paddy fields, rivers, and wetlands. Upon arrival, the white-naped crane preferred wetlands in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). In late wintering season, it showed a tendency to change main roosting sites in the following order: rice paddies, rivers, and frozen reservoirs. Among 14 sleeping places, Civilian Control Zone (CCZ) with various type of available habitats was more preferred than the DMZ. Places outside of CCZ were rarely used due to anthropogenic disturbances during the night. The tracked white-naped crane widely chose daytime feeding sites while moving around all over rice paddies in the CCZ. Mean diurnal movement distance was 10.5 km with a maximum of 24.8 km. Its home range measured with Minimum Convex Polygon (MCP) and Kernel Density Estimation (KDE) was 172.30 km² with MCP, 159.60 km² with KDE 95%, 132.48 km² with KDE 90%, and 42.45 km² with KDE 50%. All estimated values of home ranges were higher in the early and later winter than those in the middle period.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.53 no.1
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• pp.135-139
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• 2015

A total of 1,708 small mammals (1,617 rodents and 91 soricomorphs), including Apodemus agrarius (n = 1,400), Microtus fortis (167), Crocidura lasiura (91), Mus musculus (32), Myodes (= Eothenomys) regulus (9), Micromys minutus (6), and Tscherskia (= Cricetulus) triton (3), were live-trapped at US/Republic of Korea (ROK) military training sites near the demilitarized zone (DMZ) of Paju, Pocheon, and Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province from December 2004 to December 2009. Small mammals were examined for their intestinal nematodes by necropsy. A total of 1,617 rodents (100%) and 91 (100%) soricomorphs were infected with at least 1 nematode species, including Nippostrongylus brasiliensis, Heligmosomoides polygyrus, Syphacia obvelata, Heterakis spumosa, Protospirura muris, Capillaria spp., Trichuris muris, Rictularia affinis, and an unidentified species. N. brasiliensis was the most common species infecting small mammals (1,060; 62.1%) followed by H. polygyrus (617; 36.1%), S. obvelata (370; 21.7%), H. spumosa (314; 18.4%), P. muris (123; 7.2%), and Capillaria spp. (59; 3.5%). Low infection rates (0.1-0.8%) were observed for T. muris, R. affinis, and an unidentified species. The number of recovered worms was highest for N. brasiliensis (21,623 worms; mean 20.4 worms/infected specimen) followed by S. obvelata (9,235; 25.0 worms), H. polygyrus (4,122; 6.7 worms), and H. spumosa (1,160; 3.7 worms). A. agrarius demonstrated the highest prevalence for N. brasiliensis (70.9%), followed by M. minutus (50.0%), T. triton (33.3%), M. fortis (28.1%), M. musculus (15.6%), C. lasiura (13.2%), and M. regulus (0%). This is the first report of nematode infections in small mammals captured near the DMZ in ROK.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.262-274
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• 2018

Spider fauna of Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and adjacent areas in Korea was surveyed in 2001-2003, 2013-2015, and 2017. Total of 34 surveyed areas across 10 provinces were divided into four main regions (east coast, mid-east mountain, midland, and west coast areas) in accordance with administrative districts and topography. Total of 273 species of 145 genera in 32 families were identified from 10,886 collected spiders. In conclusion, the spider fauna in the DMZ is 281 species of 147 genera in 32 families with 162 species of 99 genera in 23 families in the previous reports. This corresponds to about 37.6% of the Korean spiders as of 2015. The species richness among surveyed localities was ranged 45 species to 92 species. The species richness of each taxon is high in Araneidae, Salticidae, Linyphiidae and Theridiidae. Habitat generalists were 22 species and habitat specialists were 69 species. The 143 species were web builders and 130 species were wanderers by the outlined life style. In DMZ spiders, only 7 species, Thymoites ulleungensis, Arcuphantes pennatus, Lycosa coreana, Allagelena koreana, Cybaeus mosanensis and Cybaeus triangulus, Kishidaia coreana, were recognized as Korean endemic. Five species, Scytodes thoracica, T. ulleungensis, Lycosa labialis, Takeoa nishimurai, and Phrynarachne katoi, are rare species with a trend of decreasing density in recent years. Araneus rotundicornis has been discovered for the first time since its first report. This study may be useful in the conservative management and will contribute to knowledge of the distribution and biogeography of DMZ areas in the future.

• Journal of The Geomorphological Association of Korea
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.83-99
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• 2021

Burn severity analysis using satellite imagery has high capabilities for research and management in inaccessible areas. We extracted the forest fire area of the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) in the western Imjin Estuary which is restricted to access due to the confrontation between South and North Korea. Then we analyzed the forest fire severity and recoverability using atmospheric corrected Surface Reflectance Level-2 data collected from Landsat-8 OLI (Operational Land Imagery) / TIRS (Thermal Infrared Sensor). Normalized Burn Ratio (NBR), differenced NBR (dNBR), and Relative dNBR (RdNBR) were analyzed based on changes in the spectral pattern of satellite images to estimate burn severity area and intensity. Also, we evaluated the recoverability after a forest fire using a land cover map which is constructed from the NBR, dNBR, and RdNBR analyzed results. The results of dNBR and RdNBR analysis for the six years (during May 30, 2014 - May 30, 2020) showed that the intensity of monthly burn severity was affected by seasonal changes after the outbreak and the intensity of annual burn severity gradually decreased after the fire events. The regrowth of vegetation was detected in most of the affected areas for three years (until May 2020) after the forest fire reoccurred in May 2017. The monthly recoverability (from April 2014 to December 2015) of forests and grass fields was increased and decreased per month depending on the vegetation growth rate of each season. In the case of annual recoverability, the growth of forest and grass field was reset caused by the recurrence of a forest fire in 2017, then gradually recovered with grass fields from 2017 to 2020. We confirmed that remote sensing was effectively applied to research of the burn severity and recoverability in the DMZ. This study would also provide implications for the management and construction statistics database of the forest fire in the DMZ.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.1-23
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• 2017

Gwangchiryeong, located adjacent to the Korean DMZ, is a mountain pass connecting Yang-Gu, Gangwon-do with In-je. It reaches a height of 800m (2,624ft) and stands on the flank of Mt. Daeam-san, which has an elevation of 1,304m (4,278ft). It is important to survey the flora of Gwangchiryeong in that not only the area encompassing the waterfall and the valley along with dense old-growth forest has various plant species but also it is a way to make out what kind of plant species exist in the DMZ due to the geographical characteristics of Gwangchiryeong adjacent to the Korean DMZ. Therefore, this study was conducted to elucidate the distribution of vascular plants and their value in Gwangchiryeong. The vascular plants that were collected 9 times from April 2014 to September 2015, and consisted of a total of 513 taxa: 88 families, 297 genera, 441 species, 4 subspecies, 62 varieties and 6 forms. Among those observed species, the rare plant species designated by Korea Forest Service were 22 taxa including Hanabusaya asiatica, Paeonia japonica, Saxifraga octopetala, etc. Endemic species were 22 taxa containing Cirsium setidens, Heloniopsis koreana, Salvia chanryoenica, etc. 18 taxa were recorded as naturalized plants and their naturalized rate and urban index were noted as 3.5% and 5.6%. Among the surveyed 513 taxa, edible, medicinal, pasturing, ornamental, timber, dye, fiber and industrial plants were 197 taxa, 154 taxa, 180 taxa, 49 taxa, 24 taxa, 8 taxa, 4 taxa and 3 taxa, respectively.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.311-314
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• 2009

A total of 1,498 small mammals (rodents and insectivores), including Apodemus agrarius (n= 1,366), Crocidura lasiura (54), Mus musculus (32), Micronytus fortis (28), Eothenomys regulus (9), Micronys minutes (6), and Cricetulus triton (3), were live-trapped in Gyeonggi-do (Province) (Paju-si, Pocheon-gun, and Yeoncheon-gun) near the demilitarized zone (DMZ) from December 2004 to September 2005. A. agrarius was found to be infected with 3 species of echinostomes (Echinostoma hortense, Echinostoma cinetorchis, and Euparyphium murinum), while C. lasiura was infected with 1 species (Echinochasmus japonicas) of echinostome. Other mammals were free from echinostome infections. Total 16 E. hortense were detected in 7 (0.5%) mice, 9 E. cinetorchis from 5 (0.4%), and 3 E. murinum from 2 (0.1%) out of 1.366 A. agrarius examined. E. japonicus was found only in 1 (1.9%; total 3 specimens) C. lasiura. These results demonstrate that A. agrarius and C. lasiura, inhabiting near the DMZ of Gyeonggi-do serve as the natural definitive hosts for several species of echinostomes, although their infection rates are low. This is the first record of natural infections of A. agrarius with E. cinetorchis and C. lasiura with E. japonicus in the Republic of Korea.