• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.194-215
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• 2021

Termites are important decomposers in the ecosystem. They are also economically significant structural pests. In this study, we reviewed the developments of termite control and recent research on termite management to provide information on the prevention and control of termites. In Korea, most of the damage to wooden historical buildings is caused by subterranean termites. Reticulitermes speratus kyushuensis is the main species, which is widely found throughout the country. In the early 1900s, inorganic insecticides, such as arsenic dust, were used for termite control. After the synthesis of chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticide in the 1940s, it was widely utilized and demonstrated high termite control efficacy. However, chlorinated hydrocarbon insecticides were later banned, disappearing from markets after reports emerged concerning environmental contamination and toxicity to humans. Therefore, the termite control industry sought a new termiticide; hence many pesticides were utilized for termite control. Organophosphate (1960s), carbamate (1970s), pyrethroid, and insect growth inhibitor (1980s) were newly synthesized and adopted. In the 1990s, the first commercial baits using chitin synthesis inhibitors (CSI) were developed, providing a means to eliminate an entire colony of subterranean termites around a structure. Many studies have been carried out on soil termiticides (liquid termiticides) and CSI baits to increase their efficacy, and different baits such as aboveground bait stations, fluid bait, and high-durability bait were also developed in the 2000s. In addition, the paradigm of termite control has shifted from localized treatments using soil termiticides to area-wide pest management using CSI baits to create termite-free zones and protect buildings over time. Termite infestations in wooden historical buildings in Korea have been reported since 1980, and considerable attention was drawn in the 1990s when several UNESCO world heritages such as the Jongmyo Shrine and the Janggyeong Panjeon Depositories of Haeinsa Temple were infested by subterranean termites. Since then, a survey of termite infestation in wooden architectural heritage has been conducted, and the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage and Heritage Care Program regularly monitors those properties. Finally, we suggest termite management using primarily CSI baits, selective application of various soil treatments applied to the object, foundation soil treatment, research and development of durable termite baits, application of area-wide programs for wooden-building complexes, application of integrated termite management (ITM), and regular education for owners and managers to prevent and reduce termite damage.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.469-483
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• 2020

The results of long-term groundwater level and quality monitoring can be used not only as the basic data for evaluating the impact of various disasters including climate change and establishing responses, but also as key data for predicting and managing geological disasters such as earthquakes. Some countries use groundwater level and quality monitoring for researches to predict earthquakes and to assess the impacts of the earthquake disaster. However, a few cases in Korea report on individual groundwater quality factors (i.e., dissolved ions) observed before and after the earthquakes, being different from other countries. To establish the abnormality criteria for groundwater quality in Pohang, groundwater samples were collected and analyzed five times from 14 agricultural or private wells existing in Shingwang-myeon and Heunghae-eup. As a result of the analysis, it was found that Ca2+ was the dominant cation in Shingwang-myeon, while Na+ was the dominant cation in Heunghae-eup. The elevated NO3- concentration in Shingwang-myeon is contributed to the agricultural activity in the area. A high concentration of Fe was detected in a well on Heunghae-eup; the concentration exceeded the drinking water standard by nearly 100 times. Relatively higher dissolved ions were observed in the groundwater of Heunghae-eup, and it is considered as the result of the flow velocity difference and water-rock reaction accompanying the difference in bedrock and sediment characteristics. The groundwater of Shingwang-myeon appeared to be most affected by the weathering of granite and silicates, while that of Heunghae-eup was mainly affected by the weathering of silicates and carbonate. The background concentrations (baselines) of groundwater Shingwang-myeon and Heunghae-eup was identified through the survey; however, the continuous monitoring is required to monitor the possible changes and the repeatability of seasonal variation.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.239-249
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• 2020

Rice flour varieties have been developed to replace wheat, and consumption of rice flour has been encouraged. damage related to pre-harvest sprouting was occurring due to a weather disaster during the ripening period. Thus, it is necessary to develop pre-harvest sprouting rate prediction system to minimize damage for pre-harvest sprouting. Rice cultivation experiments from 20 17 to 20 19 were conducted with three rice flour varieties at six regions in Gangwon-do, Chungcheongbuk-do, and Gyeongsangbuk-do. Survey components were the heading date and pre-harvest sprouting at the harvest date. The weather data were collected daily mean temperature, relative humidity, and rainfall using Automated Synoptic Observing System (ASOS) with the same region name. Gradient Boosting Machine (GBM) which is a machine learning model, was used to predict the pre-harvest sprouting rate, and the training input variables were mean temperature, relative humidity, and total rainfall. Also, the experiment for the period from days after the heading date (DAH) to the subsequent period (DA2H) was conducted to establish the period related to pre-harvest sprouting. The data were divided into training-set and vali-set for calibration of period related to pre-harvest sprouting, and test-set for validation. The result for training-set and vali-set showed the highest score for a period of 22 DAH and 24 DA2H. The result for test-set tended to overpredict pre-harvest sprouting rate on a section smaller than 3.0 %. However, the result showed a high prediction performance (R2=0.76). Therefore, it is expected that the pre-harvest sprouting rate could be able to easily predict with weather components for a specific period using machine learning.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.75-82
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• 2023

Data for measuring the flow rate of streams are used as important basic data for the development and maintenance of water resources, and many experts are conducting research to make more accurate measurements. Especially, in Korea, monsoon rains and heavy rains are concentrated in summer due to the nature of the climate, so floods occur frequently. Therefore, it is necessary to measure the flow rate most accurately during a flood to predict and prevent flooding. Thus, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) introduces 1, 2, 3 point method using a flow meter as one way to measure the average flow rate. However, it is difficult to calculate the average flow rate with the existing 1, 2, 3 point method alone.This paper proposes a new 1, 2, 3 point method formula, which is more accurate, utilizing one probabilistic entropy concept. This is considered to be a highly empirical study that can supplement the limitations of existing measurement methods. Data and Flume data were used in the number of holesman to demonstrate the utility of the proposed formula. As a result of the analysis, in the case of Flume Data, the existing USGS 1 point method compared to the measured value was 7.6% on average, 8.6% on the 2 point method, and 8.1% on the 3 point method. In the case of Coleman Data, the 1 point method showed an average error rate of 5%, the 2 point method 5.6% and the 3 point method 5.3%. On the other hand, the proposed formula using the concept of entropy reduced the error rate by about 60% compared to the existing method, with the Flume Data averaging 4.7% for the 1 point method, 5.7% for the 2 point method, and 5.2% for the 3 point method. In addition, Coleman Data showed an average error of 2.5% in the 1 point method, 3.1% in the 2 point method, and 2.8% in the 3 point method, reducing the error rate by about 50% compared to the existing method.This study can calculate the average flow rate more accurately than the existing 1, 2, 3 point method, which can be useful in many ways, including future river disaster management, design and administration.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.439-449
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• 2023

This study was conducted to verify the role of forest roads in the extinction of large forest fires in Korea. The study area was the forest fire-damaged area of Gangneung City, Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province, in April 2023, which is one of the areas with the highest road density among the major forest fires that have occurred so far. The scope of the forest fire damage area was confirmed through on-site survey, and the intensity of the fire was carried out through Sentinel-2 satellite imagery analysis. After that, the relationship between the damage range and intensity and the forest road was examined. About 59.6 km of roads were built within 50 m from the boundary of the forest fire damage area, which can easily access the entire 149.1 ha of forest fire damaged area. The road density is as high as 168.9 m/ha. All forests that were fragmented by roads were fragmented into 83 places, and all of these forests could be judged to have spread by spotting fire. As a result of analyzing the distribution of damage intensity by distance from the road to see the extent of damage according to the ease of access of fire extinguishing vehicles, it was confirmed that the proportion of areas with low-intensity damage has increased sharply even from 75 m or more away from the road. The results of analyzing the distribution of damage intensity by altitude to see the extent of damage according to the ease of access of fire extinguishing showed that the proportion of areas with low-intensity damage increased as the altitude increased, while the proportion of areas with damage of more than strong intensity decreased as the altitude increased. It was confirmed that there is no data that roads inside or adjacent to forests in the forest fire area of Gangneung City are effective in extinguishing forest fires. These results are contrary to the logic that increasing the road density in forests is effective in extinguishing forest fires. In the case of this fire area in Gangneung City, the road density is 43 times higher than the current road density in Korea claimed by the Korea Forest Service of 3.9 m/ha. This study suggests that roads can be a hindrance to extinguishing forest fires.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.139-147
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• 2024

Erwinia amylovora is a gram-negative plant pathogen that causes fire blight in apple and pear trees, resulting in significant damage worldwide. In this study, we monitored the emergence of fire blight from 2019 to 2023 to determine the emergence patterns and the factors affecting the outbreak of the disease. As a result of the 5-year survey on the emergence of fire blight, a total of 2,029 cases have emerged, mostly in apple trees of 1,378 cases (67.9%) followed by 645 cases (31.8%) in pear trees, and from quince, hawthorn, and mountain ash trees. Fire blight appeared in specific areas of Gyeonggi, Chungnam, Gangwon, and Chungbuk provinces in 2019, but spread to Andong and Yesan in 2021, Muju and Bonghwa in 2023. In 2020 and 2021, there were 744 and 618 cases of fire blight outbreaks, respectively, compared to other years (188-245 cases/year). Notably, 914 of these cases were observed in apple trees from May to July, with 667 cases reported in Chungju and Jecheon. The incidence of fire blight was positively correlated with the daily maximum temperatures and rainy days in January and February, as well as the rainy days in May and June. The average age of the diseased pear trees was 25 years, higher than the 10-year average age of the apple trees. This study provides fundamental information to understand the status and factors affecting the fire blight emergence in Korea. Prevention measures should be established through continuous analysis of the status of fire blight.