• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.29-40
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• 2006

This study was conducted to obtain the fundamental data for the ecological management in the Pinus koraiensis natural forest in Seoraksan National Park. The community types of the P. koraiensis forest were divided into Ainsliaea acerifolia group and Rhododendron schlippenbachii group. A. acerifolia group was subdivided into Acer tschonoskii var. rubripes subgroup and Calamagrostis arundinacea subgroup. The importance value of major species showed higher value in the order like Pinus koraienses, Abies nephrolepis, Acer barbinerve, Betula ermani, Acer pseudo-sieboldianum, Sorbus commixta and Quercus mongolica. The value of species diversify ranged from 0.44 to 0.86, and showed stronger competition in the interspecific association than in the intraspecific one. The number of individuals of P. koraiensis below 10 centimeters in the 15 study sites was 35, and it was considered that the population of P. koraiensis could be succeeded to the other species in the present situation because of lower frequency in the low layer though the canopy of tree layer was dominated with P. koraiensis. The radial growth patterns of P. koraiensis individuals were mainly fluctuated for the entire life time, which was considered to be caused by frequent disturbance.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.128-137
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• 2008

The purpose of this study is to analyze the effect of hiking trails on forest landscape's fragmentation, based on which also to assess the landscape-ecology-based integrity by small drainage area by selecting Bukhansan National Park as a survey target. The results of effect analysis are as follow; size of forest patch decreased; the density of patch and edge increased; patch shape became complicated; the dimensions of core area noticeably decreased and proximity degree between patch increased after trail-building. In addotion, the assessment results of overall landscape ecology-based integrity by small drainage basin showed that the Bukhansan catchment area was highest making 3.7 point, while Gugi catchment area was rated the lowest making 1.6 point. Putting the above results together, it is necessary to prohibit the opening up of unnecessary trails and to make room for ecological restoration of damaged and disturbance area to their original state as nature goes for landscape-ecology-based conservation and management of forests.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.1-19
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• 2023

This study aimed to identify the characteristics of the plant growth forms within the Amsa-dong Ecological and Landscape Conservation Area, a floodplain along the Han River, based on 20 years of flora monitoring data. The analysis revealed that there were 106 taxa identified in 2003, 158 taxa in 2006, 107 taxa in 2013, and 202 taxa in 2020. Compared to 2003 and 2013, the number of taxa increased significantly by approximately 50 taxa in 2006 and around 100 taxa in 2020. It is presumed that this is due to the influx of seeds caused by the flooding of the Han River due to record-breaking heavy rains during the rainy seasons of 2006 and 2020, leading to a rapid increase in the number of taxa. This was also confirmed in aquatic plants(HH) as a result of comparison of life style analysis by year. The analysis revealed that there were 19 aquatic plant(HH) in 2003, 32 aquatic plant(HH) in 2006, 9 aquatic plant(HH) in 2013, and 30 aquatic plant(HH) in 2020. The number of aquatic plants(HH) increased slightly in 2006 and 2020 compared to 2003 and 2013, and the influx of rare aquatic plants in urban rivers was confirmed. Consistent with the results of the vascular flora analysis above, these plants are believed to have been introduced from the upper reaches of the Han River when the Han River flooded due to heavy rains during the record-breaking rainy season in 2006 and 2020.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.95-104
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• 2006

The DMZ is a 248km long thin green line which has various landscapes of fields, hills and mountains. This study focused on western part of DMZ and vicinity which consist of abandoned rice paddy, wetlands and fields. The main purpose of this study is to detect the vegetation vitality from the western part of MDL to DMZ vicinity and identify and quantify ecological buffer(ecotone) width adopting logistic function derived from 'Vegetation Index-distance curve' using an Landsat ETM+ image acquired on June of 2002. Green leaf vegetation was quantified to identify the ecotone buffer in western DMZ and vicinity(civilian control area: CCA) using Transformed Vegetation Index(TVI) which is one of common measurement among various indices. Vegetation measurement from Military Demarcation Line(MDL) to vicinity area was investigated at 500m intervals to 10kms of southern and northern part of western DMZ and vicinity. The Logistic function models the sigmoid curve of growth with three stages of growth of initial competition and maturity. In the TVI-distance logistic curve, the maturity is high vegetation vitality, the competition is vitality changing, and the initial is low vitality. In the TVI-distance curve, maturity area of high TVI value is core area for ecological conservation, and the competition area between inflection points can be an ecotone(ecological buffer). In case of southern part, maximum TVI value is 221.92 and minimum is 207.16, and maximum TVI of northen part is 215.32 and minimum is 188.35. That means forest devastation of north Korean part of DMZ and vicinity is severer than that of south Korea. The width of core area for ecological conservation is 2,311m, and ecotone in the southern part is 5,339m, so minimum width from MDL for ecological conservation can be computed as 7,651m. In case of Northern part, the width of core area is 1,841m, and ecotone buffer is 5,014m, so ecological conservation width can be estimated as 6,855m. In case of northen part, width of estimated core area is less than that of DMZ width, which means ecological disturbance is very severe in northern part of western DMZ.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.307-318
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• 2010

This study was to analyze the ecological conditions, based on physical habitat, chemical, and biological conditions before (2006, 2007) and after ecological restoration (2009) in five sites of Changwon Stream (CS) and six sites of Nam Stream (NS), respectively, and then to compare ecological health between the two period. The analysis of ecological health was based on the multimetric models of Index of Biological Integrity (IBI) and Qualitative Habitat Evaluation Index (QHEI) along with water chemistry in the streams. For the study, the models of IBI and QHEI were modified as 8 and 11 metric attributes, respectively. For the evaluations, the survey was conducted in the period of 2006~2007 before the restoration and in 2009 after the restoration by the city. Chemical conditions, based on conductivity, in both streams showed a typical longitudinal declines along the axis of the upstream-to-downstream. There were no significant differences (p>0.05) in water quality between the two periods. Values of IBI in the CS and NS averaged 21.6 and 19.7, respectively, indicating a C grade in the criteria of Ministry of Environment, Korea, and there was no significant differences in the IBI between the two periods. Values of QHEI after the restoration averaged 29.2 and 63.2 in the CS and NS, respectively and the values decreased markedly especially, in the NS (35.3) after the restoration. The habitat disturbance was mainly attributed to destructions (i.e., the narrower width of riparian vegetation and higher substrate exposure by the air) of artificial materials by massive flood in 2009. Overall, our results suggest that the restoration was not effective in the two streams between the two periods, even if the budget was used a lot and that such ecological restoration, not considered the natural disaster, may not effect for the stream restoration.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Traditional Landscape Architecture
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.87-97
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• 2017

Paulownia species has long been recognized in Korean traditional culture and the values of the species have been researched in various focuses. However, studies on distribution and ecological characteristics of the species are still needed. This study aimed to identify distribution trends and ecological characteristics of two Paulownia species in Busan metropolitan city using the MaxEnt model. The MaxEnt model was established based on the environmental factors such as positioning information of the Paulownia species, topography, climate and degree of anthropogenic disturbance potentiality (ADP), which was collected in the on-site research. The study verified that the accuracy of the model was appropriate as the AUC value of Paulownia coreana and P. tomentosa was 0.809, respectively. In terms of the distribution trends of the two Paulownia species in the research area depending on the distribution model, they were both mainly distributed in downtown where built-up area and bare ground were densely concentrated. The potential distribution area of the two species was identified as $137.4km^2$ for P. coreana and $135.0km^2$ for P. tomentosa. The distribution probability was high in Jung-gu, Dongrae-gu, Busanjin-gu and Yeonje-gu. As a result of the analysis on contribution of the environmental factors, it was turned out that the degree of anthropogenic disturbance potentiality (ADP) contributed to distribution of P. coreana and P. tomentosa by about 50%, and the contribution of the environmental factors had a positive correlation with the degree of ADP. The elevation had a negative correlation with both the two species, which was considered because the species must compete more with native species in natural habitats as the altitude above sea level rises. The research findings demonstrated numerically that the distribution of P.coreana and P. tomentosa depended on artificial activities, and indicated the relevance with the Korean traditional landscape. These findings are expected to provide meaningful information in using, preserving and restoring Paulownia species.

• Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.80-92
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• 2015

Some of alien plants, which were introduced from foreign countries, have caused problems in Korea. Invasion of these alien plants in the ecosystem threatens the habitat of endemic species, reducing biodiversity, and causing a disturbance in the ecological system. In urbanized areas of campus universities, a diverse range of organisms were found and a comparison between the sites, near roads or housing sites were made because the campuses provided a large biotope. Although the campus had been exposed to interferences like gardening, it was also a place for most organisms to live in an active floating population due to free access. This research investigated the flora of alien plants that appeared in Beakseok University, Sangmyung University, Hoseo University and Dankook University, and relationship between the distribution of alien plants and the campus and green areas and distance from the highway. The total number of plant species and naturalized species found in the four universities was 189 and 43 species. Those of Dankook University were 136 and 35 species, Hoseo 108 and 25 species, Sangmyung 103 and 31 species, and Baekseok 97 and 26 species, respectively. The abundance of natural plants for each respective university tended to be higher as it became closer to the highway. Also, the closer the walking distance to the university, the greater the tendency for the degree of similarity to be higher. As a result, we may conclude that the distribution of alien plants and anthropogenic activities may be closely related.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.123-129
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• 2014

Ant communities are well suited for monitoring changes in ecosystems. Although numerous studies have examined the responses of ant communities to environmental disturbance, relatively few long-term studies on ant communities have been undertaken in urban environments. We examined species richness in nine urban parks in Hiroshima, Japan, and compared the survey results with data collected at the same sites by using the same methods in 1999. In both surveys, total of 25 species was recorded: 23 species in 1999 and 20 species in 2012. Non-metric multidimensional scaling analysis revealed that the ant communities consisted of two distinct groups, which could in turn be characterized by three patterns of ant community changes in between the two groups. The first of these community change patterns was characterized by a shift within group 1, but the number of species remained constant (approx. 10 species). The second pattern was characterized by a shift within group 2, but the number of species remained low (approx. 4 species). The third pattern was characterized by a shift from group 1 to group 2 as the abundance of Linepithema humile (Mayr) increased over time. Unlike the first and second patterns, the number of ant species in communities of the third type decreased significantly. These findings suggest that L. humile has a marked effect on the species diversity of indigenous ant communities in urban environments.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.279-288
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• 2008

Vertical forest distribution is one of the important factors to understand various ecological mechanism such as succession, disturbance and environmental effects. LiDAR data provide information, both the horizontal and vertical distribution of forest structure. The laser scanner survey provided a point cloud, in which the x, y, and z coordinates of the points are known. The objectives of this study were 1) to analyze factors of forest structure such as individual tree isolation, tree height, canopy closure and tree density using LiDAR data and 2) to compare the forest structure between outer and interior forest. The paper conducted to extract the individual tree using watershed algorithm and to interpolate using the first return of LiDAR data for yielding digital surface model (DSM). The results of the study show characters of edge such as more isolated individual trees, higher density, lower canopy closure, and lower tree height than those of interior forest. LiDAR data is to be useful for analyzing of forest structure. Further study should be undertaken with species for more accurate results.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.197-206
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• 2009

Benthic macroinvertebrate communities were collected from six different sites in the Dobong Stream in Seoul, Korea to investigate spatial and temporal changes in benthic macroinvertebrate communities in response to natural disturbances such as floods and droughts. We collected samples monthly or semimonthly with a Surber net ($30cm{\times}30cm$), and measured environmental factors, including stream temperature, discharge, width, conductivity, dissolved oxygen and pH at each sampling site. Benthic macro invertebrates were strongly affected by floods as well as droughts. In addition, benthic macroinvertebrate communities displayed different responses to the onset of the rainy season in summer 2006 and 2007, apparently due to differences in the intensity and amount of precipitation. Chironomids were particularly sensitive to heavy rain. Floods and droughts also affected the proportions of functional feeding groups during the survey period: the proportion of scrapers was high right after heavy rains, while the proportion of predators tended to increase in intermittent-type streams as the riffle zone decreased. Finally, although species richness and abundance were strongly influenced by heavy rain, they recovered to background levels for within one month, and varied consistently among stream types, indicating habitat stability.