• Title/Summary/Keyword: Ecosystem & Environment

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Global Wanning Effect on Marine Environments and Measure Practices against Global Wanning (지구 온난화에 따른 해양환경 변화와 대책)

  • Kim, Do-Hee
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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    • v.16 no.4
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    • pp.421-425
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    • 2010
  • It has been mown that the global warming has an effectet on marine ecosystem and marine environments. Then, fisherman's activity and fishing production were decreased by changing of marine plankton composition and increasing of harmful marine organisms such as jellyfish, starfish and green laver bloom. Harmful red tides algae bloom and the deserted sea bottom often occurred due to increasing of sea water temperature and sea level rising in Korea. In this report, the cause and mechanism of the global warming phenomenon and it's effect on marine environment and marine ecosystem were introduced, and measures against global warming were suggested

Ecological Risk Assessment of Chemicals of Concern for Initiation of Ecorisk-based Water Quality Standards in Korea (생태수질기준설정을 위한 대상물질의 생태위해성 평가)

  • An, Youn-Joo;Nam, Sun-Hwa;Kim, Yong-Hwa
    • Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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    • v.24 no.5
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    • pp.592-597
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    • 2008
  • Current water quality standard (WQS) in Korea is based on the protection of human health, not considering the protection of aquatic organisms. Most of chemicals can be toxic to ecological biota as well as human. Health of aquatic biota is closely related to the human health via food chain, therefore ecological risk based-WQS needs to be developed to protect the aquatic ecosystem. In this study, we selected the 31 chemicals in the Project entitled 'Development of integrated methodology for evaluation of water environment'. The methodology for calculating water quality criteria was derived from the Australian and New Zealand processes for deriving guideline trigger value for aquatic ecosystem. The available ecotoxicity data were collected from US EPA's ECOTOXicology Database (ECOTOX), TOX-2000 Database, European Chemicals Bureau (ECB)'s International Uniform Chemical Information Database (IUCLID) and Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA)'s report 'Ambient Water Quality Criteria (AWQC)'. The aquatic toxicity data for the Korean species were selected for risk assessment to reflect the Korean water environment. The monitoring values were calculated from the water quality monitoring data four main Korean rivers. We suggested the order of priorities of chemicals based on ecological risk assessment. We expect that these results can be useful information for establishing the WQS for the protection of aquatic ecosystem.

Improvement Measures for Performance Monitoring in the Ecological Sector of the Agri-Environmental Conservation Program (농업환경보전프로그램 생태분야 성과 모니터링 개선 방안)

  • Park, Ji Yeon;Choi, Yun Eui
    • Journal of Korean Society of Rural Planning
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    • v.30 no.3
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    • pp.55-62
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    • 2024
  • This study aimed to resolve issues in performance monitoring of the ecological sector of the Agricultural Environment Conservation Program through a comparative study of domestic ecological monitoring cases and to identify suitable performance monitoring methods for the project. To achieve this objective, current performance monitoring of the Agricultural Environment Conservation Program was compared and analyzed with domestic ecological monitoring cases to examine their applicability. Research results indicate that domestic ecological monitoring covers a wide range, making it difficult to diagnose the ecological environment at the village level. Therefore, it seems challenging to use these data for evaluating the performance of residents' activities. To accurately assess performances of participating villages in the project, on-site monitoring of the target areas is essential. For this purpose, efforts should be focused on strengthening on-site monitoring through the establishment of collaborative systems. However, domestic ecological monitoring can be utilized for long-term performance monitoring in the Agricultural Environment Conservation Program. By extracting necessary data on agricultural areas through geographic information and particularly by utilizing survey results according to the 'cultivated land ecosystem' type, long-term performance of the project could be evaluated. Accordingly, this study can serve as foundational research for establishing an ecological performance monitoring plan and system suited to the project.

Improvement of Forest Boundary in Landcover Classification Map(Level-II) for Functional Assessment of Ecosystem Services (생태계 서비스 기능평가를 위한 중분류 토지피복지도 산림지역 경계설정 개선 방안)

  • Jeon, Seongwoo;Kim, Jaeuk;Kim, Yuhoon;Jung, Huicheul;Lee, Woo-Kyun;Kim, Joon-Soon
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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    • v.18 no.1
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    • pp.127-133
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    • 2015
  • Interests in ecosystem services have increased and a number of attempts to perform a quantitative valuation on them have been undertaken. To classify the ecosystem types landcover classification maps are generally used. However, some forest types on landcover classification maps have a number of errors. The purpose of this study is to verify the forest types on the landcover map by using a variety of field survey data and to suggest an improved method for forest type classifications. Forest types are compared by overlaying the landcover classification map with the 4th forest type map, and then they are verified by using National Forest Inventory, 3rd National Ecosystem Survey and field survey data. Misclassifications of forest types are found on the forest on the forest type map and farm and other grassland on the landcover map. Some errors of forest types occur at Daegu, Busan and Ulsan metropolitan cities and Gangwon province. The results of accuracy in comprehensive classification show that deciduous forest is 76.1%; coniferous forest is 54.0%; and mixed forest is 22.2%. In order to increase the classification accuracy of forest types a number of remote sensing images during various time periods should be used and the survey period of NFI and the National Forest Inventory and National Ecosystem Survey should be consistent. Also, examining areas with wide forest patch should be prioritized during the field survey in order to decrease any errors.

A Method of River Environmental Impact Assessment using LCA (LCA를 적용한 하천환경영향평가 방법)

  • Kim, Sung-Joon;Jin, Ming-Ji;Jeon, Yong-Tae;Shin, Seon-Mi;Choe, Yong-Seung;Won, Chan-Hee
    • Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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    • v.21 no.1
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    • pp.93-104
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    • 2012
  • In this research LCA methodology was adapted and analyzed in quantifying estimation of estuarine environment. The analysed objects of estuarine environment were construction methods, facility, and input material into water, and estuarine ecosystem. In this research the function of LCA of estuarine environment was river with the view of controling water, utilizing water, and hydrophilic function. According to the result of research, environmental damage indicator of facility was decreased 346 Pt from 453 Pt at pre-maintenance to 107 pt at post-maintenance. Among raw and subsidiary materials, remicon, stone-netting bag, and pebbles were showing heavy environmental load in the order. Evironmental impact of input material into water system was analyzed from 1,827 Pt environmental load before construction to 1,080 Pt of post-maintenance, and damage indicator was improved at 747 Pt. Water quality was improved from 1,827 Pt (before construction) to 1,080 Pt(after construction), and ecosystem was improved after maintenance. Environmental indicator in ecosystem was analyzed 427 Pt(before construction) to 348 Pt(after construction), and damage indicator of Sumnjingang riverine system was improved as much as 79 Pt. In the conclusion, estuarine environmental monitoring through LCA in the area of facility, input material into water and ecosystem showed that close-to-nature stream was 1,172 Pt better than artificial stream in environmental aspects.

Emergy Perspectives of Ecosystem Restoration in Korea

  • Kang, Dae-Seok
    • Ocean and Polar Research
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    • v.24 no.1
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    • pp.87-92
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    • 2002
  • The emergy (spelled with an 'm') concept was introduced to provide a new insight into ecosystem restoration efforts in Korea. The emergy is defined as the available energy of one kind previously required directly and indirectly to make a product or service. It is an effort to evaluate the true contributions of natural resources to our economy. It tries to include both contributions from natures free works and human services to develop and process natural resources. The emergy evaluation can be used to select a restoration alternative that yields more to the economy with less stress to the environment, by comparing different alternatives with indices expressed in emergy. It can also be used to assess the success of ecosystem restoration projects. Pulsing dynamics in which a slow build-up of production is followed by a frenzied consumption in relatively short time period seems to be a general feature of all systems. Any ecosystem restoration effort, therefore, should consider the whole pulsing cycle for a successful implementation.

Effects of Gasoline Additive, Methyl tert-Butyl Ether (MTBE) to Human Health and Ecosystem (가솔린첨가제 MTBE의 인체 및 생태영향)

  • An Youn-Joo;Lee Woo-Mi
    • Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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    • v.21 no.2 s.53
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    • pp.93-102
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    • 2006
  • Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), an octane booster that is added to the reformulated gasoline, has been a widespread contaminant in aquatic ecosystem. MTBE is a recalcitrant pollutant having low biodegradability. Due to its higher water solubility and low octanol-water partition coefficient, it can be rapidly transported to the surrounding water environment. Also, MTBE is a known animal carcinogen, and is classified as a possible human carcinogen by U. S. Environmental Protection Agency. The adverse effect of MTBE to aquatic biota was widely reported. In Korea, the recent detection of MTBE in groundwater near gasoline filling stations has drawn concern to public health and ecosystem. To address this concern, the effect of MTBE to human health and ecosystem was discussed in this review. Also, ecotoxicity data of MTBE for fish, invertebrates, and algae were extensively compared to estimate the hazard concentration 5($HC_5$) of MTBE as a screening level.

The Great Western Woodlands TERN SuperSite: ecosystem monitoring infrastructure and key science learnings

  • Suzanne M Prober;Georg Wiehl;Carl R Gosper;Leslie Schultz;Helen Langley;Craig Macfarlane
    • Journal of Ecology and Environment
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    • v.47 no.4
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    • pp.272-281
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    • 2023
  • Ecosystem observatories are burgeoning globally in an endeavour to detect national and global scale trends in the state of biodiversity and ecosystems in an era of rapid environmental change. In this paper we highlight the additional importance of regional scale outcomes of such infrastructure, through an introduction to the Great Western Woodlands TERN (Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network) SuperSite, and key findings from three gradient plot networks that are part of this infrastructure. The SuperSite was established in 2012 in the 160,000 km2 Great Western Woodlands region, in a collaboration involving 12 organisations. This region is globally significant for its largely intact, diverse landscapes, including the world's largest Mediterranean-climate woodlands and highly diverse sandplain shrublands. The dominant woodland eucalypts are fire-sensitive, requiring hundreds of years to regrow after fire. Old-growth woodlands are highly valued by Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities, and managing impacts of climate change and the increasing extent of intense fires are key regional management challenges. Like other TERN SuperSites, the Great Western Woodlands TERN SuperSite includes a core eddy-covariance flux tower measuring exchanges of carbon, water and energy between the vegetation and atmosphere, along with additional environmental and biodiversity monitoring around the tower. The broader SuperSite incorporates three gradient plot networks. Two of these represent aridity gradients, in sandplains and woodlands, informing regional climate adaptation and biodiversity management by characterising biodiversity turnover along spatial climate gradients and acting as sentinels for ecosystem change over time. For example, the sandplains transect has demonstrated extremely high spatial turnover rates in plant species, that challenge traditional approaches to biodiversity conservation. The third gradient plot network represents a 400-year fire-age gradient in Eucalyptus salubris woodlands. It has enabled characterisation of post-fire recovery of vegetation, birds and invertebrates over multi-century timeframes, and provided tools that are directly informing management to reduce stand-replacing fires in eucalypt woodlands. By building regional partnerships and applying globally or nationally consistent methodologies to regional scale questions, ecological observatories have the power not only to detect national and global scale trends in biodiversity and ecosystems, but to directly inform environmental decisions that are critical at regional scales.

Consideration on new research direction in marine environmental sciences in relation to climate change (기후변화에 대비한 환경연구의 방향)

  • Kim, Su-Am
    • Journal of Environmental Policy
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    • v.1 no.1
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    • pp.1-24
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    • 2002
  • Due to the recent increase in greenhouse gases in atmosphere, world climate is rapidly changing and in turn, the earth ecosystem responds upon the climate changes. Comparing the ecosystem in the past, the present shapes of ecosystem is the result of the serious modification. Fishery resources in marine ecosystem, which usually occupy the upper trophic level, are also inevitable from such changes, because they always react to the natural environmental conditions. The northwestern Pacific is the most productive ocean in the world producing about 30% of world catch. From time to time, however, it has been notified that abundance, distribution and species composition of major fish species were altered by climate events. Furthermore, primary productivity of the ocean is not stable under the changing environments, so that carrying capacity of the ocean varies from one climate regime to another. Major climate events such as global warming, atmospheric circulation pattern, climate regime shift in the North Pacific, and El Nino event in the Pacific tropical waters were introduced in relation to fisheries aspects. The current status and future projection of fishery production was investigated, especially in the North Pacific including Korean waters. This new paradigm, ecosystem response to environmental variability, has become the main theme in marine ecology and fishery science, and the GLOBEC-type researches might provide a solution far cause-effect mechanism as well as prediction capability. Ecosystem management principles for multi-species should be adopted for better understanding and management of ecosystem.

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