• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.325-334
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• 2022

Paspalum distichum and P. distichum var. indutum are perennial weeds of the family Poaceae that prefer moist environments such as waterfronts and waterways. The origin of both species is North America. P. distichum is distributed all over the world. However, P. distichum var. indutum occurs only in the United States, Japan, and Korea. For this reason, in many countries, P. distichum and P. distichum var. indutum are classified as the same species. In other words, P. distichum var. indutum is a different ecological type of P. distichum. Both species can reproduce and spread mainly by rhizome fragments rather than seeds. This rhizome has a characteristic that it does not germinate if it is buried in the ground with depth of more than 3 cm. As a management method for P. distichum and P. distichum var. indutum in agricultural lands (paddy fields), it is effective to combine cultural control and chemical control methods. In other words, combining deep plowing and harrowing can suppress the budding of water sparrow that has invaded paddy fields or fallow paddy fields. After that, these two species that germinate can be controlled by spraying soil treatment herbicides such as butachlor and thiobencarb or foliar treatment herbicides such as cyhalofop-butyl and fenoxaprop-p-ethyl.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.341-368
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• 2023

Distribution of plant resources in Mt. Baekseok located at Pyeongchang-gun, Gangwon-do, were surveyed for a total 17 times from April 2021 to September 2022. The result of this survey revealed 628 taxa, consisting of 99 families, 346 genera, 552 species, 20 subspecies, 49 varieties, 6 forms, and one hybrid. Among them, 21 taxa were endemic plants to Korea, 12 taxa were red list plants by the Ministry of Environment and 560 taxa were red list plants by the Korea Forest Service. The floristic target species amounted to 164 taxa, specifically one taxon of grade V, 20 taxa of grade IV, 52 taxa of grade III, 53 taxa of grade II, and 38 taxa of grade I. In addition, 34 taxa were classified as plants adaptable to climate change. 42 taxa of alien plants and 3 taxa of ecosystem disturbance species were also found in this area. Useful plants listed consists of 246 taxa (39.2%) of edible plants, 215 taxa (34.2%) of pasture plants, 187 taxa (29.8%) of medicinal plants, 75 taxa (11.9%) of ornamental plants and 22 taxa (3.5%) of timber plants, respectively.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.151-162
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• 2023

This study investigated the characteristics of fish communities and inhabiting status of the endangered species, Rhodeus pseudosericeus, in the Geumdang Stream in Korea from March to October 2021. A total of 1,698 fish in 5 families and 25 species were collected from 7 survey stations during the survey period. The dominant species was Zacco platypus (relative abundance, 46.5%), and the subdominant species was Squalidus gracilis majimae (16.7%), followed by Rhynchocypris oxycephalus (12.0%), Z. koreanus (5.7%), Pungtungia herzi (3.2%), R. pseudosericeus (2.0%), R. notatus (1.9%), and Acheilognathus rhombeus (1.8%). Nine Korean endemic species (36.0%) were collected, including R. pseudosericeus, R. uyekii, Sarcocheilichthys variegatus wakiyae, Microphysogobio yaluensis, S. gracilis majimae, Z. koreanus, Cobitis nalbanti, Iksookimia koreensis, and Odontobutis interrupta. An exotic species, Micropterus salmoides, designated as an invasive alien species (IAS), was collected downstream. The investigation of the habitat patterns of the endangered species (class II), Rhodeus pseudosericeus, showed a habitat range of about 6 to 7 km in the middle of Geumdang Stream (RP-1 to RP-4), and this species inhabited the edge with water depths of 0.3 through 1.0 m with slow water flow and many aquatic plants. According to the community analysis results, the overall dominance and evenness indexes were low, while diversity and richness indexes were high, and the cluster structure was largely divided into upstream and middle-downstream areas. The river health (fish assessment index) evaluated using fish was assessed as good (3 stations), normal (3 stations), and bad (1 station), and water quality was evaluated as good both upstream and downstream. Compared to previous studies, the number of species was relatively similar, and among the species that appeared in the past, 13 species did not appear in this survey, while 6 species appeared for the first time in this survey. Disturbance factors included river construction, many weirs, and the appearance of the ecosystem-disturbing species, M. salmoides. Since Geumdang Strem has high conservation value because it is home to many species in the Acheilognathinae subfamily, including the endangered species R. pseudosericeus, continuous attention and systematic conservation measures are required.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.52 no.2
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• pp.79-95
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• 2024

The purpose of this study was to find the changes in the habitat of wild birds caused by climate change in urban rivers and protected areas that greatly require ecological functions. In the future, this study can be used as a management index to protect the urban river ecosystem and maintain the health of sustainable urban rivers, thereby ensuring biodiversity. The Tancheon Ecological and Landscape Conservation Area, selected as a target site, has been affected by climate change. The four seasons of Korea have a distinct temperate climate, but the average annual temperature in Seoul has risen by 2.4-2.8℃ over the last 40 years. Winter temperatures tended to gradually increase. Precipitation, which was concentrated from June to August, is now changing into localized torrential rain and a uniform precipitation pattern of several months. Climate change causes irregular and unforeseen features. Climate change has been shown to have various effects on urban river ecosystems. The decrease in the area of water surface and sedimentary land impacted river shape change and has led to large-scale terrestrialization. Plants showed disturbance, and the vegetation was simplified. The emergence of national climate change indicator species, the development of foreign herbaceous plants, the change of dry land native herbaceous species, and wet intelligence vegetation were developed. Wild birds appeared in the territory of winter-summer migratory. In addition, species change and the populations of migratory birds also occurred. It was judged that fluctuations in temperature and precipitation and non-predictive characteristics affect the hydrological environment, plant ecology, and wild birds connecting with the river ecosystem. The results of this study were to analyze how climate change affects the habitat of wild birds and to develop a management index for river ecological and landscape conservation areas where environmental and ecological functions in cities operate. This study can serve as a basic study at the level of ecosystem services to improve the health of urban rivers and create a foundation for biodiversity.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.231-243
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• 2022

Anthropogenic disturbances on freshwater ecosystem are known to degrade biodiversity, especially on fish assemblage. In this study, we have conducted fish surveys to identify impact of a bridge construction on fish assemblages. A total of eight study sites were surveyed in the Danjang and the Dong Stream in southern part of South Korea from June to November in 2021. The fish samplings were carried out five times, using cast-nets(10×10 mm mesh size), scoop-nets(4×4 mm, 5×5 mm mesh size), set-nets (10×10 mm mesh size), and fish traps (3×3 mm mesh size), along with the Stream/River Ecosystem Survey and Health Assessment by the Ministry of Environment of Korea and basic water quality measurement. Also, we applied the species diversity index and length-weight relationship regressions on certain species to identify interspecific growth rate differences in accordance with study sites. As a result, a total of 782 individuals, 23 species and 10 families were collected. The dominant species was Zacco Koreanus and relative abundance was 50.89%. When applying the length-weight relationship regressions on certain species, the 'b' value for Z. Koreanus was lower at the downstream points than at the upstream points of the construction site. In addition, when comparing to the results of the past survey, relative density of demersal fish at the upstream and downstream points decreased from 26% to 1.4%, and from 18% to 6.3%, respectively. In conclusion, it is considered that bridge construction negatively affects the habitat of fishes, especially on demersal fishes. Therefore, appropriate conservation efforts such as installation of silt protector and sand sedimentation pond are needed to alleviate the disturbance in habitat such as occurrence of turbidity and destruction of micro-habitats.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.704-715
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• 2006

Oil spill was found in 1999 from a diesel storage facility located near the top of Baekun Mountain in Uiwang City. Application of bioremediation techniques was very relevant in removing oil spills in this site, because the geological condition was not amenable for other onsite remediation techniques. For efficient bioremediation, bacterial communities of the contaminated site and the uncontaminated control site were compared using both molecular and cultivation techniques. Soil bacterial populations were observed to be stimulated to grow in the soils contaminated with diesel hydrocarbon, whereas fungal and actinomycetes populations were decreased by diesel contamination. Most of the dieseldegrading bacteria isolated from contaminated forest soils were strains of Pseudomonas, Ralstonia, and Rhodococcus species. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis revealed that the profiles were different among the three contaminated sites, whereas those of the control sites were identical to each other. Analysis of 16S rDNA sequences of dominant isolates and clones showed that the bacterial community was less diverse in the oil-contaminated site than at the control site. Sequence analysis of the alkane hydroxylase genes cloned from soil microbial DNAs indicated that their diversity and distribution were different between the contaminated site and the control site. The results indicated that diesel contamination exerted a strong selection on the indigenous microbial community in the contaminated site, leading to predominance of well-adapted microorganisms in concurrence with decrease of microbial diversity.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.579-603
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• 2020

In order to provide fundamental information about the floristic composition of the area along with an assessment of the environmental impact, a floristic study of the vascular plants in the Tamjin River estuary in Gangjin-gun was conducted for a total of nine days, in the period from June 2014 to September 2014. We found that the vascular plants in this region comprised 424 taxa belong to 102 families, 281 genera, 390 species, 5 subspecies, 26 varieties, and 3 forma. Five taxa of Korean endemic plants including Weigela subsessilis (Nakai) L.H.Bailey, Lespedeza maximowiczii var. tricolor (Nakai) Nakai, and Clematis trichotoma Nakai were collected. Two least concern (LC) taxa of rare plants (as designated by the Korea Forest Service) were collected: Hydrocharis dubia (Blume) Backer and Platycladus orientalis (L.) Franco. Ten the floristic regional indicator taxa from the third to the fifth grade were identified: two taxa belonged to grade IV, and eight taxa belonged to grade III. Twenty-four taxa of salt-tolerant plants, including Artemisia fukudo Makino, Carex rugulosa Kuk., and Suaeda glauca (Bunge) Bunge, as well as 44 taxa of aquatic plants, including Najas marina L., Nuphar oguraensis Miki, and Nymphoides indica (L.) Kuntze, were investigated in this region. Fifty-nine taxa of naturalized plants were recorded, among which the following six taxa were plants that caused ecosystem disturbance: Ambrosia artemisiifolia L., Humulus scandens (Lour.) Merr., Lactuca scariola L., Rumex acetosella L., Solidago altissima L., and Symphyotrichum pilosum (Willd.) G.L.Nesom.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.11-24
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• 2022

This study aimed to investigate the flora of Jinjosan Mt. (Uljin-gun, Gyeongsangbuk-do). The vascular plants were surveyed 9 times between March 2019 and April 2020. The results of this survey revealed a total of 414 taxa comprising of 87 families, 274 genera, 365 species, 12 subspecies, 32 varieties, and 5 forms. Among them, 9 taxa were Korean endemic plants and 5 taxa were rare plants of Korea. In addition, the specific plants by floristic region were 66 taxa including 1 taxon of grade IV, 18 taxa of grade III, 24 taxa of grade II, and 23 taxa of grade I. Additionally, eight taxa were classified as plants adaptable to climate change. Thirty-one taxa were of alien plants and three taxa were of ecosystem disturbance species, which were also investigated. The percentage of naturalized plants species and the urbanization index were estimated to be 7.5% and 5.0%, respectively. Our results provide basic data on vascular plants flora, and will guide the conservation processes of plant resources such as plant diversity and distributional changes in Jinjosan Mt.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.1-15
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• 2020

This study was conducted to determine whether invasive muskrats settle in the natural ecosystem of Korea. The study also aimed to provide information on the selection of target areas, basic behavioral characteristics, and habitat use-related data, all of which are essential for effective management strategy establishment and site management. To this end, a trend in international muskrat management was identified to examine the management direction according to the settlement stage. We also secured the location of 72 domestic farmers and classified five regions in Gyeonggi-do, Chungcheongnam-do, Gyeongsangbuk-do, and Sejong Special Self-governing City into regions with high potential for natural leakage to raise the need for a quick survey. We determined that muskrats successfully settled in the natural ecosystem of Korea, based on the fact that we consistently identified a muskrat habitat at the same point for three years, from 2016 to 2018, the age of the captured population was estimated to be 1.2 years, and there had been no additional make-up factors near the habitat since 2012. The muskrats that settled in Korea showed a small home range of 0.0027 ㎢ (MCP 95%) and were estimated to show regular mobility before Spring and Autumn. Also, the areas where the muskrat habitat was observed had a high level of habitat environment disturbance and their ecological and food intake characteristics reflected that disturbance. Muskrat traces were high in hydrophyte vegetation, which can be used as a hideout in open waters and where the growth of both floating leaved plants and floating plants are prevalent. Since international invasive muskrats have already settled in the domestic ecosystem and there is concern about their proliferation in the future, the government must consider a preemptive response and scientific management.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.210-218
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• 2018

Background: Soil respiration (Rs) is a major factor of the absorption and accumulation of carbon through photosynthesis in the ecosystem carbon cycle. This directly affects the amount of net ecosystem productivity, which affects the stability and sustainability of the ecosystem. Understanding the characteristics of Rs is indispensable to scientifically understand the carbon cycle of ecosystems. It is very important to study Rs characteristics through analysis of environmental factors closely related to Rs. Rs is affected by various environmental factors, such as temperature, precipitation, soil moisture, litter supply, organic matter content, dominant plant species, and soil disturbance. This study was conducted to analyze the effects of micro-topographical differences on Rs in forest vegetation by measuring the Rs on the ridge and southern slope sites of the broadly established Quercus mongolica forest in the central Korean area. Method: Rs, Ts, and soil moisture data were collected at the southern slope and ridge of the Q. mongolica forest in the Mt. Jeombong area in order to investigate the effects of topographical differences on Rs. Rs was collected by the closed chamber method, and data collection was performed from May 2011 to October 2013, except Winter seasons from November to April or May. For collecting the raw data of Rs in the field, acrylic collars were placed at the ridge and southern slope of the forest. The accumulated surface litter and the soil organic matter content (SOMC) were measured to a 5 cm depth. Based on these data, the Rs characteristics of the slope and ridge were analyzed. Results: Rs showed a distinct seasonal variation pattern in both the ridge and southern slope sites. In addition, Rs showed a distinct seasonal variation with high and low Ts changes. The average Rs measurements for the two sites, except for the Winter periods that were not measured, were $550.1\;mg\;CO_2m^{-2}h^{-1}$ at the ridge site and $289.4\;mg\;CO_2m^{-2}h^{-1}$ at the southern slope, a difference of 52.6%. There was no significant difference in the Rs difference between slopes except for the first half of 2013, and both sites showed a tendency to increase exponentially as Ts increased. In addition, although the correlation is low, the difference in Rs between sites tended to increase as Ts increased. SMC showed a large fluctuation at the southern slope site relative to the ridge site, as while it was very low in 2013, it was high in 2011 and 2012. The accumulated litter of the soil surface and the SOMC at the depth range of 0~5 cm were $874g\;m^{-2}$ and 23.3% at the ridge site, and $396g\;m^{-2}$ and 19.9% at the southern slope site. Conclusions: In this study, Rs was measured for the ridge and southern slope sites, which have two different results where the surface litter layer is disturbed by strong winds. The southern slope site shows that the litter layer formed in autumn due to strong winds almost disappeared, and while in the ridge site, it became thick due to the transfer of litter from the southern slope site. The mean Rs was about two times higher in the ridge site compared to that in the southern slope site. The Rs difference seems to be due to the difference in the amount of litter accumulated on the soil surface. As a result, the litter layer supplied to the soil surface is disturbed due to the micro-topographical difference, as the slope and the change of the community structure due to the plant season cause heterogeneity of the litter layer development, which in turn affects SMC and Rs. Therefore, it is necessary to introduce and understand these micro-topographical features and mechanisms when quantifying and analyzing the Rs of an ecosystem.