• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.27-42
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• 2020

Startup accelerators have emerged as new investment entities that help early startups, which are not easy to survive continuously due to lack of funds, commercialization capabilities, and experiences. As their positive performance on early startups and the ecosystem has been proven, the number of early startups which want to receive their investment is also increasing. However, they are vaguely preparing to attract accelerators' investment because they do not have any information on what factors the accelerators consider important. In addition, researches on startup accelerators are also at an early level, so there are no remarkable prior studies on factors that decide on investment. Therefore, this study aims to help startups prepare for investment attraction by looking at what factors are important for accelerators to invest, and to provide meaningful implications to academia. In the preceding study, we derived five upper level categories, 26 lower level accelerators' investment determinants through the qualitative meta-synthesis method, secondary data analysis, observation on US accelerators and in-depth interviews. In this study, we want to derive important implications by deriving priorities of the accelerators' investment determinants. Therefore, we used AHP that are evaluated as the suitable methodology for deriving importance and priority. The analysis results show that accelerators value market-related factors most. This means that startups that are subject to investment by accelerators are early-stage startups, and many companies have not fully developed their products or services. Therefore, market-related factors that can be evaluated objectively seem to be more important than products (or services) that are still ambiguous. Next, it was found that the factors related to the internal workforce of startups are more important. Since accelerators want to develop their businesses together with start-ups and team members through mentoring, ease of collaboration with them is very important, which seems to be important. The overall priority analysis results of the 26 investment determinants show that 'customer needs' and 'founders and team members' understanding of customers and markets' (0.62) are important and high priority factors. The results also show that startup accelerators consider the customer-centered perspective very important. And among the factors related to startups, the most prominent factor was the founder's openness and execution ability. Therefore, it can be confirmed that accelerators consider the ease of collaboration with these startups very important.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.481-495
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• 2022

This study was designed to identify the actual state of naturalized plants and invasive alien species that cause disturbances to the ecosystem, plants which are introduced after forest restoration, and explore the implications resulting from the project. Onsite examination included 29 sites which have been subjected to forest restoration by the Korea Forest Service. Once these were chosen, activity took place twice a year in the spring (May-June) and in the summer (August-September) in 2020 and 2021. Areas not relevant to the project sites were excluded from this activity so that we could identify the plants that could be understood to have been introduced or brought into the site after the actual forest restoration. And the correlation was analyzed, between the naturalized flora within the project sites and the working types applied to the site through confirmation of completion of the restoration project. The naturalized plants appearing on the entire site cover a total of 109 taxa, which includes 29 families, 80 genera, 108 species and 1 subspecies, while invasive plants included 3 families, 7 genera and 8 species. The number of classifications and the naturalization rate gradually decreased over time, after the project. While there was no significant difference between the number of classification groups and the naturalization rate for naturalized plants between project sites, given the number of taxa of naturalized plants, organized by type of damage, there were relatively more naturalized plants that appeared in the severed section of the Baekdudaegan Mountain Range, as well as at quarry and facility sites. Seeding apparently results in naturalization rates as high as 15.545%, on average, based on comparisons of naturalization rates by sowing, seeding, planting, herb planting, and sod pitching channels, all of these being methods of vegetation for planting/greening of bareland and slopes within the project areas. With no seeding, it was 9.167%, higher than the average. As for other vegetation, there was no significant difference depending on application of the working type. This means that unlike the plants subjected to planting, the working type of seed planting which makes it difficult to identify whether a certain plant is a naturalized plant greatly affects the introduction of naturalized plants to the restoration sites, even when using herb planting and sod pitching to control plants and results. Therefore the study suggests that there be inspection by experts of seeds when sowing within restoration sites. The results of this study suggest good practices that will help to direct effective vegetation restoration and follow-up management.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.212-223
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• 2022

For the remediation and restoration of contaminated sediment at the West Sea-Byeong dumping site, dredged materials was dumped in 2013, 2014, 2016, and 2017. The physicochemical properties and benthic fauna in surface sediments of the capping area (5 stations) and natural recovery area (2 stations) were analyzed annually from 2014 to 2020 to evaluate the capping effect of the dredged materials. The natural recovery area had a finer sediment with a mean particle size of 5.91-7.64 Φ, while the sediment in the capping area consisted of coarse-grained particles with a mean particle size of 1.47-3.01 Φ owing to the capping effect of dredged materials. Considering that the contents of organic matters (COD, TOC, and TN) and heavy metals in the capping area are approximately 50 % lower (p<0.05) than that in the natural recovery area, it is judged that there is a capping effect of dredged materials. As a result of analyzing macrobenthic assemblages, the number of species and ecological indices of the capping area were significantly lower than that of the natural recovery area (p<0.05). The number of species and ecological indices at the capping area were increased for the first four years after the capping in 2013 and 2014 and then tended to decrease thereafter. It is presumed that opportunistic species, which have rapid growth and short lifetime, appeared dominantly during the initial phase of capping, and the additory capping in 2016 and 2017 caused re-disturbance in the habitat environment. In the natural recovery and capping areas, Azti's Marine Biotic Index (AMBI) was evaluated as a fine healthy status because it maintained the level of 2^nd grades (Good), whereas Benthic Pollution Index (BPI) remained at the 1^st and 2^nd grade. Therefore, capping of dredged materials for remediation of contaminated sediment in the dumping site has the effect of reducing the pollution level. However, in terms of the benthic ecosystem, it is recommended that the recovery trend should be monitored long-term. Additionally, it is necessary to introduce an adaptive management strategy when expanding the project to remediate the contaminated sediment at the dumping area in the future.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.50 no.5
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• pp.30-39
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• 2022

This study aimed to evaluate the awareness of conservation areas and green resources and analyze their characteristics by utilizing accumulated blog data created for specific places and objects. Among all the conservation areas and resources located in the Seoul metropolitan area, places that can be evaluated were classified, and sites were evaluated by dividing them into ten categories based on the number of blog posts written. As a result of the study, the users' awareness of forests was the highest, and the awareness of conservation areas and green resources was higher in urban areas than suburban areas. The result shows that the conservation areas and green resources located around the metropolitan area serve as natural tourist destinations while being the object of conservation for users. In addition, these results are in the same vein as the research results in domestic and foreign studies on the importance of ecosystem services in urban areas. Unlike existing research methods, this study is meaningful in that it identified the level of user awareness through social media analysis and applied it to evaluating conservation areas and green resources. It can be used as basic data to prepare a management plan considering public interest and awareness or to establish a development plan to increase awareness. In addition, the cumulative amount of blog content used in the study is meaningful in that it can identify and monitor users' interest in the space. However, it was not possible to examine the contents of each blog in detail because it was evaluated based on the amount of social media content. In addition, in the case of conservation areas and green resources, it is necessary to review and supplement the evaluation contents by adding keyword analysis and content analysis for the site to be evaluated as content other than the pure viewpoint of users may be mixed with development issues.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.185-200
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• 2022

The risk of various hazardous substances in aquatic environment comprises not only the concentration of substances in the environmental medium but also their accumulation in fish through complex food web and the health risks to humans through the fish. In Korea, the monitoring of residual toxicant in aquatic ecosystems began in 2016 following the enforcement of the Acts on registration and evaluation for the management of chemicals used in daily life (consumer chemical products), and attention has been paid to potentially hazardous substances attributed to them. Recently, studies have been carried out to investigate the distribution of these hazardous substances in the ecosystem and calculate their emission factors. These include the accumulation and transport of substances, such as detergents, dyes, fragrances, cosmetics, and disinfectants, within trophic levels. This study summarizes the results of recently published research on the inflow and distribution of hazardous substances from consumer chemical products to the aquatic environment and presents the scientific implication. Based on studies on aquatic environment monitoring techniques, this study suggests research directions for monitoring the residual concentration and distribution of harmful chemical substances in aquatic ecosystems. In particular, this study introduces the directions for research on trophic position analysis using compound specific isotope analysis and trophic magnification factors, which are needed to fulfill the contemporary requirements of selecting target fish based on the survey of major fish that inhabit domestic waters and assessment of associated health risk. In addition, this study provides suggestions for future biota monitoring and chemical research in Korea.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.55 no.2
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• pp.132-144
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• 2022

The fish community in the Seomjin River-Seomjin River Estuary-Gwangyang Bay coast continuum was investigated three times from March 2019 to October 2019. The collected species at the eight sites during the survey period were 49 species belonging to 31 families, including two endangered species. According to Bray-Curtis similarities, observations were divided into four groups based on the fish community composition; two groups (group 1, 2) and two uncategorized groups (group 3, 4). ANOSIM based on spatial and temporal groupings indicated that the spatial differences in fish communities (R=0.398, P=0.001) were relatively more important than the temporal differences (analysis of similarities, R=0.273, P=0.002). In particular, there were significant differences between groups 1 and 2 (analysis of similarities, R=0.556, P=0.001), and similarity percentage analysis revealed that Argyrosomus argentatus (9.4%), Favonigobius gymnauchen (6.9%) and Konosirus punctatus (5.9%) contributed to these differences of fish assemblages for each group. The fish fauna distributed in the Seomjin River-Gwangyang Bay ecosystem were spatially divided and the number of species and number of individuals showed seasonal differences. This study could be a basis for understanding changes in the fish community and implementing conservation and management strategies on major species within a continuous environment of the river-estuary-ocean continuum.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.184-195
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• 2023

To develop an effective management plan for Ambrosia trifida L., an invasive alien plant in Korea, we assessed the potential of Ophraella communa LeSage as a biological control agent. This involved investigating the host specificity of the herbivore Ophraella communa LeSage, its annual travel distance, and the impact of this insect on the fitness of Ambrosia trifida L. We confirmed the host plant preference of Ophraella communa LeSage. The travel distance of this insect was determined by monitoring its appearance in selected Ambrosia trifida L. communities without these insects at distances of 10, 20, 30, and 100 meters, based on the locations where the presence of Ophraella communa LeSage was observed. The growth, reproductive, and physiological responses of Ambrosia trifida L. were measured according to feeding by Ophraella communa LeSage. As a result, Ophraella communa LeSage fed on only three taxa and moved short distances within a radius of 30 m per year from the host. The feeding behavior of the herbivore had a negative impact on the growth, reproductive, and physiological responses of Ambrosia trifida L. And the plant's growth and reproduction improved with increasing distance from the herbivore. Furthermore, the introduction of herbivores was able to control over 90% of Ambrosia trifida L. when the coverage of the Ambrosia trifida L. group was below 50%. However, the effectiveness of the removal decreased when the coverage exceeded 90%. These results are likely to be utilized by Ophraella communa LeSage as an ecological control agent. It is advantageous to introduce them in spring (May) when the coverage is low to maximize the effectiveness of control.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.112 no.1
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• pp.71-82
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• 2023

Forest biomass is used as a representative indicator of forest size, maturity, and productivity. Therefore, quantitative evaluation is important for management and harvest as well as the evaluation of ecosystem functions and services including CO₂ absorption. The allometric equation is a widely used method for estimating the value of each component through the relative growth rate of plants. Recently, studies indicated that the relative growth of trees is changing because of the increased CO₂ concentration in the atmosphere and the resulting climate change, raising the need to review the previously developed relative growth models and coefficients. In this study, the height-diameter at breast height (DBH) relationships of four major tree species in Korea [(Pinus densiflora (PD), Larix kaempferi (LK), Quercus variabilis (QV), and Quercus mongolica (QM)] were analyzed using the 5th-7th National Forest Inventory (NFI) data. Furthermore, these results were compared with the present yield table from the National Institute for Forest Science. This analysis revealed that the expected height for the same DBH increased as the NFI progressed. For example, in model analysis, the expected heights for PD, LK, QV, and QM for DBH of 25 cm were 12.48, 19.17, 14.47, and 13.19 m, respectively, in the 5th NFI data. In the 7th NFI data, these values were estimated as 13.61 (+9.1%), 21.58 (+12.7%), 15.76 (+8.9%), and 13.93 m (+5.6%), respectively. These results indicate that the major tree species in South Korean forests currently are more vigorous in height growth than in diameter growth when compared to the height-DBH development trends by tree species identified through past survey data.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.111 no.4
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• pp.473-481
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• 2022

Environment-friendly harvesting is practiced to maintain ecosystem, landscape, and forest protection functions. The present study was conducted at Simgok-ri, Sinbuk-myeon, Pocheon, Gyeonngi-do, where a 41-50-year-old Japanese larch forest was harvested in an environment-friendly manner from 2017 to 2019. The dynamics of organic matter in this forest were investigated at three years after the harvest. Specifically, organic matter content was measured on the forest floor and in overstory biomass, litterfall, and soil up to 30 cm in depth from June 2020 to January 2021. Owing to the harvest, the amount of overstory biomass of the Japanese larch stands decreased from 142.22 to 44.20 t ha^-1. On the forest floor, the amount of organic matter was 32.87 t ha^-1 in the control plots and 23.34 t ha^-1 in the harvest plots. Annual litterfall was 4.43 t ha^-1 yr^-1 in the control plots and 1.16 t ha^-1 yr^-1 in the harvest plots. Soil bulk density in the B horizon was 0.97 g cm^-3 in the control plots and 1.06 g cm^-3 i n the harvest plots. Soil organic matter content was 11.5% in the control plots and 12.8% in the harvest plots. The total amount of soil organic matter did not differ significantly between the control plots (245.21 t ha^-1) and harvest plots (263.92 t ha^-1), although the amount of soil organic matter tended to be higher in the harvest plots. The total amount of organic matter in the forest was estimated to be 406.48 t ha^-1 in the control plots and 338.21 t ha^-1 in the harvest plots. In the harvest plots, the ratio of aboveground organic matter decreased to 13.1% and soil organic matter increased to 78.0%, indicating that the distribution of organic matter changed significantly in these plots. Overall, the carbon accumulated in aboveground biomass was substantially reduced by environment-friendly harvesting, whereas the soil carbon level increased, which played a role in mitigating the reduction of system carbon in the forest. These results highlight one possible resolution for forest management in terms of coping with climate change. However, given that only three years of environment-friendly harvesting data were analyzed, further research on the dynamics of organic matter and tree growth is needed.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.94-111
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• 2023

In order to establish an effective management strategy for invasive species early detection and regular monitoring are required to assess their introduction or dispersal. Environmental DNA (eDNA) is actively applied to evaluate the fauna including the presence of invasive species as it has high detection sensitivity and can detect multiple species simultaneously. In Korea, the applicability evaluation of metabarcoding is being conducted mainly on fish, and research on other taxa is insufficient. Therefore, this study identified the feasibility of detecting invasive species in Korea using eDNA metabarcoding. In addition, to confirm the possibility of detection by taxa, the detection of target species was evaluated using four universal primers (MiFish, MiMammal, Mibird, Amp16S) designed for fish, mammals, birds, and amphibians. As a result, target species (Trachemys scripta, 3 sites; Cervus nippon, 3 sites; Micropterus salmoides, 7 sites; Rana catesbeiana, 4 sites) were detected in 17 of the total 55 sites. Even in the selection of dense sampling sites within the study area, there was a difference in the detection result by reflecting the ecological characteristics of the target species. A comparison of community structures (species richness, abundance and diversity) based on the presence of invasive species focused on M.salmoides and T.scripta, showed higher diversity at the point where invasive species were detected. Also, 1 to 4 more species were detected and abundance was also up to 1.7 times higher. The results of invasive species detection through metabarcoding and the comparison of community structures indicate that the accumulation of large amounts of monitoring data through eDNA can be efficiently utilized for multidimensional ecosystem evaluation. In addition, it suggested that eDNA can be used as major data for evaluation and prediction, such as tracking biological changes caused by artificial and natural factors and environmental impact assessment.