• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.515-521
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• 2015

There is an increasing concern over heavy metal(loid) contamination of soil in agricultural areas including paddy soils. This study was conducted to monitor the background levels of heavy metal(loid)s, arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), mercury (Hg), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn) in major rice growing soils and its accumulation in brown rice in Korea. The samples were collected from 82 sites nationwide in the year 2012. The mean and range values of As, Cd, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, and Zn in paddy soils were 4.41 (0.16-18.9), 0.25 (0.04-0.82), 13.24 (3.46-27.8), 0.047 (0.01-0.20), 13.60 (3.78-35.0), 21.31 (8.47-36.7), and 54.10 $(19.19-103.0)mg\;kg^{-1}$, respectively. This result indicated that the heavy metal(loid) levels in all sampled paddy soils are within the permissible limits of the Korean Soil Environment Conservation Act. The mean and range values of As, Cd, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, and Zn in brown rice were 0.146 (0.04-0.38), 0.024 (0.003-0.141), 4.27 (1.26-16.98), 0.0024 (0.001-0.008), 0.345 (0.04-2.77), 0.113 (0.04-0.197), and 22.64 $(14.1-35.1)mg\;kg^{-1}$, respectively. The mean and range BCF (bioconcentration factor) values of As, Cd, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, and Zn in brown rice were 0.101 (0.01-0.91), 0.121 (0.01-0.70), 0.399 (0.05-2.60), 0.061 (0.016-0.180), 0.033 (0.004-0.44), 0.005 (0.003-0.013), and 0.473 (0.19-1.07), respectively, with Zn showing the highest. The results show that the levels of all metal(loid)s in all sampled brown rice are generally within the acceptable limit for human consumption.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.44 no.5
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• pp.762-766
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• 2011

Cropping system is very important for environment conservation and improvement of nutrient recovery rates in agricultural land. This case study was conducted to identify the nutrient balance of major upland cropping types with different districts. Typical cropping systems at MuAn and HaeNam located in the south coast district were cultivated with soybean-chinese cabbage or garlic and garlic-soybean-chinese cabbage-hot pepper. Alpine district, PyeongChang was cultivated with double cropping of chinese cabbage and potato-radish or chinese cabbage for one year. Typical cropping type of AnDong, YeongYang where are well known for hot pepper cultivation was hot pepper's mono cropping and hot pepper-soybean or hot pepper-sesame for one year. But SeoSan and HongSeong, where are located in mid-west coast had variety cropping system compareed to other districts. Double cropping of chinese cabbage, a heavy fertilizing crop, caused higher nutrient balance in the field when it was cultivated consistently. Experiment showed that heavy fertilizing crops, such as chinese cabbage, garlic and onion, need to be rotated with soybean and sesame cultivation which need smaller fertilizer level. Alpine arable land has shown higher nutrient balance than other areas, and the introduction of rotation crops are needed to reduce nutrient balance and environmental protection.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.823-827
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• 2010

This study was conducted to assess the propriety of models for soil water characteristics estimation in anthropogenic soil through the measurement of soil water content and soil water matric potential. Soil profile was characterized with four different soil layers. Soil texture was loamy sand for the first soil layer (from soil surface to 30 cm soil depth), sand for the second (30~70 cm soil depth) and the third soil layers (70~120 cm soil depth), and sandy loam for the fourth soil layer (120 cm < soil depth). Soil water retention curve (SWRC), the relation between soil water content and soil water matric potential, took a similar trend between different layers except the layer of below 120 cm soil depth. The estimation of SWRC and air entry value was better in van Genuchten model by analytical method than in Brooks-Corey model with power function. Therefore, it could be concluded that van Genuchten model is more desirable than Brook-Corey model for estimating soil water characteristics of anthropogenic soil accumulated with saprolite.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.110 no.3
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• pp.419-430
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• 2021

This study investigated spatiotemporal trends of sediment-related disasters in North Korea from 1960 to 2019 and post-disaster recovery cases based on a literature review and satellite images. Results showed that occurrence status of sediment-related disasters was initially externally reported in 1995 (during the Kim Jongil era); their main triggering factor was heavy summer rainfall. Furthermore, forest degradation rate was positively correlated with population density (R² = 0.4347, p = 0.02) and occurrence number of sediment-related disasters was relatively high on the west coast region, where both variables showed high values. This indicates that human activity was a major cause of forest degradation and thus, significantly affected sediment-related disasters in mountain regions. Finally, sediment- related disasters due to shallow landslides, debris flow, and slow-moving landslides were observed in undisturbed forest regions and human-impacted forest regions, including terraced fields, opencast mines, forest roads, and post-wildfire areas, via satellite image analysis. These disaster-hit areas remained mostly abandoned without any recovery works, whereas hillside erosion control work (e.g., treeplanting with terracing) or torrent erosion control work (e.g., check dam, debris flow guide bank) were implemented in certain areas. These findings can provide reference information to expand inter-Korean exchange and cooperation in forest rehabilitation and erosion control works of North Korea.

• Journal of Climate Change Research
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.303-312
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• 2018

In Ethiopia, climate change and deforestation are major issues hindering sustainable development. Local Ethiopian communities commonly perceive an increase in temperature and a decrease in rainfall. Meteorological data shows that rainfall has declined in southern Ethiopia, and spring droughts have occurred more frequently during the last 10-15 years. The frequently occurring droughts have seriously affected the agriculture-dominated Ethiopian economy. Forests can play an important role in coping with climate change. However, deforestation is alarmingly high in Ethiopia, and this is attributed mainly to agricultural expansion and fuel wood extraction. Deforestation has led to a decrease in various benefits from forest ecosystem services, and increased ecological and environmental problems including loss of biodiversity. To resolve the issues effectively, it is crucial to enhance climate change resilience through reforestation and various international collaborations are urgently needed. To continue collaboration activities for resolving these issues, it is first necessary to address fundamental questions on the nature of collaboration: does collaboration aim for a support-benefit or a mutual benefit situation; dividing the workload or sharing the workload; an advanced technology or an appropriate technology; and short-term and intensive or long-term and extensive?. Potential collaboration activities were identified by sectors: in the governmental sector, advancing governmental structure and policy, enhancing international collaborations and negotiations, and capacity building for forest restoration and management; in the research and education sector, identifying and filling gaps in forestry and climate change education, capacity building for reforestation and climate change resilience research, and developing bioenergy and feed stocks; and in the business and industry sector, supporting conservation based forestry businesses and industries, while promoting collaboration with the research and education sectors. It is envisaged that international collaboration for enhancing climate change resilience through reforestation will provide a strong platform for resolving climate change and deforestation issues, and achieving sustainable development in Ethiopia.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.357-365
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• 2018

This study was carried out to evaluate the weight loss rates, carbon and nitrogen dynamics of wood stakes following soil amendment treatments (CLB: compound fertilizer + lime + biochar; LB: lime + biochar) in a post-fire restoration area, Ulsan Metropolitan city, southern Korea. Soil amendments in the fire-disturbed area were applied to two-times (Mar. and Jun. 2015, 2016) during the study period. Wood stakes on Mar. 2015 were buried at a top 15cm of mineral soil in two soil amendment and control treatments of Liriodendron tulipifera, Prunus yedoensis, Quercus acutissima, Pinus thunbergii plantations and an unplanted area in the post-fire restoration area. Wood stakes were collected at Oct. 2015, Mar. 2016 and Oct. 2016 to measure weight loss rates, organic carbon and nitrogen concentrations. Weight loss rates of wood stakes were not significantly affected by soil amendment treatments. However, remaining carbon of wood stakes were lowest in the control treatment (43.7%), followed by the CLB (71.3%) and the LB (71.6%) treatments. Remaining nitrogen of wood stakes was less in the control treatment (29.7%) compared with the LB treatment (52.6%). The results indicate that carbon and nitrogen mineralization of wood stakes in post-fire restoration area were delayed by soil amendment treatments.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.154-167
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• 2019

As urban heat environment problems occur due to climate change, urban thermal environmental problems such as heat waves and tropical nights are becoming more serious in cities. In South Korea, forest areas favorable for generating cold air account for about 63 percent of the land area. Furthermore, the Jeongmaek, the axis of the main mountain ranges of Korea, is located close to the cities. Hence, the management of cold air is an effective way to improve the thermal environment of Korean cities. We selected the Nak-nam Jeongmaek located in the southern part of Korean Peninsular as well as two cities (Jinju-si and Sancheong-gun) located at the Jeongmaek to analyze its cold air characteristics and suggest management strategies of cold air. We used KALM (Kaltluftabflussmodell), a cold air simulation model developed in Germany and identified both the cold air flow and the height of cold air layer generated during 6 hours at night. As a result, the cold air flow generated in the Jeongmaek became clear and the height of cold air layer increased with time. Based on the results, we proposed management plans to maintain and expand the cold air flow. For example, forest areas with active cold air generation were designated as 'cold air conservation areas', and areas requiring management for good cold air flow were as 'cold air management areas'. This study is expected to be useful for establishing systematic urban ventilation plan to improve thermal environment in Korea cities.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.321-332
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• 2019

The purpose of this study is to identify the problems and present the improvement measures by assessing the suitability of planning of provincial natural parks on a legal basis. We assessed the suitability of 29 provincial parks to examine the suitability of park planning (special-purpose district planning and facilities planning) according to the Natural Park Act, implementation of the park projects, and registration of Korea Real estate Administration intelligence System (KRAS) for park management and obtained the following results. In the case of the park nature conservation districts among the special-purpose districts, 24.1 % (7 parks) were not feasible or decided the park facility that was larger than the planned area. The amended law requires the park cultural heritage district as a new special-purpose district, but 41.2% did not designate the district or failed to comply with the standard. Moreover, there was a problem of establishing or announcing the plan that was unsuitable for the management of park village district (former collective facilities district). Although provincial parks are categorized as the restricted area, the park facility plans still focus on regional development and tourism development, and the titles (names) of the park facilities are wrong. The law requires digitalization and disclosure of park plans, but many parks fail to abide by the law. We judge that it is necessary to develop effective provincial park planning and establish the measures to protect and manage the provincial parks.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.69-77
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• 2019

Pterocarpus erinaceus is a multipurpose tree species indigenous to semi-arid and Guinean-savanna woodlands of Africa. Natural regeneration on the savanna is being hampered by higher fire frequencies and other land use changes. Simultaneously, demand for timber from the species on the international market is on the rise, raising conservation concerns. To ensure sustainability, good quality seeds, sources of which have not received much research focus, are needed for afforestation. This study investigated how seed quality, germinability and initial seedling growth of P. erinaceus might be influenced by land-use type, mother tree size as well as source and timing of fruit harvest, using both correlational and experimental approaches. The results showed that up to 94.6% of all harvested fruits contained seeds, with no differences found between fruits harvested from cultivated and non-cultivated lands. Percentage of (sound) unblemished seeds was found to be higher for fruits harvested early March (47.3%) than fruits from late April (39.5%). Percentage sound seeds was 41.4% for dispersed fruits (i.e. detached fruits picked from under mother trees) which was not found to differ from undispersed fruits (i.e. fruits harvested while still attached to mother trees) at 45.5%. Also, the influence of fruit harvest time was not found to be different for dispersed and undispersed fruits. Correlations between seed set (proportion of fruits containing seeds) and mother tree size (both tree height and DBH) were found to be very low and non-significant for both dispersed and undispersed fruits. Across mother trees, mean emergence percent was 79.7%, and mean seedling height at three weeks following emergence was 5.32 cm. Both emergence percentage and seedling height were not found to differ among mother trees, but seeds from dispersed fruits had a higher emergence percent (85%) than seeds from undispersed fruits (74%). Implications of findings are discussed.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.105-116
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• 2021

Background: The creation of the National Institute of Ecology began as a national alternative project to preserve mudflats instead of constructing the industrial complexes by reclamation, and achieve regional development. On the other hand, at the national level, the research institute for ecology was needed to cope with the worsening conditions for maintaining biodiversity due to accelerated climate change such as global warming and increased demand for development. In order to meet these needs, the National Institute of Ecology has the following objectives: (1) carries out studies for ecosystem change due to climate change and biodiversity conservation, (2) performs ecological education to the public through exhibition of various ecosystem models, and (3) promotes regional development through the ecological industry. Furthermore, to achieve these objectives, the National Institute of Ecology thoroughly followed the basic principles of ecology, especially restoration ecology, in the process of its construction. We introduce the principles and cases of ecological restoration applied in the process. Results: We minimized the impact on the ecosystem in order to harmonize with the surrounding environment in all the processes of construction. We pursued passive restoration following the principle of ecological restoration as a process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem degraded for all the space except in land where artificial facilities were introduced. Reference information was applied thoroughly in the process of active restoration to create biome around the world, Korean peninsula forests, and wetland ecosystems. In order to realize true restoration, we pursued the ecological restoration in a landscape level as the follows. We moved the local road 6 and high-voltage power lines to underground to ensure ecological connectivity within the National Institute of Ecology campus. To enhance ecological diversity, we introduced perch poles and islands as well as floating leaved, emerged, wetland, and riparian plants in wetlands and mantle communities around the forests of the Korean Peninsula in the terrestrial ecosystem. Furthermore, in order to make the public aware of the importance of the intact nature, the low-lying landscape elements, which have disappeared due to excessive land use in most areas of Korea, was created by imitating demilitarized zone (DMZ) landscape that has these landscape elements. Conclusions: The National Institute of Ecology was created in an eco-friendly way by thoroughly reflecting the principles of ecology to suit its status and thus the impact on the existing ecosystem was minimized. This concept was also designed to be reflected in the process of operation. The results have become real, and a result of analysis on carbon budget analysis is approaching the carbon neutrality.