• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.339-354
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• 2021

The purpose of this study is to provide valuable information and data by analyzing the environmental status and potential forrenewable energy projects (or plans) based on environmental assessment (EA) data, so that more objective and scientific environmental assessments can be conducted. The study also suggests regional directions that could satisfy the goals of nature conservation and renewable energy. Based on the analysis of EA data that was conducted up until June 2019, the study analyzed the size, location and characteristics of both onshore wind power and onshore photovoltaic. The environmentally available potential by region was also derived by considering the main constraints and requirements related to the potential siting ofrenewable energy projects at the EA. Based on EA data, 63 out of 80 (79%) onshore wind power projects are shown to be located in mountainous areas. For onshore photovoltaic projects, a total of 7,363 projects were subjected to environmental assessment over the country. The environmentally potential area for onshore wind power, considering all the environmental regulatory factors, is 2,440 km². For onshore photovoltaic, the environmentally available area estimated as idle farmland is 2,877 km². The distribution and characteristics of the environmentally available potential of the region may be the most important factor that local governments should bear in mind in terms of promoting renewable energy development projects in the region. Based on the results of this study, even if we consider the national energy plan including the expected future increase, as well as environmental goals and socio-economic acceptance through an environmental assessment, the available resources forrenewable energy projects are not insufficient. It is possible to examine the adequacy of the target distribution rate of renewable energy sources by region taking into consideration the quantitative and scientific results such as the environmentally available potential data derived from this study.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.438-479
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• 2021

Basic information such as flora and their distribution are the key factors to consider for preserving plant diversity on a regional level. The number of plant species identified through a survey is closely related to the survey area and the number of habitats distributed within the survey area. In this study, we surveyed the flora of Mt. Maryong-san (PH) and Mt. Daeso-san (YH) located in Uljin-gun, Gyeongsangbuk-do, six and nine times, respectively. We planned to include a variety of habitats in the survey routes. As a result, we identified a total of 594 taxa composing of 112 families, 349 genera, 548 species, 10 subspecies, 34 varieties, and 2 formulas in the Mt. Maryong-san (PH) area and a total of 434 taxa composing of 89 families, 270 genera, 400 species, 9 subspecies, and 25 varieties in the Mt. Daeso-san (YH) area. Of the plants observed in the 21 habitats, the plants distributed in the transition zone around the valley and the dry grassland accounted for the highest proportion. The traditional graveyards located on the coast also served as the major habitat for the distribution of some plant species. In the two graveyards, 19 taxa of endemic plant species were surveyed. Moreover, the identified floristic target species included 1 taxon for grade V, 11 taxa for grade IV, and 24 taxa for grade III. A total of 77 taxa of naturalized plants were identified, and four of them were invasive alien plants as designated by the Ministry of Environment. The differences in the plants distributed in the area of Mt. Maryong-san (PH) and Mt. Daeso-san (YH) were mainly due to the difference in the size of each habitat distributed within the survey area. Moreover, it was judged that the entire vicinity of Mt. Daeso-san (YH) was not connected to the surrounding mountains and was an isolated area surrounded by farmland and residential areas.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.31-40
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• 2019

In Korea, 51,013 thousand tons of livestock manure was generated in 2018. A total of 46,530 thousand tons, which is 91.2% of the total amount of livestock manure generated, was treated by composting(40,647 thousand tons) or liquid fertilization(5,884 thousand tons) method. At present, the policy of livestock manure treatment in Korea is to make livestock manure into organic fertilizer(compost, liquid fertilizer) and then to applicate it on agricultural land. And this policy is very effective in terms of livestock manure treatment and nutrient recycling. However, considering the steadily declining farmland area for decades, the use of livestock manure compost could be limited in the future. There is also concern that local nutrient overloading, nutrient management regulation, and restrictions on the number of livestock may become serious problem for livestock manure treatment. In addition, there are some opinions that nutrient derived from livestock manure may flow into tributaries of major dams. In recent years, there has been a suspicion that fine dust may be generated from livestock manure compost. In recent years, the use of livestock manure fertilizer has been rapidly increasing, there is a growing demand of the development of new technologies for livestock manure treatment. Especially, cow excretes a larger amount of manure than other livestock, so that the efficiency of development of new technology for cow manure treatment will be high. Therefore, in this study, the combustion characteristics of cow manure pellet were investigated in order to analyzed whether cow manure could be used as source of solid fuel. During the combustion test, the weight loss of the cow manure pellet began to increase when the temperature of the combustion chamber reached $300^{\circ}C$. The ratio of $H_2$, $CH_4$, CO in the pyrolysis gas produced in the pyrolysis process of cow manure pellet were 6.65~11.62%, 0.58~1.54 and 11.47~14.07%, respectively.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.245-265
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• 2019

Biotope, which represents the characteristic habitats of living organisms, need to be identified as essential for the efficient creation and sustainable management of urban ecosystems. This study was carried out to provide the basic information for ecological urban planning by analyzing types and attributes of the biotop established throughout the whole area of the Pohang city, a representative industrial city in Korea. The biotop established in Pohang city is composed of 12 types including forests (coniferous, deciduous, and mixed forests), agricultural fields (rice paddy and upland field), green facilities, river, reservoir, bare ground, residential area, public facilities, commercial area, industrial area, roads, and schools. As a result of analyzing the properties according to biotop types, industrial, commercial and residential areas, which represent urban areas, was dominated by introduced vegetation. Moreover the introduced vegetation is usually composed of exotic plants or modified forms for landscape architecture and horticulture rather than native plants, which reflects ecological property of both region and site. As the distance from the urban center increases, the agricultural field showed a form of typical farmland, whereas the closer it is, the more form of greenhouse farming. Natural green spaces were divided into riparian vegetation established along the stream and forest vegetation. Forest vegetation is consisted of secondary forests (seven communities) and plantations (three communities). The urban landscape of Pohang city is dominated by the industrial area. Among them, the steel industry, which occurs large amounts of heat pollution and carbon dioxide, occupies a large proportion. On the other hand, green space is very insufficient in quantity and inferior in quality. This study proposed several restoration plans and further, a green network, which ties the existing green spaces and the green space to be restored as a strategy to improve the environmental quality in this area.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.331-344
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• 2022

This study analyzed the characteristics of the soil and hydrological environment of abandoned paddy wetlands examined the changes in land cover type in the ecological affect area, analyzed the environmental factors of abandoned paddy wetlands, and examined the changes in land cover type in the ecological impact area. The ecological environment characteristics of the reference abandoned paddy wetlands were investigated through literature research, environmental spatial information service, and preliminary exploration of the abandoned paddy wetlands, and the basic data for the restoration of abandoned paddy wetlands ware provided by examining the changes in land cover type in the ecological impact area for 40 years. Through this study, it will be possible to manage the rapidly increasing number of abandoned farmland to be converted into wetlands so that it can perform functions equivalent to or greater than that of natural wetlands. In particular, as we checked the clues that abandoned paddy wetlands could spread to surrounding ecological influences through land cover changes, the study sites are highly likely to be reference wetlands, and if the topography, soil, water circulation system, and carbon reduction performance are analyzed carefully, it will be possible to standardize the development process. In addition, through the change in land cover, clues were confirmed that the abandoned paddy wetlands could spread to the surrounding ecological affect areas. The land cover type in the ecological impact area, forests was mainly distributed, but generally decreased rapidly in the last 10-20 years, and forests were changing from coniferous forests to broad-leaved forests, mixed forests, or grassland. It has not yet been fully called to the wetland, and it is found that it has maintained the form of barren or grassland, and as can be seen in the case of natural wetlands after more than 30 years after abandoned, it is expected that the transition will gradually proceed to wetlands that are structurally and functionally similar to natural wetlands.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.366-373
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• 2021

This study attempted to establish a field data-based write analysis standard by analyzing field observation data, which is non-linear data of southern garlic. Five regions, including Goheung, Namhae, Sinan, Changnyeong, and Haenam, were selected for analysis. Observation values for each observation station were extracted from the temperature data of farmland in the region through inverse distance weighted. Southern-type garlic production and temperature data were collected for 10 years, from 2010 to 2019. Local regression analysis (Kernel) of the obtained data was performed, and growth temperatures were analyzed, such as 0.8 (18.781℃), 0.9 (18.930℃), 1.0 (19.542℃), 1.1 (20.165℃), and 1.2 (21.042℃) depending on the bandwidth. The analyzed optimum temperature and the grown temperature (4℃/25℃) were applied to extract the growth temperature for each temperature by using the temperature response model analysis. Regression analysis and correlation analysis were performed between the analyzed growth temperature and production data. The coefficient of determination(R²) was analyzed as 0.325 to 0.438, and in the correlation analysis, the correlation coefficient of 0.57 to 0.66 was analyzed at the significance probability 0.001 level. Overall, as the bandwidth increased, the coefficient of determination was higher. However, in all analyses except bandwidth 1.0, it was analyzed that all variables were not used due to bias. The purpose of this study is to accommodate all data through non-linear data. It was analyzed that bandwidth 1.0 with a high coefficient of determination while accepting modeling as a whole is the most suitable.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Traditional Landscape Architecture
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.14-23
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• 2022

The purpose of this study is to preserve the sustainable traditional landscape of the "Terraced Paddy Fields of Gacheon Village, Namhae". To this end, the changes in the traditional landscape and its factors were analyzed, and a conservation plan was sought to coexist with local communities. The results are as follows; First, the traditional scenery of "Terraced Paddy Fields of Gacheon Village, Namhae" is characterized by stonework built on a steep topography to secure cultivated land and narrow rice fields. To this end, local communities have maintained the traditional landscape through their long-established traditional knowledge, but after the designation of cultural heritage, the unique landscape of the "Terraced Paddy Fields of Gacheon Village, Namhae" changed as standardized stone construction methods were applied. Recently, the Cultural Heritage Administration recognized these problems and returned to the direct repair system of local communities, so cultivated land is regaining the scenery of the past. Second, the factors that changed the traditional landscape of the "Terraced Paddy Fields of Gacheon Village, Namhae" were largely found to be a decrease in voluntary conservation consciousness, a limited management range of preservation society, a decrease in agricultural population, and a lack of skilled traditional skills. After the designation of cultural heritage, expectations for policy support by the state or local governments accelerated the damage as existing farmland was neglected, and the lack of agricultural population also resulted in the same result. The preservation society is making efforts to preserve it, but the phenomenon of excessive and insufficient management personnel is intensifying. Conflicts between residents due to profit polarization have spread to the problem of escalating. In addition, there are concerns about the loss of traditional knowledge such as step farming technology and stone construction functions. Third, to suggest a win-win plan with local communities for preserving the traditional landscape, it is necessary to seek the ways to expand farming participants and generate profits through the placement of professional careers and public-private linkage system. In addition, it is desirable to improve the profit distribution system through the preservation society to strengthen the management authority and induce participation. And a support system is required for education on the transmission of terraced farming technology and stone construction functions.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.52-62
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• 2023

This study focused on determining the specific causes and prevention methods of mass fish deaths occurred in five reservoirs (Gagugi, Neupgokgi, Danggokgi, Sagokji, and Hangokji) in Andong-si. For this purpose, a survey of agricultural land and livestock in the upper part of the reservoirs and analysis of water quality in the reservoir irrespective of whether it rains or not were conducted. We attempted to examine the changes in dissolved oxygen (DO) in the surface and bottom layers of reservoirs and changes in DO depending on the amount of livestock compost and time. Based on the above investigations, treatment plans were established to efficiently control the inflow of contaminated water into reservoirs. The rainfall and farmland areas in the upper part of the reservoir were investigated using Google and aviation data provided by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport. The current status of livestock farms distributed around the reservoirs was also examined because compost from these farms can flow into the reservoir when it rains. Various water quality parameters, such as phosphate phosphorus (PO₄-P) and ammonium nitrogen (NH₃-N), were analyzed and compared for each reservoir during the rainy season. Changes in the DO concentration and electrical conductivity (EC) were also observed at the inlet of the reservoir during raining using an automated instrument. In addition, DO was measured until the concentration reached 0 ppm in 10 min by adding livestock compost at various concentrations (0.05%, 0.1%, 0.3%, and 0.5% by wt.), where the concentration of the livestock compost represents the relative weight of rainwater. The DO concentration in the surface layer of reservoirs was 3.7 to 5.3 ppm, which is sufficient for fish survival. However, the fish could not survive at the bottom layer with DO concentration of 0.0-2.1 ppm. When the livestock compost was 0.3%, DO required 10-19 h to reach 0 ppm. Considering these results, it was confirmed that the DO in the bottom layer of the reservoir could easily change to an anaerobic state within 24 h when the livestock compost in the rainwater exceeds 0.3%. The results show that the direct cause of fish mortality is the inflow of excessive livestock compost into reservoirs during the first rainfall in spring. All the surveyed reservoirs had relatively good topographical features for the inflow of compost generated from livestock farms. This keeps the bottom layer of the reservoir free of oxygen. Therefore, to prevent fish death due to insufficient DO in the reservoir, measures should be undertaken to limit the amount of livestock compost flowing into the reservoir within 0.3%, which has been experimentally determined. As a basic countermeasure, minerals such as limestone, dolomite, and magnesia containing calcium and magnesium should be added to the compost of livestock farms around the reservoir. These minerals have excellent pollutant removal capabilities when sprayed onto the compost. In addition, measures should be taken to prevent fish death according to the characteristics of each reservoir.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.671-687
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• 2022

It has been reported that about 47% of groundwater wells within 10 km from the coastline in the western/southern coastal areas of Korea were affected by seawater. It has been interpreted that the cause of groundwater salinization is seawater intrusion. The Gilsan stream in the Seocheon area was a tidal stream until the Geumgang estuary dam was constructed and operated. Therefore, it is likely that the Gilsan stream catchment was deposited with sediments containing high-saline formation water prior to the use of landfill farmland at this catchment area. The groundwater in this study area showed EC values ranging from 111 to 21,000 µS/cm, and the water quality types were diverse including Ca(or Na)-HCO₃, Ca(or Na)-HCO₃(Cl), Na-Cl(HCO₃), Na-Cl types. It is believed that this diversity of water quality is due to the mixing of seawater and fresh groundwater generated by infiltration of precipitation and surface water through soil and weathered part. In this study, we discussed whether this water quality diversity and the presence of saline groundwater are due to present seawater intrusion or to remnant high-saline pore water in sediments during flushing out process. For this, rain water, surface water, seawater, and groundwater were compared regarding the water quality characteristics, tritium content, oxygen/hydrogen stable isotopic composition, and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio. The oxygen/hydrogen stable isotopic compositions indicated that water composition of saline groundwaters with large EC values are composed of a mixture of those of fresh groundwater and surface water. Also, the young groundwater estimated by tritium content has generally higher NO₃ content. All these characteristics showed that fresh groundwater and surface water have continued to affect the high-saline groundwater quality in the study area. In addition, considering the deviation pattern in the diagrams of Na/Cl ratio versus Cl content and SAR (sodium adsorption ratio) versus Cl content, in which two end members of fresh surface-ground water and seawater are assumed, it is interpreted that the groundwater in the study area is not experiencing present seawater intrusion, but flush out and retreating from ancient saline formation water.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.187-195
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• 2023

Almost all of the water from agricultural dams located to the upper of the Yeongsan river is supplied as irrigation water for farmland and thus is not discharged to the main stream of the river. Also, most of the irrigation water does not return to the river after use, adding to the lack of flow in the main stream. As a result, the water quality and aquatic health of the river have become the poorest among the four major rivers in Korea. Therefore, in this study, several strategies for water quality improvement of the river were developed considering pollution reduction and flow rate increase, and their effect analysis was performed using a water quality model. The results of this study showed that the target water quality of the Yeongsan river could be achieved if flow increase strategies (FISs) are intensively pursued in parallel with pollution reduction. The reason is because the water quality of the river has been steadily improved through pollution reduction but this method is now nearing the limit. In addition, rainfall-related FISs such as dam construction and water distribution adjustment may be less effective or lost if a megadrought continues due to climate change and then rainfall does not occur for a long time. Therefore, in the future, if the application conditions for the FISs are similar, the seawater desalination facility, which is independent of rainfall, should be considered as the priority installation target among the FISs. The reason is that seawater desalination facilities can replace the water supply function of dams, which are difficult to newly build in Korea, and can be useful as a climate change adaptation facility by preventing water-related disasters in the event of a long-term megadrought.