• Proceedings of The Korean Society of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology Conference
• /
• 2014.10a
• /
• pp.1-24
• /
• 2014

This study uses geo-spatial crop modeling to quantify the biophysical impact of weather extremes. More specifically, the study analyzes the weather extreme which affected maize production in the USA in 2012; it also estimates the effect of a similar weather extreme in 2050, using future climate scenarios. The secondary impact of the weather extreme on food security in the developing world is also assessed using trend analysis. Many studies have reported on the significant reduction in maize production in the USA due to the extreme weather event (combined heat wave and drought) that occurred in 2012. However, most of these studies focused on yield and did not assess the potential effect of weather extremes on food prices and security. The overall goal of this study was to use geo-spatial crop modeling and trend analysis to quantify the impact of weather extremes on both yield and, followed food security in the developing world. We used historical weather data for severe extreme events that have occurred in the USA. The data were obtained from the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). In addition we used five climate scenarios: the baseline climate which is typical of the late 20th century (2000s) and four future climate scenarios which involve a combination of two emission scenarios (A1B and B1) and two global circulation models (CSIRO-Mk3.0 and MIROC 3.2). DSSAT 4.5 was combined with GRASS GIS for geo-spatial crop modeling. Simulated maize grain yield across all affected regions in the USA indicates that average grain yield across the USA Corn Belt would decrease by 29% when the weather extremes occur using the baseline climate. If the weather extreme were to occur under the A1B emission scenario in the 2050s, average grain yields would decrease by 38% and 57%, under the CSIRO-Mk3.0 and MIROC 3.2 global climate models, respectively. The weather extremes that occurred in the USA in 2012 resulted in a sharp increase in the world maize price. In addition, it likely played a role in the reduction in world maize consumption and trade in 2012/13, compared to 2011/12. The most vulnerable countries to the weather extremes are poor countries with high maize import dependency ratios including those countries in the Caribbean, northern Africa and western Asia. Other vulnerable countries include low-income countries with low import dependency ratios but which cannot afford highly-priced maize. The study also highlighted the pathways through which a weather extreme would affect food security, were it to occur in 2050 under climate change. Some of the policies which could help vulnerable countries counter the negative effects of weather extremes consist of social protection and safety net programs. Medium- to long-term adaptation strategies include increasing world food reserves to a level where they can be used to cover the production losses brought by weather extremes.

• Korea journal of population studies
• /
• v.26 no.1
• /
• pp.1-30
• /
• 2003

This paper attempts to explore the effects of ecological and socioeconomic factors on the level of mortality and the changing trends of such effects during the period of 1990∼2000. For this purpose the population census data and micro-data from the vital statistics for years 1990, 1995 and 2000 were used. As indicators of mortality, the crude death rate(CDR), the standardized death rate(SDR) and the longevity rate were calculated for 170 'Si' s and 'Gun's. Using GIS, this paper first presents the mortality and longevity maps for years 1990, 1995 and 2000. Then ANOVA and regression analyses are carried out in an effort to generalize the effects of ecological and socioeconomic factors on the CDR, the SDR and the longevity rate. When the mortality and longevity maps are examined, three indices of mortality are found to be markedly high in the southwest coastal regions of Cholla-Nam-Do. By contrast, Seoul and Pusan metropolitan areas show substantially low level of mortality and longevity in these indices. It is also found that the regional differentials in the SDR and the longevity rate show a trend of becoming smaller after 1990. The research, however, does not find any linear relationship between the SDR and the longevity rate. The causal mechanisms of the two indices are found to be different. The results of the ANOVA and the regression analysis reveal that the locational factors of both mountainous and farming regions tend to increase the CDR and SDR while both coastal and farming regions disclose a tendency of increasing the longevity rate. The level of statistical significance of these analytical results is found to be weaker when socioeconomic factors such as education, income, marital status, availability of medical care, and sanitary conditions of the region are taken into account. The regional differentials in the mortality level seem to have a clear relationship not only with the socioeconomic factors but also with the age structure influenced by the age selectivity of migration during the past 40 years.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• v.39 no.2 s.116
• /
• pp.187-197
• /
• 2006

A mathematical modeling program called Hydrological Simulation Program-FORTRAN (HSPF) developed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) was applied to the Yongdam Watershed to examine its applicability for loading estimates in watershed scale. It was run under BASINS (Better Assessment Science for Integrating point and Nonpoint Sources) program, and the model was validated using monitoring data of 2002 ${\sim}$ 2003. The model efficiency of runoff was high in comparison between simulated and observed data, while it was relatively low in the water quality parameters. But its reliability and performance were within the expectation considering complexity of the watershed and pollutant sources and land uses intermixed in the watershed. The estimated pollutant load from Yongdam watershed for BOD, T-N and T-P was 1,290,804 kg $yr{-1}$, 3,753,750 kg $yr{-1}$ and 77,404 kg $yr{-1}$,respectively. Non-point source (NPS) contribution was high showing BOD 57.2%, T-N 92.0% and T-P 60.2% of the total annual loading in the study area. The NPS loading during the monsoon rainy season (June to September) was about 55 ${\sim}$ 72% of total NPS loading, and runoff volume was also in a similar rate (69%). However, water quality was not necessarily high during the rainy season, and showed a decreasing trend with increasing water flow. Overall, the BASINS/HSPF was applied to the Yongdam watershed successfully without difficulty, and it was found that the model could be used conveniently to assess watershed characteristics and to estimate pollutant loading in watershed scale.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
• /
• v.12 no.4
• /
• pp.34-47
• /
• 2009

Rapid urbanization is causing environmental and ecological damage, development thoughtless for the environment, and social and economical issues. It is important to grasp urban growth situations and characteristics, reflect them, and establish a policy for the solution of issues pursuant to urbanization and the sustainable and efficient development of national land. This research aims to be used as basic data in establishing an urban policy by analyzing the situations and characteristics of urban growth for the past 20 years in our entire country rather than an existing district. For this, some urban districts were sampled using a 1980s and 2000s version of land cover map produced by Ministry of Environment, and then pattern analysis for urban growth by administrative district ranks was conducted using GIS and a statistical technique. As a result, the development zone area after 1980s has increased by 2.5 times as compared to that before 1980s, and especially in the farm villages neighboring the national capital region, it has increased by 21.2 times. Special cities and metropolitan cities were developed at the districts being low in altitude, close to the principal road and the major downtown, high in road ratio, and restricted environmentally, ecologically and legally, and were diverted from mountains, forests and grassland to urban land. On the other hand, farm villages neighboring a large city, farm villages neighboring the national capital region, and local farm villages were developed at the districts being high in altitude, far from the principal road and the major downtown, low in road ratio, and not restricted environmentally, ecologically and legally, and were diverted from farmland to urban land. That is, it can be seen that urban development has been actively realized despite the unfavorable topographical conditions in the suburban districts due to lack of available land and various regulations and policies as urban growth around big cities expands.