• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.57 no.2
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• pp.271-280
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• 2024

This study examines the European Union (EU)'s policies on managing nitrate contamination in groundwater and provides implications for the future groundwater management in South Korea. Initiated by the 1991 Nitrate Directive, the EU has pursued a multifaceted approach to reduce agricultural nitrate pollution through sustainable ('good') farming practices, regular nitrate level monitoring, and designating Nitrate Vulnerable Zones. Further policy integrations, like the Water Framework Directive and Groundwater Directive, have established comprehensive protection strategies, including the use of pollutant threshold values. Recently, the 2019 Green Deal escalated efforts against nitrates, aligning with broader environmental and climate objectives. This review aims to explore these developments, highlighting key mitigation strategies against nitrate pollution, and providing valuable insights for the future sustainable groundwater nitrate management in South Korea, emphasizing the importance of preventive measures and collaborative efforts to restore and improve groundwater quality.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.426-433
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• 2024

In this study, to estimate the effects of plant-induced surface area increase and physiological activity on fine dust purification, a control group was set up. We utilized both foliage plants (Spathiphyllum wallisii) and artificial plants (shaped like Spathiphyllum wallisii) to measure and compare the purification time for fine dust. The results showed that the time required for fine dust purification in each experimental group decreased by 57-64% for Type AP and 31-32% for Type P compared to the control group. Subsequently, using a Linear Mixed Model (LMM), we tested the interaction between time and each experimental group, revealing statistically significant interactions between surface area increase and time(PM10 : t=3.123, p<0.05, PM2.5 : t=3.180, p<0.05), as well as physiological activity and time(PM10 : t=4.065, p<0.05, PM2.5 : t=4.307, p<0.05), indicating the presence of interactions between each factor and the time variable. Finally, we estimated the efficiency of fine dust purification by plant factors through nonlinear regression analysis. Compared to the control group without purification factors (Type C), it was estimated that surface area increase shortened the purification time by 1.40 times and physiological activity by an average of 1.95 times, resulting in a total 2.74 times shorter purification time. Based on these results, we hypothesized that physiological activity(transpiration and absorption) has a greater impact on fine dust purification than surface area increase(biosorption). Accordingly, we emphasize the importance of vegetation management practices such as pruning and irrigation management in green spaces aimed at fine dust purification.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.57 no.3
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• pp.267-277
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• 2014

Objective of this paper is to assess the available data on the pesticide uses and regulations in the golf courses, and provide the nationwide systematic management options. Numbers of golf courses in Korea are rapidly increasing from 2000s and reached at 421 sites by the end of 2011. Accordingly pesticide usage has been increased with years in direct proportion to the increasing number of golf courses. Amounts of pesticide applied in 2011 were 118,669 kg as of an active ingredient and were in the orders of fungicides (54.9%) > insecticides (24.4%) > herbicides (13.3%) > growth regulators (0.1%). Average pesticide usages in 2011 were 280.9 kg per golf course and $5.4kg\;ha^{-1}$. Frequencies of the residual pesticide detections in green and turf were higher than those in fairway and soil, respectively. Residue of highly toxic pesticides was not detected in golf courses. Ministry of Environment in 2010 has developed the 'golf course pesticide monitoring and management system' which is the advanced online registry for kind and amount of pesticides applied in each golf course. This system is intended for monitoring of the pesticide uses and residual levels and protecting the environmental pollution from pesticides in the golf course. In 2009, management of pesticides in the golf courses became the task of Ministry of Environment, being merged from many federal agency and ministries. The protocol for the site-specific best management practices, on which to base results from the risk assessment, should be set for pesticides in the golf to minimize the environmental impacts.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.46 no.12
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• pp.1193-1207
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• 2013

Increase of impervious area caused by overdevelopment has led to increase of runoff and then the problem of flooding and NPS were brought up. In addition, as decrease of base flow made groundwater level to decline, a stream that dries up is issued. low impact development (LID) method which is possible to mimic hydrological water cycle, minimize the effect of development, and improve water cycle structure is proposed as an alternative. As introduction of LID in domestic increases, the study on small watershed is in process mainly. Also, analysis of property of hydrological runoff and load on midsize watershed, like sewage treatment district, is required, the study on it is still insufficient. So, area applying LID practices from watershed of Dongrae stream is pinpointed and made the ratio and then expand it to watershed of Oncheon stream. Among low impact development practices, Green Roof, Porous Pavement, and Bio- retention are selected for the application considering domestic situations and simulated with SWMM-LID model of each watershed and improvement of water cycle and reduction of non-point pollution loads was analysed. Improvement of water cycle and reduction of non-point pollution loads were analyzed including the property of rainfall and soil over long term simulation. The model was executed according to scenario based on combination of LID as changing conductivity in accordance with soil type of the watershed. Also, this study evaluated area of LID application that meets the efficiency of conventional management as a criteria for area of LID practices applying to sewer treatment district by comparing the efficiency of LID application with that of conventional method.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.24-37
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• 2012

In this study, Community Garden of various national and international practices trends to an advanced research, the concept of community garden participated with a group operation out of initiative to produce safety food while securing space for the community, ensuring the area that has gone through a new form of active secure urban green space plan, urban renewal movement was defined as the mean. Furthermore, for the purpose of improving the poor welfare environment by attempting to experimentally make a community garden of a disabled welfare house rooftop and how to target its planning and construction process, partnership involvement, business processes have been investigated, such as cost sharing. The whole process including a budget for development of this case was conducted by the Busan Green Trust. Standard Chartered (SC) First Bank's 50% fund share by community chest, participation of volunteers, support of Busan City and Saba-gu, outside of that, sharing parts or trial to participate by diverse partnership of enterprise, public corporation and laboratory, these are the key in developing community garden's model. Established community garden places resulted food production to users of welfare center for the disabled, participating urban agricultural experience program, horticultural therapy, complex community chapter and cultural center. Furthermore, we could find the meaning of rooftop community garden in the point that it is a low cost garden by applying movable and unmovable planters. This study is profitable for improving urban environment, ensuring community chapter and urban green areas, regenerating a city to develop experimental community garden model by using a welfare house rooftop.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.366-377
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• 2019

Paddy wetlands are a critical habitat for a variety of wild animals, and their rapid development and environmental changes pose a threat to the conservation of agrobiodiversity. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the habitat characteristics of anuran inhabiting paddy wetlands and identify major environmental variables affecting their distributions. The study was conducted in the Daeho reclaimed area in Dangjin, from March to October 2018. In this study, we found three anuran species (Pelophylax nigromaculatus, Hyla japonica and Pelophylax chosenicus). The environmental factors affecting the three species were identified as air temperature, humidity, water-depth, and micro-habitats. H. japonica were affected by water temperature, and P. chosenicus were affected by rice height and types of farming practices. All the three species richness was correlated with air temperature, humidity, and water-depth positively, and the three species used rice transplanted paddy fields the most. It was also found that paddy is the most preferred of the micro-habitats during the breeding season, so the survey area is considered to be used as the major breeding sites for the three species. P. chosenicus were more observed on environmental-friendly paddy fields than conventional paddy fields, which appears to be differences in their surroundings environment caused by predators and weeding. It will be needed to identify their relationship with predators, their preferred food resources and the richness and diversity of wild vegetation around paddy wetlands.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.205-240
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• 1992

In reality, it is a green revolution of the entire agricultural matrix in Korea that integrated pest control plays an important role in the possible breakthrough in rice self-sufficiency. In paddy agroecosystem as man-modified environment, rice is newly established every year by transplantation under diverse water regimes which affect a microclimate. Standing water benefits rice by regulating the microclimate, but it favors the multiplication of certain pets through the amelioration of the microclimate. Further, the introduction of high yielding varieties with the changing of cultural practices results in changing occurrence pattern of certain pests. In general, japonica type varieties lack genes resistant to most of the important pests and insect-borne virus diseases, whereas indica type possesses more genes conferring varietal resistance. Thus, this differences among indica type, form the background of different approaches to pest management. The changes in rice cultivation such as double cropping, growing high-yielding varieties requiring heavy fertilization, earlier transplanting, intensvie-spacing transplanting, and intensive pesticide use as a consequence of the adoption of improves rice production technology, have intensified the pest problems rather than reduced them. The cultivation of resistant varieties are highly effective to the pest, their long term stability is threathened because of the development of new biotypes which can detroy these varieties. So far, three biotypes of N. lugens are reported in Korea. Since each resistant variety is expected to maintain several years the sequential release of another new variety with a different gene at intervals is practised as a gene rotation program. Another approach, breeding multilines that have more than two genes for resistance in a variety are successfully demonstrated. The average annual rice losses during the last 15 years of 1977-’91 are 9.3% due to insect pests without chemical control undertaken, wehreas there is a average 2.4% despite farmers’insecticide application at the same period. In other words, the average annual losses are prvented by 6.9% when chemical control is properly employed. However, the continuous use of a same group of insecticides is followed by the development of pest resistance. Resistant development of C. suppressalis, L. striatellus and N. cincticeps is observed to organophosphorous insecticides by the mid-1960s, and to carbamates by the early 1970s in various parts of the country. Thus, it is apparent that a scheduled chemical control for rice production systems becomes uneconomical and that a reduction in energy input without impairing the rice yield, is necessarily improved through the implementation of integrated pest management systems. Nationwide pest forecasting system conducted by the government organization is a unique network of investigation for purpose of making pest control timely in terms of economic thresholds. A wise plant protection is expected to establish pest management systems in appropriate integration of resistant varieties, biological agents, cultural practices and other measures in harmony with minimizing use of chemical applications as a last weapon relying on economic thresholds.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.231-242
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• 2011

Recently, the green spaces in the urban areas were greatly reduced due to urbanization and industrialization. As urban structures such as roads and buildings are built, the amount of impervious area within a watershed increases. High impervious surfaces are the common causes of high runoff volumes as the soil infiltration capacity decreases and the volume and rate of runoff increase thereby decreasing the groundwater recharge. These effects are causing many environmental problems, such as floods and droughts, climate change, heat island phenomenon, drying streams, etc. Most cities attempted to reduce sewer overflows by separating combined sewers, expanding treatment capacity or storage within the sewer system, or by replacing broken or decaying pipes. However, these practices can be enormously expensive than combined sewer overflows. Therefore, in order to improve these practices, alternative methods should be undertaken. A new approach termed as "Low Impact Development (LID)" technology is currently applied in developed countries around the world. The purpose of this study was to effectively manage runoff by adopting the LID techniques. Small Constructed Wetland(Horizontal Subsurface Flow, HSSF) Pilot-scale reactors were made in which monitoring and experiments were performed to investigate the efficiency of the system in removing pollutants from runoff. Based on the results of the Pilot-plant experiments, TSS, $COD_{Cr}$, TN, TP, Total Pb removal efficiency were 95, 82, 35, 91 and 57%, respectively. Most of the pollutants were reduced after passing the settling tank and the vertical filter media. The results of this study can contribute to the conservation of aquatic ecosystems and restoration of natural water cycle in the urban areas.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.289-303
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• 2007

This report includes basic data on nutrition education for Chinese adolescents living in Korea. A total of 183 Chinese adolescents living in Incheon participated in the survey. Body composition was analyzed by the Inbody 4.0., and questionnaires on personal dietary behavior were administrated. When compared with the body measure indices of Korean adolescents, we found that height was similar, but weight greater ($5{\sim}12 kg$) among the participants. Regarding obesity, 30.0% of all students were obese (BMI>25), especially the high school boys (42.0%). But in the case of middle school boys, the rates of obesity and under weight (BMI<18.5) were the same (both of them at 22.9%). The average WHR (Waist Hip Ratio) of the female high school group (0.9) was over the normal range. The average percent body fat for each group was also over the normal range. The percentage of students having breakfast everyday was 52.2%, and the rate of skipping breakfast was 25.0%. In the obesity group, the rate of skipping breakfast was remarkably high (P<0.05). Because lunch service was not available at the schools, a lunch box from home was the most popular pattern (43.1 %), but eating out was also popular at 36.6%. For the male high school students, the eating out rate was 62.8%. Since many have-lived in Korea for a few generations, the students' eating practices were much closer to the Korean pattern. For their ordinary meal pattern, 96.0% of the students included Korean foods. however, for New Years Day, the rate of having Gyo-Ja was 75.2%, and having Wol-Byung at Choo-seok was 78.6%, showing that the Chinese tradition still remains. In the case of food preferences, the percentage having Kimchi everyday was 62.1 %, but those drinking green tea was 13.1 %. For cold drinks, the rate for drinking them more than twice per week was 71.6%. The most preferred cooking method was frying with oil (50.6%). Among the students who had visited China (or Taiwan), the rate for 'bad food familiarity' was 37.0%, and the rate for 'did not know Chinese traditional course menus' was 71.3%. As a result of combining eating practices from both China and Korea, and the absence of lunch service in Chinese schools, students are showing bad dietary behaviors. therefore, it is necessary to provide proper nutrition education and a system for lunch service in Chinese schools.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.309-316
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• 2019

Cropland is a major source of atmospheric nitrous oxide (N₂O) and we need technologies in the field of agriculture that can reduce the presence of N₂O. In this study, a field experiment encompassing six treatments was conducted to determine the efflux of N₂O in cropland during the growing season. An experimental plot was composed of two main sectors, no-tillage (NT) and conventional tillage (CT), which were subdivided into three plots according to types of nitrogen (N) sources: CF, chemical fertilizer; HV, hairy vetch+chemical fertilizer; and RY, rye+chemical fertilizer. The cumulative N₂O emissions were 179.8 mg N₂O m^-2 for CF-CT, 108.1 mg N₂O m^-2 for HV-CT, 303.5 mg N₂O m^-2 for RY-CT, 86.7 mg N₂O m^-2 for CF-NT, 73.8 mg N₂O m^-2 for HV-NT, and 122.7 mg N₂O m^-2 for RY-NT during the fallow season. The CT, HV, and RY of no-tilled soils were reduced by 51.8, 31.7 and 59.6%, respectively (p<0.001). Our results indicate that the use of no-tillage and hairy vetch practice rather than conventional tillage and chemical fertilizer practice can decrease N₂O emission.