• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.367-379
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• 2011

This study was conducted to develop an ecological park planning model to enhance the functions of habitats and ecological corridors in Green Belt Areas, because changing policies have resulted in the degredation of the Green Belts due to progressive fragmentation of ecosystems. The principal outcome of the study is to plan an ecological park model through the restoration of habitats. In order to evaluate the capacity of the model to enhance the ecological functions of habitats and ecological corridors in Green Belt Areas, a simulation of habitats was carried out in the Sungnam-Yusoo region. The model was developed via following steps: 1. Selection of candidate sites and selection of the study site by analyzing development factors; 2. Selection of target species that can represent the habitat at the site; 3. Analysis of the site's suitability index for the target species; 4. Establishment of a conceptual plan to enhance and expand the currently produced suitability index; 5. Creation of a master plan based on the conceptual plan; and 6. Evaluation of the enhanced and expanded suitability index of the site. The study showed that the Habitat Unit (HU) of Rana coreana, which was selected as the target species of the study, increased from $28,044m^2$(3.6%) to $224,352m^2$(28.8%), and the HU of the site as the ecological corridor for wild animals increased from $4,674m^2$(0.6%) to $152,684m^2$(19.6%). The study results show that the ecological deficits of the Green Belt Area can be overcome by enhancing the ecological functions of the region, which should be beneficial. The model could be utilized for effective enhancement and management of other Green Belt Areas.