• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.439-449
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• 2023

This study was conducted to verify the role of forest roads in the extinction of large forest fires in Korea. The study area was the forest fire-damaged area of Gangneung City, Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province, in April 2023, which is one of the areas with the highest road density among the major forest fires that have occurred so far. The scope of the forest fire damage area was confirmed through on-site survey, and the intensity of the fire was carried out through Sentinel-2 satellite imagery analysis. After that, the relationship between the damage range and intensity and the forest road was examined. About 59.6 km of roads were built within 50 m from the boundary of the forest fire damage area, which can easily access the entire 149.1 ha of forest fire damaged area. The road density is as high as 168.9 m/ha. All forests that were fragmented by roads were fragmented into 83 places, and all of these forests could be judged to have spread by spotting fire. As a result of analyzing the distribution of damage intensity by distance from the road to see the extent of damage according to the ease of access of fire extinguishing vehicles, it was confirmed that the proportion of areas with low-intensity damage has increased sharply even from 75 m or more away from the road. The results of analyzing the distribution of damage intensity by altitude to see the extent of damage according to the ease of access of fire extinguishing showed that the proportion of areas with low-intensity damage increased as the altitude increased, while the proportion of areas with damage of more than strong intensity decreased as the altitude increased. It was confirmed that there is no data that roads inside or adjacent to forests in the forest fire area of Gangneung City are effective in extinguishing forest fires. These results are contrary to the logic that increasing the road density in forests is effective in extinguishing forest fires. In the case of this fire area in Gangneung City, the road density is 43 times higher than the current road density in Korea claimed by the Korea Forest Service of 3.9 m/ha. This study suggests that roads can be a hindrance to extinguishing forest fires.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.270-283
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• 2017

In a survey on higher fungi from 2004 to 2011, and also in 2013, in Naejangsan National Park, a total of 2 divisions, 7 classes, 21 orders, 74 families, 229 genera, and 521 species were observed. Dominant species belonged to the families Boletaceae and Russulaceae (44 species), Agaricaceae (35 species), Polyporaceae (29 species), and Amanitaceae (27 species). For the habitat environment, 21 families, 44 genera, and 192 species (36.9%) (63 species of poisonous mushroom, 79 species of edible and medicinal mushroom, and 43 species of unknown edible & poisonous mushroom) of ectomycorrhizal mushrooms were found; 41 families, 118 genera, and 199 species (38.2%) (14 species of poisonous mushroom, 85 species of edible & medicinal mushroom, and 90 species of unknown edible and poisonous mushroom) of litter decomposing and wood rotting fungi were found, and 29 families, 66 genera, and 121 species (23.2%) (8 species of poisonous mushroom, 54 species of edible and medicinal mushroom, and 47 species of unknown edible & poisonous mushroom) of grounding fungi were found, and 9 species were the other habitat. In terms of seasonality, most of the higher fungi were found in July, August, and September. In terms of altitude, the most species were observed at 200~299 m, and populations dropped by a significant level at an altitude of 700 m or higher. It seemed that the most diversified higher fungi occurred at climate conditions with a mean air temperature of $25.0{\sim}28.9^{\circ}C$, a maximum air temperature of $30.0{\sim}33.9^{\circ}C$, a minimum air temperature of $21.0{\sim}24.9^{\circ}C$, a relative humidity of 73.0~79.9%, and over 400.0 mm of rainfall.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.102-111
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• 2022

Among protected areas, National Parks are rich in biodiversity, and the benefits of ecosystem services provided to human are higher than the others. Ecosystem service evaluation is being used to manage the value of national parks based on objective and scientific data. Ecosystem services are classified into four services: supporting, provisioning, regulating and cultural. The purpose of this study is to evaluate habitat quality among supporting services. Habitat Quality Model of InVEST was used to analyze. The coefficients of sensitivity and habitat initial value were reset by reflecting prior studies and the actual conditions of protected areas. Habitat quality of 21 national parks except Hallasan National Park was analyzed and mapped. The value of habitat quality was evaluated to be between 0 and 1, and the closer it is to 1, the more natural it is. As a result of habitat quality analysis, Seoraksan and Taebaeksan National Parks (0.90), Jirisan and Odaesan National Parks (0.89), and Sobaeksan National Park (0.88) were found to be the highest in the order. As a result of comparing the area and habitat quality of 18 national parks except for coastal-marine national parks, the larger the area, the higher the overall habitat quality. Comparing the value of habitat quality of each zone, the value of habitat quality was high in the order of the park nature preservation zone, the park nature environmental zone, the park cultural heritage zone, and the park village zone. Considering both the analysis of habitat quality and the legal regulations for each zone of use, it is judged that the more artificial acts are restricted, the higher the habitat quality. This study is meaningful in analyzing habitat quality of 21 National Parks by readjusting the parameters according to the situation of protected areas in Korea. It is expected to be easy to intuitively understand through accurate data and mapping, and will be useful in making policy decisions regarding the development and preservation of protected areas in the future.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.352-366
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• 2015

The purpose of this study is to offer the basic data to the habitat conservation and management by surveying and analysing the ecological characteristics such as the flora, vegetation structure and soil of Rhodotypos scandens habitat. The flora were summarized as 131 taxa including 57 families, 99 genera, 107 species, 1 subspecies, 17 varieties and 6 forms. The life forms grouped as in the follows; the megaphanerophytes(MM) were 21 taxa, 24 taxa of the microphanerophytes(M), 30 taxa of nanophanerophytes(N), 6 taxa of chamaiphytes(Ch), 20 taxa of hemicryptophytes(H), 17 taxa of geophytes(G), 12 taxa of therophytes(Th) and 1 taxa of hydrophytes(HH). The present conditions of communities were 8 types including Zelkova serrata, Quercus aliena, Ulmus parvifolia, Rhamnella frangulioides, Castanea crenata, Albizia julibrissin, Celtis sinensis and Robinia pseudoacacia. In case of the dominant species by layers, the tree layer species were Zelkova serrata, Quercus aliena, Ulmus parvifolia, Castanea crenata, Albizia julibrissin, Celtis sinensis and Robinia pseudoacacia, and the subtree layer species were Rhamnella frangulioides, Q. aliena, Z. serrata, A. julibrissin, U. parvifolia and Broussonetia kazinoki. The shrub layer species was Rhodotypos scandens. In the results of analyzing the diversity index, $H^{\prime}{_{max}}$ from 1.691 to 2.610, from 2.197 to 3.466 in H'max, from 0.646 to 0.903 in J' and from 0.097 to 0.354 in D. In the results of analysing the soil, there showed that acidity was 5.6, 0.5dS/m of electrical conductivity(EC), 59.1mg/kg of available $P_2O_5$, 49.7% of organic matter content, $0.4cmol^+/kg$ of exchangeable $K^+$, $13.5cmol^+/kg$ of exchangeable $Ca^{2+}$, $3.3cmol^+/kg$ of exchangeable $Mg^{2+}$.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.474-484
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• 2015

This study aims at providing exercisable basic data for the management of protection areas in China by investigating into their legal system such as current laws, regulations, other relevant laws and international treaties and the management system such as history, classification, organization, personnel, funds and main management work.. In People's Republic of China (1954), several laws have been enacted in succession, such as Environment Law (1989), Regulations of Natural Reserves (1994) and Land Management Methods of Natural Reserves (1995). The development process of China's natural reserves is divided into the following five phases. In the initial phase (1956-1965), about 20 natural reserves were established; in the lag phase (1966-1978), a part of the natural reserves was destroyed under the influence of the Great Cultural Revolution; in the development phase (1979-1998), a normative legal system began to appear after the reform and opening up; in the leap phase (1999-2006), the number of natural reserves increased dramatically; in the stable phase ( 2007-present), the protection and restoration of the ecological environment have been implemented, and the supervision and management have been strengthened. China has established natural reserves of national, provincial, municipal and county levels according to the relevant laws. According to the resource categories, natural reserves can be divided into natural ecosystem reserves, wildlife reserves and natural relic reserves. The Ministry of Forestry is in charge of 1,958 natural reserves which account for 74.2 % of the total natural reserves in China. In China, there are 1,384 natural reserves (52.4 %) for which management institutions have been set up. 1,702 natural reserves (64.47 %) are equipped with management staff, showing a higher ratio than the natural reserves which have set up management institutions. China has established natural reserves of national level, provincial level, municipal level and county level according to law. According to the resource categories, natural reserves can be divided into natural ecosystem reserves, wildlife reserves, and natural relic reserves. The Ministry of Forestry is in charge of 1,958 natural reserves which accounts for 74.2 % of the total natural reserves in China. In China, there are 1,384 natural reserves (52.4 %) which have set up management institutions. 1,702 natural reserves (64.47 %) are equipped with management staff with a higher ratio than the natural reserves which have set up management institutions.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.751-761
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• 2016

Since the position of Nakdong-Jeongmaek stretches from south to north, it shows clear changes of the climate compared to other mountain ranges. This study aimed to analyze the characteristics of vegetation in Pinus densiflora-dominant community (PDDC), which typically appeared on the ridge of this area, by each region and community. For this, the PDDCs in five representative areas of Nakdong-Jeongmaek (Baekbyeonsan, Chilbosan, Baegamsan, Unjusan and Goheonsan) were investigated. Communities were divided into four groups based on the characteristics of the growing environment for indicator species among the low vegetation, while the pinus densiflora was dominant on the canopy according to TWINSPAN. In community I, Fraxinus sieboldiana and Rhododendron schlippenbachii were dominant and there was a typical vegetation on the mountain ridge. In community II that was located on the upper slope, there was abundant inflow of sunlight to the inside of the forest which resulted from the disturbance, and it formed the secondary forest where deciduous broadleaf tree species such as Rhus cotinus appeared. Compared to the other communities, community III had a wider range of growing environment and various species of deciduous broadleaf trees appeared, so that changes in the vegetation structure were expected in the future. Finally, with the appearance of Salix hallaisanensis and Betula davurica, community IV are presumed to be located at a relatively high region with bountiful soil moisture. Reviewing by regions, PDDCs in Unjusan and Goheonsan were near big cities such as Pohang-si and Ulsan-si, so that the artificial disturbance resulted in high level of species diversity on a stage of vegetation development and the ages of Pinus densiflora were relatively young. On the other hand, PDDCs showed a stable vegetation status with low level of species diversity in other regions, and the ages of Pinus densiflora were relatively old.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.273-282
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• 2012

This study has estimated Gyeongju National Park's natural environment and cultural relic value in the same way and then been performed to compare the size of the value. Representative method to measure environmental property is contingent valuation methods, CVM. The variables and estimated models adopted for the calculation were same and the respondents were asked by distinguishing between the amount which they would pay to preserve the natural environment and that which they were willing to pay to preserve the cultural relics. As the result, WTP(Willing to pay), the amount that they were willing to pay to preserve the natural environment of Gyeongju National Park was 17,838 won per person and that to preserve the cultural relics appeared to be 316,248 won per person. Based on this, it was estimated that the value of the natural environment with which Gyeongju National Park provided annual visitors was 47 billion won and that the annual value of the cultural relics was 845.7 billion. If the natural environment and the cultural relics value elements are united, it can be estimated that the natural environment and cultural relic value got at the time of people's first visit to Gyeongju National Park is 334,086 won and that the annual value is 893.4 billion won. In this study, the value of the cultural relics has been estimated 18 times higher than that of the natural environment. This reason was that visitors judged that a total of 66 cultural properties including 11 national treasures, 23 treasures, 13 historic places, one historic sites and scenic spot and 18 local cultural properties, etc. which were distributed in Gyeongju National Park were worth far more than the natural environment. Based on the result of this study, the operating management plan of Gyeongju National Park should include a differentiated operation strategy through consultation with relevant experts by taking into account characteristics of the physical components.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.379-392
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• 2014

This study was performed to predict the future climate envelope of Pinus pumila, a subalpine plant and a Climate-sensitive Biological Indicator Species (CBIS) of Korea. P. pumila is distributed at Mt. seorak in South Korea. Suitable habitat were predicted under two alternative RCPscenarios (IPCC AR5). The SDM used for future prediction was a Maxent model, and the total number of environmental variables for Maxent was 8. It was found that the distribution range of P. pumila in the South Korean was $38^{\circ}7^{\prime}8^{{\prime}{\prime}}N{\sim}38^{\circ}7^{\prime}14^{{\prime}{\prime}}N$ and $128^{\circ}28^{\prime}2^{{\prime}{\prime}}E{\sim}128^{\circ}27^{\prime}38^{{\prime}{\prime}}E$ and 1,586m~1,688m in altitude. The variables that contribute the most to define the climate envelope are altitude. Climate envelope simulation accuracy was evaluated using the ROC's AUC. The P. pumila model's 5-cv AUC was found to be 0.99966. which showed that model accuracy was very high. Under both the RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios, the climate envelope for P. pumila is predicted to decrease in South Korea. According to the results of the maxent model has been applied in the current climate, suitable habitat is $790.78km^2$. The suitable habitats, are distributed in the region of over 1,400m. Further, in comparison with the suitable habitat of applying RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 suitable habitat current, reduction of area RCP8.5 was greater than RCP4.5. Thus, climate change will affect the distribution of P. pumila. Therefore, governmental measures to conserve this species will be necessary. Additionally, for CBIS vulnerability analysis and studies using sampling techniques to monitor areas based on the outcomes of this study, future study designs should incorporate the use of climatic predictions derived from multiple GCMs, especially GCMs that were not the one used in this study. Furthermore, if environmental variables directly relevant to CBIS distribution other than climate variables, such as the Bioclim parameters, are ever identified, more accurate prediction than in this study will be possible.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.109 no.4
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• pp.454-460
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• 2020

The goal of this study was to classify the area of Larix kaempferi forest available for timber production, considering the legal, physical, environmental, and technical constraints, and to optimize the forest resources and the potential of timber production in South Korea for 50 years. The results showed that the area of Larix kaempferi forest available for timber production is limited to 124,000 ha, 48% of the total area. Without further efforts in resource management, sustainable timber production of Larix kaempferi cannot be guaranteed even at the current level of timber supply. To enhance the potential of timber production for this species, two alternatives were considered: a 705-km annual increment of forest roads (alternative 1) and a 1,000-kmannual increment of forest roads (alternative 2) to enlarge forest areas available for timber production. The results showed that alternative 1 is feasiblefor sustainable timber production both at the current level and with a 5% increment of timber supply. However, alternative 1 is not sufficient in the case of a 10% increment of timber supply with a low growing stock, whereas alternative 2 is sufficient. Therefore, an increase in forests roads as well as regeneration efforts are required to improve the timber production potential of Larix kaempferi in South Korea.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.15-24
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• 2015

$CH_4$ is a trace gas and one of the key greenhouse gases, which requires continuous and systematic monitoring. The application of eddy covariance technique for $CH_4$ flux measurement requires a fast-response, laser-based spectroscopy. The eddy covariance measurements have been used to monitor $CO_2$ fluxes and their data processing procedures have been standardized and well documented. However, such processes for $CH_4$ fluxes are still lacking. In this note, we report the first measurement of $CH_4$ flux in a rice paddy by employing the eddy covariance technique with a recently commercialized wavelength modulation spectroscopy. $CH_4$ fluxes were measured for five consecutive days before and after the rice transplanting at the Gimje flux monitoring site in 2012. The commercially available $EddyPro^{TM}$ program was used to process these data, following the KoFlux protocol for data-processing. In this process, we quantified and documented the effects of three key corrections: (1) frequency response correction, (2) air density correction, and (3) spectroscopic correction. The effects of these corrections were different between daytime and nighttime, and their magnitudes were greater with larger $CH_4$ fluxes. Overall, the magnitude of $CH_4$ flux increased on average by 20-25% after the corrections. The National Center for AgroMeteorology (www.ncam.kr) will soon release an updated KoFlux program to public users, which includes the spectroscopic correction and the gap-filling of $CH_4$ flux.