• Journal of The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.59 no.5
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• pp.25-30
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• 2017

Hydrologic soil group is one of the important factors to determine runoff potential and curve number. This study was conducted to classify the hydrologic soil groups of Korean soils by considering saturated hydraulic conductivity and depth of impermeable layer. Saturated hydraulic conductivity of Korean soils was estimated by pedotransfer functions developed in the previous studies. Most of paddy soils were classified as D type due to shallow impermeable layer and low saturated hydraulic conductivity in B soil horizon. For upland and forest, soils classified to A and D types increased compared with former classification method because underestimated permeabilities and overestimated drainages were corrected and rock horizon in shallow depth was regarded as impermeable layer. Soils in mountainous land showed the highest distribution in A type, followed by D type. More than 60 % of soils in mountain foot-slope, fan and valley, alluvial plains, and fluvio-marine deposits were classified to D type because of land use such as paddy and upland.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.50 no.6
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• pp.653-662
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• 2017

Copper(II) acetate spectrophotometry method (CASM) was used for the rapid and convenient determination of cation exchange capacity (CEC) in soils. This method is composed of a single-step exchange reaction that adsorbs copper and is measured through spectrophotometry. The CEC of 16 Korean soils were measured using 1M ammonium acetate method (AAM) and the CASM. The CEC values determined by CASM and AAM were not significantly different, and were highly correlated ($r=0.966^{**}$). Due to the convenience, cost effectiveness, and time saving analysis of CASM, this method is recommended for most soil laboratories to measure CEC in Korean soils. However, CASM may not be applicable for soils that have a much higher CEC (greater than $20cmol_c\;kg^{-1}$).

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.296-303
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• 2010

Chromium as a constituent of rocks occurs naturally in the environment in varying concentrations. However, the human activity has changed the geochemical cycle of chromium in the environment and has caused the chromium accumulation in soils. Korean soils revealed a wide range of chromium contents depending on parent material and land use. The total chromium contents of volcanic ash soils in Jeju, which were determined using $HNO_3$ + $HClO_4$ + HF, ranged from 434 to 1,164 mg $kg^{-1}$. The 'ecological' total chromium contents extracted using conc. HCl + conc. $HNO_3$ (aqua regia) in the same soils varied in a lower range of 50-189 mg $kg^{-1}$ (averaged percentage of aqua regia contents in $HNO_3$ + $HClO_4$ + HF contents: 14.9%). Serpentine soils in Andong showed a 'ecological' total chromium content of 309 mg $kg^{-1}$ and against it granitic soils in Andong only 20 mg $kg^{-1}$. In uncontaminated forest soils of Korea, the 'ecological' total chromium contents varied from 4.89 to 106 mg $kg^{-1}$ and the soluble chromium contents determined using 0.1 M HCl ranged from 0.01 to 0.64 mg $kg^{-1}$ (averaged percentage of 0.1 M HCl contents in aqua regia contents: 0.4%). Arable lands contained more soluble chromium than reported in forest soils (averaged soluble chromium: 0.36 and 0.09 mg $kg^{-1}$, respectively). In particular, the soluble chromium contents in greenhouse, orchard and upland soils were higher than in contaminated soils near mine and industrial site (maximum contents: greenhouse 15.3 mg $kg^{-1}$; upland 12.1 mg $kg^{-1}$; orchard 8.29 mg $kg^{-1}$; mine site 4.76 mg $kg^{-1}$; industrial site 2.80 mg $kg^{-1}$). On the basis of these results a accumulation of chromium in some specific arable lands can be assumed, probably by long-continued applications of fertilizers or soil amendments containing chromium. In Korean Enforcement Decree of the Soil Environment Conservation Act soil standards for total chromium do not exist yet.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.271-281
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• 2014

BACKGROUND: Application of the transfer functions derived from local soil data is necessary in order to develop proper management protocols for agricultural soils contaminated with heavy metals through phytoavailability control of the heavy metals. The aim of this study was to derive the transfer functions of Korean agricultural soils affected by the abandoned mining sites and evaluate suitability of the derived transfer functions. METHODS AND RESULTS: 142 agricultural soils affected by the abandoned mining sites were collected and analyzed. Two extraction methods, including 1 M $NH_4NO_3$ extraction and 0.01 M $Ca(NO_3)_2$ extraction were applied to determine phytoavailable metal pools in soils. Multiple stepwise regression of phytoavailable metal pools against the corresponding total metal concentration and soil properties was conducted to derive suitable transfer functions for estimating phytoavailable heavy metal pools. Applicability of the derived transfer functions was examined by calculating NME and NRMSE. CONCLUSION: Soil pH and organic matter were valid variables for derivation of the transfer functions which were applicable for estimating phytoavailable metal concentrations in the soils being contaminated by heavy metals. In addition, it was confirmed that transfer functions need to be developed based on local soil conditions to accurately estimate heavy metal-phytoavailability.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.634-640
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• 2016

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of using HR-GC/MS for the rapid screening of dieldrin residues in soils. Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) of organochlorine pesticides such as dieldrin, were analyzed in sedimentary rock and granite rock collected from greenhouses, Niigata, Japan. Dieldrin remains in Japanese farming soils, more than 40 years after their use as insecticides was prohibited. The averages in soil moisture ranged from 2.79% to 7.20% in soils derived from sedimentary rock and from 25.59% to 31.40% in soils derived from granite rock. Mean concentrations of dieldrin residues in sedimentary rock and granite rock were $39.7ng\;g^{-1}$ and $40.51ng\;g^{-1}$, respectively. Dieldrin residue was detected at a slightly higher concentration in granite rock than sedimentary rock samples. There was no consistency between the two soils or between surface and subsurface soils. The coefficients of variation of the two soils were 10.6% and 8.7%, respectively. These results suggest that our high-resolution mass spectrometry detector (HR-GC/MS) is effective at analyzing residual organochlorine pesticides in soil. In order to increase the precision and sensitivity for chemical analysis of POPs, high-resolution gas chromatography coupled with a HR-GC/MS is highly recommended.

• Geotechnical Engineering
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.17-28
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• 1986

This study was intended to investigate the consolidation characteristics of lowly organic soils and highly organic ones, with organic content 15 of and 68 % respectively. which were sampled from three different soil regions in Chonbuk province. The results were obtained partly from standard consolidation test but mostly from single increment consolidation test in which each sample was held under the first sustained load for weeks. Highly organic soils retained considerably larger void ratio than lowly organic ones. Decrease of void ratio due to load increment was gradual in lowly organic soils and abrupt in highly organic ones. The long-term compression quantity of the highly organic soils became linearly proportional to the logarithm of time after 5 minutes. The lowly organic soils showed a compression pattern similar to that of clay. For highly organic soils, the secondary consolidation coefficient appeared to have a constant relationship with the logarithm of consolidation time, and therefore may be used as a significant factor in estimating the long-term settlement.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.106-115
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• 2009

Knowledge about how to stabilize soil structure is essential to conserve soil systems and maintain various biogeochemical processes through soil. In urban area, soil structural systems are degraded with inappropriate management and land use and become vulnerable to erosion. We analyzed the structural changes of surface soils with different land uses, i.e., forests, parks, roadside green area, riparian area, and farmlands (soybean fields), in the Anyang Stream Watershed in order to find the factors influencing the stability of soil structure and the implication for better management of surface soil. Soil organic matter contents of other land use soils were only 18~52% of that in forest soils. Soil organic matter increased the stability of soil aggregates in the order of soybean fields < roadsides < riparian < parks < forests and also reduced soil bulk density (increased porosity). The lowest stability of soybean field soils was attributed to the often disturbance like tillage and it was considered that higher stability of park soils comparing to other land use soils except forests was owing to the covering of soil surface with grass. These results suggest that supply of soil organic matter and protection of soil surface with covering materials are very important to increase porosity and stability of soil structure.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.28 no.8
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• pp.689-700
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• 2019

The adsorption and leaching characteristics of five ionic pesticides including four acidic pesticides (2,4-D, dicamba, MCPA, and MCPP) and one amphoteric pesticide (imazaquin) in agricultural soils were investigated. Soils around spring waters that were heavily affected by pesticide run-off and soils around wells considering the regional characteristics in Jeju Island were collected at 24 stations. The Freundlich constant, $K_F$ value, which is a measure of the adsorption capacity, decreased in the order of 2,4-D > MCPA > MCPP > dicamba > imazaquin. The adsorption capacity of these ionic pesticides decreased with increasing pH owing to the effects of ionization of pesticides and different ionizable functional groups of soils. The leaching of ionic pesticides in the soil column showed a reverse relationship with their adsorption in soils, namely, the ionic pesticides were leached more quickly for the pesticides with lower adsorption capacity. The groundwater contamination potential of the ionic pesticides was evaluated in the order of imazaquin > MCPA > MCPP > dicamba > 2.4-D according to the groundwater ubiquity score based on soil Koc and the half-life of the pesticide.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.36-40
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• 2014

Korea's agricultural land is constantly being reduced. The reasons for this are due to the change of agricultural profitability and the policy conditions. The reduction of agricultural land in 2010 showed a decline trend by 14.4 % of paddy fields and 1.2% of uplands compared to areas from 2000. These reductions were mainly due to switch rice paddy fields into upland or greenhouse facility cultivation because of low profitability of rice products compared to farm products. In addition, the permit system of agricultural areas was relaxed in switching paddy fields and this accelerated the reduction of agricultural land. For this reason, more than 1% of agricultural land area has been reduced every year for last five years. Moreover, indiscreet fill and cover materials such as construction wastes were used in agricultural lands and caused land contamination which threatened foundation as sustainable agricultural lands. For these reasons, it is a desperate situation to conserve good agricultural lands. However, the standards of transported soils, filling soils and cutting soils in the Agricultural Land Act are qualitative and have a problem of causing complaints. Therefore, the following criteria (proposals) are proposed in the Agricultural Land Act; (1) Use the proper soils for crops (criterion), (2) Soil components and amounts should be proper as transported soils (range), and (3) Prohibiting usage of improper earth rocks or recycled aggregates in case of filling soils (kinds). The presented criteria (proposals) suggest following; (1) Use physio-chemically proper soils for crops (criterion), (2) In case of transported soils, i, exclude potential acid sulphate soils, ii, gravel content sould be less than 15%, and iii, Heavy metals and other contaminants should be less than the soil contamination warning limit from the Ministry of Environments, (3) In case of filling soils, 13 kinds of recycled wastes specified in the Wastes Control Act should not be used as filling soils, (4) Practice soil conservation technology in case of sloping areas, and (5) Follow proper fertilizer application standards for maturing paddy fields and uplands when cutting soils.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.65-74
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• 2020

BACKGROUND: Soil carbon sequestration has been investigated for a long time because of its potential to mitigate the greenhouse effect. No- or reduced tillage, crop rotations, or cover crops have been investigated and practiced to sequester carbon in soils but the roles of soil biota, particularly microorganisms, have been mostly ignored although they affect the amount and stability of soil organic matters. METHODS AND RESULTS: In this study we analyzed the organic matter and microbial community in organically cultivated corn field soils where no-tillage (NT) or conventional tillage (CT) had been practiced for about three years. The amounts of organic matter and recalcitrant carbon pool were 18.3 g/kg dry soil and 4.1 g C/kg dry soil, respectively in NT soils, while they were 12.4 and 2.5, respectively in CT soils. The amounts of RNA and DNA, and the copy numbers of bacterial 16S rRNA genes and fungal ITS sequences were higher in NT soils than in CT soils. No-tillage treatment increased the diversities of soil bacterial and fungal communities and clearly shifted the bacterial and fungal community structures. In NT soils the relative abundances of bacterial phyla known as copiotrophs, Betaproteobacteria and Bacteroidetes, increased while those known as oligotrophs, Acidobacteria and Verrucomicrobia, decreased compared to CT soils. The relative abundance of a fungal phylum, Glomeromycota, whose members are known as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, was about two time higher in NT soils than in CT soils, suggesting that the higher amount of organic matter in NT soils is related to its abundance. CONCLUSION: This study shows that no-tillage treatment greatly affects soil microbial abundance and community structure, which may affect the amount and stability of soil organic matter.