• The Korean Journal of Ecology
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.345-353
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• 1994

Litter production and decomposition were investigated for 2 years in the oak, Quercus acutissima, and the pitch pine, Pinus rigida, stands in the vicinity of Kongju, Chungnam Province. Litter production was measured with litter trap at monthly basis. Litterbag method was used for the measurement of litter decomposition. Litter producion continued throughout the year, but showed a peak in autumn. Second peak in May or June was caused by falling of bud scales and reproductive organs. Average litter production in the oak and the pitch pine stands were $567.1g{\cdot}m^{-2}{\cdot}yr^{-1}\;and\;653.2g{\cdot}m^{-2}{\cdot}yr^{-1}$, respectively. Litter production in this study area were higher than those in other reports. Nutrient concentrations in litter were the highest in summer when the least litter production occurred, and the lowest in autumn when the greatest litter production occurred, except for calcium in the oak stand. Nutrient concentrations of the oak litter were higher than those in the pitch pine litter. After 1 year, % remaining mass of oak and pitch pine litter was 43.6% and 58%, respectively. After 21 months elapsed, % remaining mass of oak and pitch pine litter was 22.2% and 33.2%, respectively.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.99-109
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• 2012

Litterfall dynamics in forests are assessed by estimating biomass production and decomposition. However, there have been few studies on how litter dynamics impact the health and management of ecosystems. Here, a new approach to measure and assess ecosystem function is presented based on conventional methods using littertraps, litterbags, and the mass on the forest floor. To assess the status of litter dynamics, the decay rate (k) was estimated from a litterbag experiment, and removal rates ($k_i$) were determined from mass balance on the forest floor at 21 sites on three mountains in South Korea. The $k_3$ (organic mass ratio of $O_i$ and $O_e+O_a$ + A horizons in November) values in an equilibrium state in South Korea were within the range of $k{\pm}0.174$ when considering the annual variation of litterfall production. This study also suggests that sampling sites for these types of studies should be in the middle, not at the ends, of steady slopes on the forest floor.

• Animal cells and systems
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.333-339
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• 1998

Litter decomposition is a key process in energy flow and nutrient cycling in the freshwater littoral zone, and is regulated by physicochemical properties of litters. Using a litterbag method, we compared the decomposition rates of 16 different litter types from 10 plant species of the emergent macrophytes for one year in the littoral zone of the Paltangho Reservoir, Korea. The regression analysis fitted to the various decomposition models showed that mass loss of the litters with time best fitted an asymptotic function. The litters of the emergent macrophytes were composed of two compartments, labile and refractory. The macrophytic litters showed a great variety in decomposition dynamics depending on sources of litters. The labile compartment of the initial litter mass was in a wide range between 18% and 99%, and their decomposition rates varied from 0.0037 to 0.0131 day-1. The decomposition processes of the emergent macrophytes were determined by the relative amounts of the labile and refractory compartments and by the decomposition rate of the habile one in the littoral zone.

• The Korean Journal of Ecology
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.329-337
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• 1997

Study of population density and biomass of soil microarthropods in soil, herbaceous leaf litter and wood leaf litter was conducted at 4 sites with different flora in Mt. Jumbong, a nature reserve area, in Korea from Aug. 1994 to May 1996. Total 47, 849 individuals of soil microarthropods in soil were collected and identified into 6 different classes, and 16 orders. The composition, densities, and dominant group of soil microarthropods were different among 4 sampling sites. Collembola was the most abundant group with 50.7% at South-facing slope and 50.6% at the North-facing slope. But Acari was the most abundant group with 49.8% at Altitude 900m site and 47.7% at Altitude 1100m site. Two group ranged 87-95% of total individuals. A/C ratio was less than 1.0 at 4 sampling sites during the all sampling seasons. As a result of biomass evaluation, rato of Acari was decreased but ratio of Diplopoda, coleoptera, Araneae, Diptera and Chilopoda was increased. About 70% of total orders and densities were found in less than 5cm soil depth. The composition, densities, and dominant group of soil microarthropods were different among soil, herbaceous litter and wood litter. Collembola was the most abundant group in herbaceous and wood litter. A/C ratio was less than 1.0 in litter during the sampling seasons. As a result of biomass evaluation in litter, ration of Araneae and Collembola was very high, but ratio of Acari was low.

• The Korean Journal of Ecology
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.81-85
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• 2001

Decomposition of Zizania latifolia was investigated with litterbag method for 13 months from November in 1998 to December in 1999, at the fringe of stream at Boryeong, Chungnam Province in Korea. After 13 months, remaining mass of leaves, culms and rhizomes was 16.9, 14.7, and 10.1%, respectively. Mass loss of the rhizomes was higher than those of the leaves and culms. The decay rate of leaves, culms and rhizomes was 1.86, 2.00 and 2.36 per year, respectively. Initial concentration of N, P, K, Ca, and Mg of leaves, culms and rhizomes was 18.0, 14.5, 44.0 mg/g for N,0.18, 0.12, 0.67 mg/g for P, 14.1 ,14.2, 14.8 mg/g for K,3.6, 1.5, 0.3 mg/g for Ca, 1.1, 0.5, 0.5 mg/g for Mg, respectively. Concentrations of N and P in rhizomes were higher than those in leaves and culms. Except for Mg in rhizomes, there was no immobilization period during the decomposition. Most of the N, P and Mg were lost during the first 3 months. In case of K and Ca, most were lost within 1 month.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.13-19
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• 2014

The effect of different turnover time of water on the decomposition of emergent macrophyte litter (Zizania latifolia Griseb.) was investigated using a microcosm experiment. Microcosm treatment represented different turnover time of water; 1, 2, 4 and 8 weeks. The litterbags from each treatment were retrieved every 2 weeks until the 8th week and the water simultaneously sampled with the litterbag. The dry weight and the content of major cations in the litter, and the content of available N, P, and major cations in the water were analyzed. Dry weight loss after 8 weeks indicated the lower decay rates under the condition of short turnover time of water. Major cations from the litter and the water showed that the leached amounts of K and Mg from the litter were highest in the 2nd week and dramatically decreased from the 4th week. The dynamics of available nitrogen and phosphorus in the water showed that as the water turnover time was getting longer, the amounts of available nitrogen and phosphorus remained higher. These results suggest that wetlands with longer turnover time of water could maintain the increased nitrogen and phosphorus and no outflow of the nutrients could cause eutrophication problem.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.517-528
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• 2015

Litter decomposition is an important process in terrestrial ecosystem. However, studies on decomposition are rare, especially in evergreen broadleaf trees. We collected the leaf litter of five evergreen broadleaf trees (Daphniphyllum macropodum, Dendropanax morbifera, Castanopsis cuspidata var. thunbergii, Machilus thunbergii and Quercus acuta), and carried out a decomposition experiment using the litterbag method in Ju-do, Wando-gun, Korea for 731 days from December 25, 2011 to December 25, 2013. Among the five experimental tree species, C. cuspidata var. thunbergii distribution was limited in Jeju Island, and D. macropodum was distributed at the highest latitude at Mt. Baekyang (N 35°40′). About 2% of the initial litter mass of D. macropodum and D. morbifera remained, while 20.9% remained for C. cuspidata var. thunbergii, 30.4% for M. thunbergii, and 31.6% for Q. acuta. D. macropodum litter decayed four times faster (k = 2.02 yr^-1) than the litter of Q. acuta (k = 0.58 yr^-1). The decomposition of litter was positively influenced by thermal climate such as accumulated mean daily air temperature (year day index) and precipitation, as well as by physical characteristics such as thickness (R²=0.939, P = 0.007) and specific leaf area (SLA) (R² = 0.964, P = 0.003). The characteristics of chemical composition such as lignin (R² = 0.939, P = 0.007) and water-soluble materials (R² = 0.898, P = 0.014) showed significant correlations with litter decomposition. However, the nutrients in litter showed complicated species-specific trends. The litter of D. macropodum and D. morbifera had fast decomposition despite their low nitrogen concentration and high C/N ratio. This means that the litter decomposition was more strongly affected by physical characteristics than chemical composition and nutrient content. On the other hand, the litter of Q. acuta which had the slowest decay rate had a high amount of N and low C/N ratio. Thus, the decomposition of Q. acuta litter was more affected by the P content of the litter than the N content, although all litter had similar physical characteristics.

• The Korean Journal of Quaternary Research
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.163-163
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• 2003

The study area, Kwangneung Experiment Forest (KEF) is located on the west-central portion of Korean peninsula and belongs to a cool-temperate broadleaved forest zone. At the old-growth deciduous forest near Soribong-peak (533.1m) in KEF, we have established a permanent plot and a flux tower, and the site was registered as a KLTER site and also a KoFlux site. In this study, we aimed to present basic ecological characteristics and synthetic data of carbon budgets and flows, and some monitoring data which are essential for providing important parameters and validation data for the forest dynamics models or biogeochemical dynamics models to predict or interpolate spatially the changes in forest ecosystem structure and function. We made a stemmap of trees in 1 ha plot and analyzed forest stand structure and physical and chemical soil characteristics, and estimated carbon budgets by forest components (tree biomass, soils, litter and so on). Dominant tree species were Quercus serrata and Carpinus laxiflora, and accompanied by Q. aliena, Carpinus cordata, and so on. As a result of a field survey of the plot, density of the trees larger than 2cm in DBH was 1,473 trees per ha, total biomass 261.2 tons/ha, and basal area 28.0 m2/ha. Parent rock type is granite gneiss. Soil type is brown forest soil (alfisols in USDA system), and the depth is from 38 to 66cm. Soil texture is loam or sandy loam, and its pH was from 4.2 to 5.0 in the surface layer, and from 4.8 to 5.2 in the subsurface layer. Seasonal changes in LAI were measured by hemispherical photography at the l.2m height, and the maximum was 3.65. And the spatial distributions of volumetric soil moisture contents and LAIs of the plot were measured. Litterfall was collected in circular littertraps (collecting area： 0.25m2) and mass loss rates and nutrient release patterns in decomposing litter were estimated using the litterbag technique employing 30cm30cm nylon bags with l.5mm mesh size. Total annual litterfall was 5,627 kg/ha/year and leaf litter accounted for 61% of the litterfall. The leaf litter quantity was highest in Quercus serrata, followed by Carpinus laxiflora and C. cordata, etc. Mass loss from decomposing leaf litter was more rapid in C. laxiflora and C. cordata than in Q. serrata litter. About 77% of C. laxiflora and 84% of C. cordata litter disappeared, while about 48% in Q. serrata litter lost over two years. The carbon pool in living tree biomass including below ground biomass was 136 tons C/ha, and 5.6 tons C/ha is stored in the litter layer, and about 92.0 tons C/ha in the soil to the 30cm in depth. Totally more than about 233.6 tons C/ha was stored in DK site. And then we have drawn a schematic diagram of carbon budgets and flows in each compartment of the KEF site.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.87-93
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• 2003

Litterfall and litter decomposition represent a major contribution to the carbon and nutrient inputs in a forest ecosystem. We measured litterfall quantity and nutrient dynamics in decomposing litter for two years at the Kwangneung broadleaf natural forest (DK site) in Korea. Litterfall was collected in circular littertraps (collecting area : 0.25 $m^2$) and mass loss rates and nutrient release patterns in decomposing litter were estimated using the litterbag technique employing 30 cm ${\times}$ 30 cm nylon bags with 1.5 mm mesh size. Total annual litterfall was 5,627 kg/ha/yr and leaf litter accounted for 61 % of the litterfall. The leaf litter quantity was highest in Quercus serrata, fallowed by Carpinus laxiflora and C. cordata, etc., which are dominant tree species in the site. Mass loss from decomposing leaf litter was more rapid in C. laxiflora and C. cordata than in Q. serrata litter. About 77% of C. laxiflora and 84% of C. cordata litter disappeared, while about 48% in Q. serrata litter lost over two years. Lower mass loss rates of Q. serrata litter may be attributed to the difference of substrate quality such as lower nutrient concentrations compared with the other litter types. Nutrient concentrations (N, P, Mg) of three litter types except for potassium (K) increased compared with initial nutrient concentrations of litter over the study period. Compared with Q. serrata litter, nutrients (N, P, K, Ca, Mg) in C. laxiflora and C. cordata litter were released rapidly. The results suggest that litter mass loss and nutrient dynamic processes among tree species vary considerably in the same site conditions.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.110-117
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• 2016

Litter fall is a source of nutrients and carbon transfer in terrestrial ecosystems. Litter decomposition provides nutrients needed for plant growth, sustains soil fertility, and supplies $CO_2$ to the atmosphere. We collected the leaf litter of evergreen broadleaf tree, Camellia japonica L., and carried out a decomposition experiment using the litterbag method in Ju-do, Wando-gun, Korea for 731 days from Dec 25, 2011 to Dec 25, 2013. The leaf litter of C. japonica remained 42.6% of the initial litter mass after experiment. The decay constant (k) of C. japonica leaf litter was $0.427yr^{-1}$. The carbon content of C. japonica leaf litter was 44.6%, and the remaining carbon content during the decomposition tended to coincide with the changes in litter mass. The initial nitrogen and phosphorus content was 0.47% and 324.7 mg/g, respectively. The remaining N in decaying litter increased 1.66-fold in the early decomposition stage, then gradually decreased to 1.18-fold after 731 days. The content of P showed the highest value (1.64-fold of initial content) after 456 days, which then fell to a 1.15-fold after 731 days. The remaining Ca, K, Mg and Na content in C. japonica leaf litter tended to decrease during decomposition. The remaining K showed a remaining mass of 8.9% as a result of rapid reduction. The initial C/N and C/P ratio of C. japonica leaf litter was 94.87 and 1368.5, respectively. However, it tended to decrease as decomposition progressed because of the immobilization of N and P (2.78 and 2.68-fold of initial content, respectively) during the leaf litter decaying. The study results showed that N and P was immobilized and other nutrients was mineralized in C. japonica leaf litter during experimental period.