• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.216-227
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• 2008

To understand eutrophication in the upper regions of brackish Lake Sihwa with a limited water exchange, temporal and spatial distributions of pollutants in water and sediment were investigated from March to October in 2005 and 2006. Also, pollution levels of water and sediment were estimated by trophic state index (TSI) and sediment quality guideline (SQG). Total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), organic matter (COD), and chlorophyll $\alpha$ (Chl-$\alpha$) concentrations in the surface waters were largely varied temporally and spatially, and the variations were highest in the middle areas where strong halocline was formed. Chl-$\alpha$ concentrations in the middle area were very high in April (>$900\;{\mu}g\;L^{-1}$) when algal blooms (red tides) occurred. The relationships between TN and Chl-$\alpha$ (r=0.31), and TP and Chl-$\alpha$ (r=0.65) indicated that the algal growth was primarily affected by phosphorus rather than nitrogen. The distribution of COD was similar to that of Chl-$\alpha$, indicating that the autochthonous organic matters may be a more important carbon source, especially in the middle areas. The brackish water regions were classified as eutrophic or hypertrophic based on their TSI values ($69{\sim}76$). In addition, the content of nutrients (especially TP) in surface sediments were classified as severe polluted state, except the upper areas. Major causes of the eutrophication observed were probably due to high nutrients loading from watersheds, the phosphorus release from anaerobic sediment, and long retention time by the limited water exchange through the sluice gates.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.187-201
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• 2019

This study examined the physicochemical water quality and evaluated the ecological health in 14 sites of Geum River (upstream, mid-stream, and downstream) using the fish community distribution and guilds and eight multi-variable matrices of FAI (Fish Assessment Index) during June 2008-May 2009. The analysis of the water quality variables showed no significant variation in the upstream and mid-stream but a sharp variation due to the accumulation of organic matter from the point where the treated water of Gap and Miho streams flew. The analysis of physicochemical water properties showed that BOD, COD, TN, TP, Cond, and Chl-a tended to increase while DO decreased to cause eutrophication and algae development from the downstream where Miho and Gap stream merged. The analysis of fish community showed that the species richness index and species diversity index increased in the mid-stream area but decreased in the downstream area, indicating the stable ecosystem in the upper stream and the relatively unstable ecosystem in the downstream. The analysis of the species distribution showed that the dominant species were Zacco platypus that accounted for 20.9% of all fish species and Zacco koreanus that accounted for 13.1%. The analysis of the fish tolerance and feeding guild characteristics showed that the sensitive species, the insectivore species, and the aquatic species were dominant in the mid-stream point. On the other hand, contaminants from the sewage water treatment plant of Miho stream had a profound effect in the downstream to show the dominance of tolerant species, omnivorous species, and lentic species. Therefore, it is necessary to improve water quality by reducing the load of urban pollutants and to pay attention to the conservation and restoration of aquatic ecosystems.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.398-404
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• 1999

Factor analysis technique was employed to screen the principal indicators influencing soil and water qualities in the intensively cultivated areas of the Han River Basin. Soil chemical parameters were analyzed for the soil samples collected at intensive farming area in Pyungchang-Gun, and water quality monitoring data were obtained from the agricultural small catchments of Han River Basin during 1996 and 1997. Among the $11{\times}11$ cross correlation matrix, 29 correlations were significant out of 55 soil quality indicator pairs. The overall Kaiser's measure of sampling adequacy(KMS) value was acceptable with 0.60. Most indicators except iron were acceptable. Among soil indicators, the first factors showing high factor loadings were pH, Ca and Mg. The factor loading was the highest for Ca. The second factor could be characterized as phosphate and micronutrient. The third factor was organic matter and EC, and the fourth factor was potassium and Fe. Out of 190 water quality indicators, 86 correlations were significant. Overall KMS value was 0.74, but the KMS values for pH, TSS, Cd, Cu and Fe were lower than 50. The first factor of EC accounts 27.1 percents of the total variance, and showed high factor loadings with Na, Ca, $SO_4$, Mg, K, Cl, $NO_3$, and T-N. The second factor showed high loadings with Zn, Fe, Mn and Cd. The third to seventh factors could be characterized as $PO_4$, TSS, inorganic nitrogen, pH and T-P, and Cu factors, respectively. The factor score for EC was the highest in Kuri, followed by Chunchon, Dunnae and Daegwanryng. The factor score for heavy metals were the highest in the Daegwanryng. The results demonstrated that the factor analysis could be useful to select the most principal factor influencing soil and water qualities in the agricultural watershed.