• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.81-99
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• 2015

The acceleration of global warming has required better understanding of carbon cycles over local and regional areas such as the Korean peninsula. Since forests serve as a carbon sink, which stores a large amount of terrestrial carbon, there has been a demand to accurately estimate such forest carbon sequestration. In Korea, the National Forest Inventory(NFI) has been used to estimate the forest carbon stocks based on the amount of growing stocks per hectare measured at sampled location. However, as such data are based on point(i.e., plot) measurements, it is difficult to identify spatial distribution of forest carbon stocks. This study focuses on urban areas, which have limited number of NFI samples and have shown rapid land cover change, to estimate grid-based forest carbon stocks based on UNFCCC Approach 3 and Tier 3. Land cover change and forest carbon stocks were estimated using Landsat 5 TM data acquired in 1991, 1992, 2010, and 2011, high resolution airborne images, and the 3rd, 5th~6th NFI data. Machine learning techniques(i.e., random forest and support vector machines/regression) were used for land cover change classification and forest carbon stock estimation. Forest carbon stocks were estimated using reflectance, band ratios, vegetation indices, and topographical indices. Results showed that 33.23tonC/ha of carbon was sequestrated on the unchanged forest areas between 1991 and 2010, while 36.83 tonC/ha of carbon was sequestrated on the areas changed from other land-use types to forests. A total of 7.35 tonC/ha of carbon was released on the areas changed from forests to other land-use types. This study was a good chance to understand the quantitative forest carbon stock change according to the land cover change. Moreover the result of this study can contribute to the effective forest management.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.11-17
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• 2003

pH value of sampled fogwater at source regions (above highway and road) in Yongin sites showed the lowest value and was increased after passing the forest stands. Changes of ion concentrations through the forest stands showed a lowering tendency at sampling sites. The fogwater passing the forest stands (Quercus mangolica and Pinus rigida) surrendered acid pollutants to crown and stem from the atmosphere. It was concluded that environmental moisture in the atmosphere is acidified in fogwater. The influence was extended to the pure zone, and the frequency of acid rain has increased. The forests are assumed to remove air pollutants because ion concentrations in fogwater decreased after passing the forests. The fogwater which functions as a local sink for pollutants (H$_2$SO$_4$, HNO$_3$, etc.) falling on plant surfaces is considered to effectively remove acid pollutants. But if the deposition of pollutants exceeds the capacity of purification, it would damage the forest ecosystem. Further investigation is necessary to identify tree species tolerant to acid pollutants.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.17-24
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• 2008

This study was performed to estimate non-$CO_2$ greenhouse gases (i.e., GHGs) emission from biomass burning at a local scale. Estimation of non-$CO_2$ GHGs emission was conducted using Landsat TM satellite imagery in order to assess the damage degree in burnt area and its effect on non-$CO_2$ GHGs emission. This approach of estimation was based on the protocol of the 2003 IPCC Guidelines. In this study, we used one of the most severe fire cases occurred Samcheock in April, 2004. Landsat TM satellite imageries of pre- and post-fire were used 1) to calculate delta normalized burn ratio (dNBR) for analyzing burnt area and burn severity of the Samcheok large-fire and 2) to quantify non-$CO_2$ GHGs emission from different size of the burnt area and the damage degree. The analysis of dNBR of the Samcheok large-fire indicated that the total burnt area was 16,200ha and the size of the burnt area differed with the burn severity: out of the total burnt area, the burn severities of Low (dNBR < 152), Moderate (dNBR = 153-190), and High (dNBR = 191-255) were 35%, 33%, and 32%, respectively. It was estimated that the burnt areas of coniferous forest, deciduous forest, and mixed forest were about 11,506ha (77%), 453ha (3%), and 2,978ha (20%), respectively. The magnitude of non-$CO_2$ GHGs emissions from the Samcheok large-fire differed significantly, showing 93% of CO (44.100Gg), 6.4% of CH4 (3.053Gg), 0.5% of $NO_x$ (0.238Gg), and 0.1% of $N_2O$ (0.038Gg). Although there were little changes in the total burnt area by the burn severity, there were differences in the emission of non-$CO_2$ GHGs with the degree of the burn severity. The maximum emission of non-$CO_2$ GHGs occurred in moderate burn severity, indicating 47% of the total emission.