• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.165-176
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• 2022

This study surveyed the characteristics of fish communities in Hwapocheon Wetland, Korea, from May to September 2020. The survey collected 735 objects in 21 species belonging to 7 families from 8 survey stations. The dominant and subdominant species were Hemiculter eigenmanni(23.8%) and Micropterus salmoides(10.3%), respectively. The next most abundant species were Zacco platypus(9.5%), Carassius auratus(9.4%), Pseudorasbora parva(9.0%), Squalidus chankaensis tsuchigae(6.7%), Acheilognathus macropterus(5.4%), Lepomis macrochirus(5.2%), Pseudogobio esocinus(4.1%), Opsariichthys uncirostris amurensis(3.7%), and Carassius cuvieri(3.3%). Among the fish species collected, one species, Culter brevicauda, was class II endangered wildlife designated by the Ministry of Environment, and one species,S. c. tsuchigae(4.8%), was endemic to Korea.Additionally, three exotic species (M. salmoides, L. macrochirus, and C. cuvieri) and one landlocked species (Rhinogobius brunneus) were collected. Compared to previous studies, the proportion of fish living in the running water area tended to decrease, the proportion of fish living in the water purification area tended to increase, and ecosystem-disturbing species (M. salmoides and L. macrochirus) tended to increase gradually. Results of fish community analysis showed that the mainstream stations (St. 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 8) had low dominance, but high diversity and richness, and other stations (St. 2 and 7) had high dominance but low diversity and richness. The river health (index of biological integrity) evaluated using fish was assessed as bad (6 stations), normal (1 station), and very bad (1 station). The water quality grade was assessed as slightly bad due to the chemical oxygen demand (COD), total organic content (TOC), suspended solid (SS), and total coliforms (TC). The annual water quality showed a gradually increasing trend of biological oxygen demand (BOD), COD, SS, and chlorophyll-a. The stable life of fish and the improvement of river health in Hwapocheon Wetland require water quality improvement and the systematic management of ecosystem-disturbing species (M. salmoidesand L. macrochirus).

• Korean Journal of Ornithology
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.87-93
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• 2018

In order to investigate the changes in the population of Spot-billed ducks due to changes in reclaimed land, we conducted a monthly survey from January 2008 to December 2014 at the Shihwa Lake. The average number of Spot-billed ducks was 12,204 individuals. The average population was decreased. The yearly index of fluctuation (Fi) was the highest at 2.16 in 2010. TRIM(TRends and Indices for Monitoring data) showed a steep decline in winter and a moderate decrease tendency in autumn and spring. However, in the summer season, it showed an moderate increasing tendency. The main habitat were Northland reclaimed land, agricultural land and wetland area, Tando waterway, Shihwa artificial wetland in upstream. The correlation between the number of Spot-billed ducks and the temperature was negatively correlated in spring, summer, autumn. However, winter was showed positive correlation. Therefore, it affects the community of Spot-billed ducks due to environmental changes of reclaimed land. In future, effective management is needed to prepare alternative habitat based on basic data like this study for the conservation and management of Spot-billed ducks during reclamation construction.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.428-435
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• 2015

Constructed wetlands (CWs) have been accepted as an attractive and economic alternative to a variety of pollution control and provided potentially valuable wildlife habitat in urban and suburban areas, as well as esthetic value within the local natural environment. CWs are known eco-friendly technology to solve the problem of the climate change and urbanization issues. Numerous studies have been published on the various aspects of a CW. However, there are current limitations about the CW operations such as few design guidelines, poor performance results regarding the simple construction. Therefore, the objective of this research was to suggest an appropriate design and maintenance guidelines for a CW by thorough investigation of site monitoring results. The research also concentrated in redefining and reclassifying CWs, based on literatures made by the Ministry of Environment (MOE) and other organizations. Investigation at 43 CWs in Korea was performed by using collected data and by performing site survey from 2013 to 2014. Based on the results, the best practices among the investigated CWs provided water treatment, wildlife habitat, environmental education, and leisure. Also these CWs conducted a regular maintenance such as vegetation, sediment dredging and cleaning of facilities. Results obtained are intended for use by academics and any organizations involved in CW management.

• Journal of Species Research
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.136-159
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• 2019

This study was carried out to investigate the flora of six islands belonging to the Gogunsan Archipelago (i.e., Sinsi-do, Seonyu-do, Munyeo-do, Yami-do, Bian-do, and Duri-do) in the Korean Peninsula. As results of five field surveys from March to October of 2016, we have identified 575 total taxa, representing 527 species, five subspecies, 42 varieties, and one hybrid, placed in 358 genera and 118 families. Of these 575 taxa, four are endemic to Korea, six taxa are listed on the Korean Red List of threatened species, 67 are floristic regional indicator plants, and 74 are invasive alien species. In this study, we compared species richness among the islands, and find that the larger the islands, the higher the species richness. In the case of habitat affinity types, forest species were most common, followed by farmland, seacoast, bare ground and wetland species. From similarity analyses based on the composition of vascular plants, each island did not exhibit either local specificity or unique diversity. On the contrary, the proportion of invasive alien and ruderal species may increase by human activities. Investigations and analyses of island flora such as this are important to assess the current status of the flora, predict future vegetation patterns and the spread of the alien species, and establish managment plans of plant diversity.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.41-51
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• 2012

To select 10 representatives for the ecotourism networks around the areas bordering national rivers in Korea, the spatial ranges for ecotourism have been established, the ecotourism potential analyzed, and the ecotourism resources information collected by the Regional Environmental Offices and the Korea National Park Service has undergone reviews, amendments, supplements, and verification processes through familiarization tour previews, and the following main results have been derived. First, the spatial ranges of the eco-tourism networks have been set as the watershed areas that include areas around the four major rivers and the rivers. Second, the areas with high potential value for ecotourism were selected through the analysis of ecotourism potential. Since EGIS was used for the analysis, it was inevitable that insufficient amount of localized information was reflected, and the use of the results as reference for the potential would be feasible. Third, it was possible, by reviewing, amending and complementing the results of ecological resource information collected by the Regional Environmental Offices and the Korea National Park Service, to select 50 representative ecological resources around the national rivers. The selected resources were considered for the adjacency, attractiveness of ecological resources, and uniqueness of the national rivers, and they were derived by screening expert advice, official opinion, and geographical analysis information. Fourth, 10 representative ecotourism networks based on watershed areas were selected, and suitable themes were given based on the resource characteristics. Fifth, the appropriateness for ecotourism has been confirmed, with the familiarization tour previews and survey results, preservation of the future ecotourism resources, and the establishment of the foundation as the basis. In the future, the remaining 9 ecotourism networks would also need to undergo a verification process such as familiarization tours. It is deemed that, through future ecotourism contests, if the programs that select locally-pioneered tourism programs resulting from the capacities of local entities and residents, then it would be more effective in discovering resources that are more localized and of higher regional value.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.88-96
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• 2021

Background: Sika deer, Cervus nippon, were originally introduced to South Korea from Japan and Taiwan for commercial farming purposes. Unfortunately, they were released into the wild during religious events and have since begun to impact the native ecosystem and species endemic to South Korea. The study of activity patterns can improve our understanding of the environmental impact of non-native species and their association with sympatric species. Using camera traps, we studied the diel and seasonal activity patterns of non-native sika deer and quantified the temporal overlap with sympatric mammalian species in the Muljangori-oreum wetlands of Hallasan National Park, South Korea. Results: A total of 970 trap events were recorded for five mammalian species from nine locations during the camera-trap survey. Siberian roe deer (Capreolus pygargus tianschanicus) had the highest number of recorded events (72.0%), followed by sika deer (Cervus nippon) (16.2%), wild boar (Sus scrofa) (5.0%), Asian badger (Meles leucurus) (4.5%), and the Jeju weasel (Mustela sibirica quelpartis) (2.0%). Sika deer had bimodal activity patterns throughout the year, with peaks throughout the spring-autumn twilight, and day and night time throughout the winter. Relating the daily activity of sika deer with other mammalian species, roe deer expressed the highest degree of overlap (Δ₄ = 0.80) while the Asian badger demonstrated the lowest overlap (Δ₄ = 0.37). Conclusions: Our data show that sika deer are a crepuscular species with seasonal variations in daily activity patterns. Additionally, we identified the temporal differences in activity peaks between different mammals in the Muljangori-oreum wetlands and found higher degree of overlap between sika deer and roe deer during twilight hours.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.515-529
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• 2020

Constructed wetlands undergo biological and physical changes such as an increase in the proportion of arid plants due to the natural succession process after formation. It can adversely affect not only the purification function but also the habitat of species. As such, this study aims to identify environmental factors affecting biodiversity and propose management plans based on the monitoring results of physical environmental changes and the emergence of species in seven constructed wetlands selected based on the water depth and surrounding conditions among the lands purchased by the Nakdong River basin. We examined the environmental conditions and emergence of the Odonata, which is a wetland-dependent species, to predict the trend of changes in biodiversity and abundance. The results showed that the open water area decreased as the emergent plants spread to the deep water in 2015 compared to 2012 when they were initially restored to a depth of 0.2 to 1 m. While a total of 54 dragonfly species were observed, the habitat diversity, such as vegetation, water surface, and grassland, remained similar to the initial formation of the wetlands despite the expansion of the emergent plants. On the other hand, the number of Agrionidae species, which prefer areas with fewer aquatic plants, decreased between 2012 and 2015 due to the diminished water surface. The p-values of the differences in the number of species and population between wetlands by year were 2.568e-09 and 1.162e-08, respectively, indicating the statistically significant differences. The decrease in open water surface was found to have the greatest effect on the biodiversity and habitat density of dragonflies. The time-series survey of constructed wetlands confirmed that the spread of Phragmites communis, P. japonica, Typha orientalis, etc., caused a decrease in species diversity. It suggests that environmental management to maintain the open water surface area is necessary.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.109 no.2
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• pp.124-135
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• 2020

Alder (Alnus japonica) forests are representative of the wetland in East Asia, including Korea. In the past, alder forests were relatively common in various habitats such as mountains, riversides, back marshes, and alluvial plains. However, this plant community has recently become rare due to increasingly arid habitats and the influence of various land uses. In this study, we identify the synecological characteristics of alder (A. japonica) forests distributed naturally in the mountainous wetlands of Korea and provide basic data for their systematic conservation and management in the future. Based on vegetation survey data collected from 66 alder forests, community types were classified using the methods of the Zürich-Montpellier School of Phytosociology and two-way indicator species analysis. There were eight community types: Styrax obassia, Weigela subsessilis-Fraxinus mandschurica, Spiraea fritschiana, Viola verecunda, Impatiens textori-Spiraea salicifolia, Glyceria leptolepis, Molinia japonica, and Lindera obtusiloba-Quercus acutissima. These community types constituted a vegetation unit hierarchy of two communities, four subcommunities, and eight variants. In addition, the ecological characteristics of each community type were compared (including total coverage per 100 square meter, importance value index, constancy class, life-form composition, diversity indices, community similarity coefficient, and indicator species).

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.189-200
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• 2008

As a transition zone between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, riparian areas of rivers and streams play significant roles in production and decomposition for river and stream systems. Understanding of the physical and ecological characteristics of riparian areas are, therefore, important for the management of river and stream systems. It is especially important to understand the characteristics of riparian areas for the Nakdong River in Korea which has a large watershed area and diverse land uses. This study aimed at collecting field data, according to stream types, which are essential for the management of riparian areas of the middle and lower reaches of the Nakdong River, Korea. Most riparian areas surveyed in this study had roads within 100 meters from river edges. Distances from water edge to banks were less than 1m for most riparian areas neighboring agricultural lands, indicating that those areas might be very vulnerable to pollutant inputs from non-point sources. Water quality data indicated that soil erosion in the riparian areas could be a major source of phosphorus input to the Nakdong River and land use patters might have a significant influence on nitrogen concentration in the river. Heavy metal concentrations in soils of the riparian areas of the river were below soil quality standards, except arsenic and chromium. Vegetation surveys showed that therophytes were the most frequently occurred riparian plants in the Nakdong River. Number of aquatic plant species increased downstream, with the most diverse aquatic plants observed in wetlands and irrigation canals of the West Nakdong River. Occurrence rate of naturalized plants and urbanization index were high in the survey sites adjacent to urban and agricultural areas.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.135-151
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• 2015

DMZ is considered as an ecologically sensitive landscape and one of the highest biodiversity regions in the Republic of Korea. There have been, albeit the significant value, increased interests in developing this region for a variety of purposes including tourism and commemorative events. As this region has been already facing a range of problems derived from previous development, natural disaster and invasive species, the necessity for active management of ecological health within this region has been increased, which weighs the importance of executing ecological restoration. The objective of this study was to develop evaluation indices as an effective management means of properly evaluating ecological restoration and sustainably maintaining the restored conditions on a long-term scale. Through literature review existing evaluation indices related to restoration were collected, and then the most suitable indices were selected based upon two interviews and one questionnaire survey targeting experts in the relevant field to ecological restoration. They were categorized by two major division and their subclasses (Ecological base - vegetation structure & composition, habitat characteristics, soil environment; landscape ecology - connectivity, landscape patch, boundary & surrounding) and 40 indices. These indices were considered helpful to comprehensively evaluate ecological restoration on degraded environments within ecologically sensitive areas, and sustainably manage target areas by employing a long-term monitoring approach. As this result played a meaningful role in providing the fundamentals of evaluating ecological restoration, it should develop a suitable evaluation system through further research.