• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.60-73
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• 2024

Background: The available information on terrestrial pest gastropods and their impact on the environment worldwide is scarce and outdated. The present study aimed to address this gap by conducting the first comprehensive survey of pest gastropods in the Nuwara Eliya District, an important vegetable growing area in the highlands of Sri Lanka. Eighty agricultural lands were surveyed over two years by establishing ten 1 m2 sampling plots per crop type in each agricultural land. Geo-coordinates, air temperature, elevation, relative humidity, daily rainfall, soil pH, species richness and abundance were recorded for rainy and non-rainy periods. The relationship between species composition and environmental variables was analyzed using multi-regression models and distribution maps. Results: Out of the 14 species recorded in agricultural lands, nine were identified as exotic pest species. Species abundance (t = 4.69, p < 0.05) and diversity was higher in the rainy period and the dominant species during this period were Bradybaena similaris (t = 2.69, p < 0.05) and Deroceras reticulatum (t = 2. 46, p < 0.05). Eggs and estivating adults were found in soil and under decaying organic matter during the non-rainy period. The exotic species showed broader preferences for the measured environmental factors and showed a wider range in distribution compared to the native species. Variation in pest gastropod composition was significantly accounted for by elevation, relative humidity, soil pH and daily rainfall. Additionally, the species richness and abundance varied across locations due to the combined effects of elevation, crop type and stage, and field type. Conclusions: The study emphasizes the importance of understanding the biology and ecology of gastropod pests to develop effective management strategies. By considering the influence of environmental factors and implementing appropriate soil management techniques, such as targeting specific habitats and crop stages, it is possible to mitigate pest populations and minimize their impact on agricultural lands. Overall, this research contributes valuable insights into the dynamics and interactions of terrestrial gastropods in agricultural ecosystems, supporting sustainable pest management practices.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.78-95
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• 2009

This study was examined the vascular plants and their characteristics cited in 311 science textbooks of elementary and secondary schools used in the fifth to seventh curriculum. Vascular plants were composed of 129 families, 332 genera, 383 species, 2 subspecies, 47 varieties, 6 forma, and 3 hybrid, totaling 441 taxa. The herbs and trees were consists of 280 taxa (63.5%) and 161 taxa (36.5%), respectively. Native species (241 taxa) were more cited than non-native species (200 taxa). The number of species within a family were high ranked in 35 taxa of Compositae, and 26 taxa of Gramineae. Nine species including endemic genus Hanabusaya Nakai and Abeliophyllum Nakai among the 441 taxa were Korean endemic, and the 25 rare and 12 endangered plants were also included. Based on the list of the species of specially designated plants by the Ministry of Environment, 83 taxa were recorded in the investigated textbooks, and the naturalized plants were 16 taxa. 441 taxa listed consists of 185 taxa (41.9%) of edible plants, 148 taxa (33.5%) of medicinal plants, 139 taxa (31.5%) of ornamental plants, 87 taxa (19.7%) of pasture plants, 34 taxa (7.7%) of timber plants, 13 taxa (2.9%) of miscellaneous plants, 8 taxa (1.8%) of fiber plants, and 3 taxa (0.7%) of industrial plants.

• FLOWER RESEARCH JOURNAL
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.98-109
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• 2010

78 Korean native plants, which have not been used in general, were selected to be used as outdoor pot plants for three seasons, from spring to autumn. Plants, which were explored in about 30 places of Korea from 2007 to 2009, were transplanted to or sown in white plastic general pots ($27.5cm({\Phi}){\times}27.5cm(H)$) and hanging pots($28cm({\Phi}){\times}13cm(H)$) and grown in the garden of 36''56' latitude(N) and 127''09' longitude(E). 38 species(13 families and 29 genus) were suitable for outdoor general pots, and 46 species(28 families and 43 genus) for outdoor hanging pots. Among 38 plants for outdoor general pots, the principal species, which were easy to grow and have not been used in general, were 16 species, Metaplexis japonica in Asclepiadaceae, Phyteuma japonicum in Campanulaceae, Artemisia capillaris, Artemisia princeps, and Artemisia selengensis in Compositae, Carex humilis in Cyperaceae, Pennisetum alopecuroides, and Setaria viridis in Gramineae, Agastache rugosa, Glechoma hederacea, Elsholtzia splendens, Isodon inflexus, and Mosla punctulata in Labiatae, Vicia villosa in Leguminosae, Piper kadzura in Piperaceae, and Rosa multiflora var. multiflora in Rosaceae. Among 46 plants for outdoor hanging pots, the principal species, which were easy to grow and have not been used in general, were 17 species, Metaplexis japonica in Asclepiadaceae, Ixeris stonlonifera in Compositae, Calystegia japonica and Quamoclit angulata in Convolvulaceae, Dioscorea batatas in Dioscoreaceae, Glechoma hederacea and Thymus quinquecostatus in Labiatae, Trifolium lupinaster for. alpinus and Vicia villosa in Leguminosae, Menispermum dauricum in Menispermaceae, Piper kadzura in Piperaceae, Clematis mandshurica for. lancifolia in Ranunculoideae, Rosa multiflora var. multiflora and Potentilla fragarioides var. major in Rosaceae, Paederia scandens and Rubia akane in Rubiaceae, and Parthenocissus tricuspidata in Vitaceae.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.138-144
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• 2023

The main factor of biodiversity decline in major biological populations around the world is invasion of alien species. To protect native species, it is necessary to manage alien species. Recently, to eradicate ecosystem disturbance caused by alien species in Korea, many efforts have been made to capture individuals using nets and purchase captured individuals. However, there is no standard for classifying species due to the form of nest site or external characteristics of eggs of freshwater turtles. Thus, Mauremys reevesii eggs might be discarded due to mistaking as eggs of alien turtles. Based on more data, this study aims to compare and analyze external differences among eggs of Trachemys scripta elegans, Pseudemys concinna, and M. reevesii and use them as reference materials in the process of eradicating alien turtles. This study measured characteristics of eggs of the three turtle species. As a result of comparison, all variables of external characteristics of alien turtles and M. reevesii eggs showed significant differences. The shape of egg was also different, with eggs of T. scripta elegans and P. concinna showing a bicone shape and those of M. reevesii showing an ellipsoid shape. In conclusion, based on results of previous studies and the present study, eggs of M. reevesii, T. scripta elegans, and P. concinna are different in shape and structure. Thus, it is possible to distinguish between M. reevesii and invasive alien turtle using their eggs.

• Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.290-298
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• 2021

This study was conducted to evaluate the possibility of applying phytoremediation technology by investigating soil and native plants in waste coal landfills exposed to heavy metal contamination for a long period of time. The ability of native plants to accumulate heavy metals using greenhouse cultivation experiments was alse evaluated. Plants were investigated at an abandoned coal mine in Hwajeolyeong, Jeongseon, Gangwon-do. Two species of native plants (Carex breviculmis. R. B. and Salix koriyanagi Kimura ex Goerz.) located in the study area and three Korean native plants (Artemisia japonica Thunb. Hemerocallis hakuunensis Nakai., and Saussurea pulchella (Fisch.) Fisch.) were cultivated in a greenhouse for 12 weeks in artificially contaminated soil. Soils contaminated with arsenic and lead were generated with arsenic concentration gradients of 25, 62.5, 125, and 250 mg kg^-1 and lead concentration gradients of 200, 500, 1000, and 2000 mg kg^-1, respectively. Results showed that none of the five plants could survive at high arsenic concentration treatment (125 and 250 mg kg^-1) and some plants died in 2000 mg kg^-1 lead concentration treatment soil. The plant translocation factor (TF) was highest in H. hakuunensis in arsenic treatments, and A. japonica in lead treatments, respectively. The bioaccumulation factor (BF) of plants was more than 1 in all species in arsenic treatment, whereas it was highest in H. hakuunensis. BF for all species was less than 1 in lead treatment. Particularly, in 2000 mg kg^-1 concentration lead treatment, A. japonica accumulated more than 1000 mg kg^-1 lead and was expected to be a lead hyperaccumulator. In conclusion, A. japonica and H. hakuunensis were excellent in the accumulation of arsenic heavy metals, and S. koriyanagi was excellent in lead accumulation ability. Therefore, the above mentioned three plants are considered to be strong contenders for application of the phytoremediation technology.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.562-581
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• 2018

This study was designed to predict the changes in species richness of plants under the climate change in South Korea. The target species were selected based on the Plants Adaptable to Climate Change in the Korean Peninsula. Altogether, 89 species including 23 native plants, 30 northern plants, and 36 southern plants. We used the Species Distribution Model to predict the potential habitat of individual species under the climate change. We applied ten single-model algorithms and the pre-evaluation weighted ensemble method. And then, species richness was derived from the results of individual species. Two representative concentration pathways (RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5) were used to simulate the species richness of plants in 2050 and 2070. The current species richness was predicted to be high in the national parks located in the Baekdudaegan mountain range in Gangwon Province and islands of the South Sea. The future species richness was predicted to be lower in the national park and the Baekdudaegan mountain range in Gangwon Province and to be higher for southern coastal regions. The average value of the current species richness showed that the national park area was higher than the whole area of South Korea. However, predicted species richness were not the difference between the national park area and the whole area of South Korea. The difference between current and future species richness of plants could be the disappearance of a large number of native and northern plants from South Korea. The additional reason could be the expansion of potential habitat of southern plants under climate change. However, if species dispersal to a suitable habitat was not achieved, the species richness will be reduced drastically. The results were different depending on whether species were dispersed or not. This study will be useful for the conservation planning, establishment of the protected area, restoration of biological species and strategies for adaptation of climate change.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.305-311
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• 2014

Copy number variation (CNV) is a form of structural variation that shows various numbers of copies in segments of the DNA. It has been shown to account for phenotypic variations in human diseases and agricultural production traits. Currently, most of chicken breeds in the poultry industry are based on European-origin breeds that have been mostly provided from several international breeding companies. Therefore, National Institute of Animal Science, RDA has been trying to restore and improve Korean native chicken breeds (12 lines of 5 breeds) for about 20 years. Thanks to the recent advance of sequencing technologies, genome-wide CNV can be accessed in the higher resolution throughout the genome of species of interest. However, there is no systematic study available to dissect the CNV in the native chicken breed in Korea. Here, we report genome-wide copy number variations identified from a genome of Korean native chicken (Line L) by comparing between the chicken reference sequence assembly (Gallus gallus) and a de novo sequencing assembly of the Korean native chicken (Line L). Throughout all twenty eight chicken autosomes, we identified a total of 501 CNVs; defined as gain and loss of duplication and deletion respectively. Furthermore, we performed gene ontology (GO) analysis for the putative CNVs using DAVID, leading to 68 GO terms clustered independently. Of the clustered GO terms, genes related to transcription and gene regulation were mainly detected. This study provides useful genomic resource to investigate potential biological implications of CNVs with traits of interest in the Korean native chicken.

• ALGAE
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.57-66
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• 2017

The red alga Gracilaria vermiculophylla, a species native to the waters of Korea and Japan, has invaded marine coastal areas of Europe and the Americas, thriving in conditions that differ from those of its native habitat. In recent years, G. vermiculophylla has been discovered in the Long Island Sound (LIS) estuary growing alongside the native congener Gracilaria tikvahiae. The goal of this study was to determine whether the two strains of G. vermiculophylla from different regions of the world have evolved genetic differences (i.e., ecotypic differentiation) or if the physiological performance of the strains simply reflects phenotypic plasticity. Two strains of G. vermiculophylla (isolated in Korea and LIS) and a strain of the LIS native G. tikvahiae were grown for four weeks under temperatures ranging from 20 to $34^{\circ}C$ using a temperature gradient table (all other environmental conditions were kept constant). At the end of each week, wet weight of each sample was recorded, and thalli were reduced to the original stocking density of $1gL^{-1}$ (excess biomass was preserved for tissue carbon and nitrogen analysis). Generally, the growth rates of Korean G. vermiculophylla > LIS G. vermiculophylla > G. tikvahiae. After one week of growth G. tikvahiae grew 9.1, 12.0, 9.4, and 0.2% $d^{-1}$, at temperatures of 20, 24, 29, and $34^{\circ}C$, respectively, while G. vermiculophylla (LIS) grew 6.6, 6.2, 5.7, and 3.6% $d^{-1}$. G. vermiculophylla (Korea) grew 15.4, 22.9, 23.2, and 10.1% $d^{-1}$, much higher than the two strains currently inhabiting the LIS. On average, the LIS G. vermiculophylla strain contained 4-5% DW N, while the Korean strain and G. tikvahiae had more modest levels of 2-3% N DW. However, tissue N content declined as temperature increased in LIS and Korean G. vermiculophylla. The non-native haplotype may have evolved genetic differences resulting in lower growth capacity while concentrating significantly more nitrogen, giving the non-native a competitive advantage.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.57-74
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• 2022

Seed zones were constructed using temperature and precipitation data for the Korean Peninsula and were described as 65 zones. Seed zones for South Korea were reclassified, and they were classified into 34 districts. This study was conducted to define the spread of 5 native seed species (Pinus densiflora, Quercus acutissima, Quercus variabilis, Acer pictum, Carpinus tschonoskii) by linking the seed zones with MaxEnt. The emergence point of native seeds was acquired through the 1:5,000 Forest Type Map and the 4th national natural environment survey data. Based on the MaxEnt result, regions with a habitat probability of 0.5 or more were extracted and overlapped with seed zones to identify the native seed habitat. After analyzing the climate regions with high habitat density, regions with high habitat density of native seeds for each administrative district were identified. In the case of Pinus densiflora, Quercus acutissima, and Quercus variabilis, the Winter minimum temperature(WMT) -9.4~-6.6℃, Annual Heat:Moisture(AH:M) 19~24℃/m was 37%, 43%, and 34%, respectively. occupied the largest area. In Acer pictum, WMT -6.6~-3.8℃ and AH:M 16~19℃/m accounted for 42% of the area, and Carpinus tschonoskii had WMT -3.8~-1.1℃, AH:M <16℃/m Districts accounted for the largest area at 33%. The regions with high density of Pinus densiflora, Quercus acutissima, and Quercus variabilis by administrative district were distributed in high density in Seoul, Southern Gyeonggi-do, Chungcheong-do, and Gyeongsangbuk-do. Acer pictum was distributed in high density in Jeolla-do and Gyeongsang-do, and Carpinus tschonoskii in Jeju, Jeollanam-do and Gyeongsangnam-do. Through this study, seed zones for each of the 5 native seeds were established, and it is expected to provide basic data for the management of native seeds.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.26 no.7
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• pp.782-788
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• 2016

To check the possibility of using natural extracts for cosmetic substances, we tested the bioactive effects of 11 crude extracts originating from native plants grown in the Republic of Korea on anti-oxidant and anti-wrinkle activities. When DPPH scavenging activities were measured, the crude extracts of Vitex rotundifolia, Scirpus triangulatus, S. wichurae, S. tabernaemontani, and Aeschynomene indica assays had more than 70% of DPPH scavenging activities at 100 μg/ml concentration. The data from the hydrogen peroxide scavenging assay revealed that the crude extracts from the 10 species, except for Eleocharis mamillata var. cyclocarpa, could scavenge more than 90% at 1,000 μg/ml concentration. The crude extract of V. rotundifolia had the highest xanthine oxidase scavenging activity at a 1,000 μg/ml concentration. Based on the four anti-oxidant assays, the crude extracts of V. rotundifolia, S. triangulatus, S. wichurae, S. tabernaemontani, and A. indica were shown to have excellent anti-oxidant capacities overall. In addition to the anti-oxidant capacities, the crude extract from S. wichurae exhibited high collagenase inhibitory activity, therefore, it could be a promising candidate for a cosmetic ingredient with anti-oxidant and anti-wrinkle qualities. The results of this study indicate that many wild plants native to the Korea Peninsula can be used as excellent natural substances for cosmetics based on their bioactive effects.