• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.88 no.4
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• pp.438-445
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• 1999

The concentrations of some ions ($NO{_3}^-$, $Ca^{2+}$, $Mg^{2+}$, $NH{_4}^+$) in soil solution collected by zero tension lysimeter in mature Pinus rigida plantations in Goksung, Jeonranam-do were measured at two soil depths (10cm and 30cm) following various levels of cutting intensity treatment (uncut, $6m{\times}50m$, $10m{\times}50m$, $20m{\times}50m$ strip crearcutting) three times (July 6. July 30, and August 4) between June 20 and August 4 1998. The ion concentrations in the soil solution were significantly different among sampling times, while the concentrations were not different among cutting levels or sampling depths. The ion concentrations in the soil solution decreased in the order of $NO{_3}^-$ > $Ca^{2+}$ > $Mg^{2+}$ > $NH{_4}^+$ and the mean concentration was 3.60mg/L for $NO{_3}^-$, 1.7mg/L for $Ca^{2+}$, 0.5mg/L for $Mg^{2+}$, and 0.04mg/L for $NH{_4}^+$ respectively. These ion concentrations except for $NH{_4}^+$ ion were negatively correlated with the volume of collected soil solutions (r=-0.31~-0.41). The results suggest that the change of nutrient concentrations in the soil solution collected from the P. rigida plantations was related to the temporal input patterns of precipitation rather than the cutting intensity.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.50-57
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• 2020

BACKGROUND: Biochar is used in various environmental fields, such as water quality and soil restoration, and affects soil fertility and nutrient cycling. Also, when crops are grown on biochar-applied soil, their characteristics may be affected. Biochar is used especially with commercial vegetable seedlings. METHODS AND RESULTS: The objective of this study was to determine the effects of biochar content in seeding mixes on early growth of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.), Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa L.), and red pepper (Capsicum annuum L.). Treatments consisted of a control (0: 10, ratio of biochar to seeding mixes (w/w)), 1: 9 (biochar 10%), 3: 7 (biochar 30%), 5: 5 (biochar 50%), and 7: 3 (biochar 70%). The biochar was made from risk husk and had a C/N ratio of 104. As the mixing ratio of biochar increased, pH increased whereas EC and nitrogen content decreased. The highest phosphorus content was with the treatment of 30% biochar, while there were significant increases in the weight of lettuce seedlings and concentrations of T-N, P₂O₅, K₂O, MgO, and Na with the treatments of 30% and 50% biochar. Although the weight of Chinese cabbage seedlings increased with the treatment of 10% biochar, the increase was not statistically significant. Also, there was an increase in the weight of red pepper seedlings with the treatment of 30% biochar, but the increase was not statistically significant. With increases in the biochar mixing ratio, the K₂O concentration of red pepper seedlings increased, but the concentrations of P₂O₅, CaO, MgO, and Na decreased. It was believed that this was because of absorption inhibition by calcium-phosphate formation in the seeding mixes owing to increased pH. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, adding biochar to seeding mixes is considered to be an important mean for growing healthy vegetable seedlings. More field experiments are needed to verify the effect of biochar on vegetable crop growth over the entire growing season.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.219-224
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• 2019

BACKGROUND: Soil bacteria play important roles in organic matter decomposition and nutrient cycling during the non-growing season. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of soil management and chemical properties on the utilization of carbon sources by soil bacteria in paddy fields. METHODS AND RESULTS: The Biolog EcoPlate was used for analyzing community-level carbon substrate utilization profiles of soil bacteria. Soils were collected from the following three types of areas: plain, interface and mountain areas, which were tested to investigate the topology effect. The results of canonical correspondence analysis and Kendall rank correlation analysis showed that soil C/N ratio and NH₄⁺ influenced utilization of carbon sources by bacteria. The utilization of carbohydrates and complex carbon sources were positively correlated with NH₄⁺ concentration. Cultivated paddy fields were compared with adjacent abandoned fields to investigate the impact of cultivation cessation. The level of utilization of putrescine was lower in abandoned fields than in cultivated fields. Monoculture fields were compared with double cropping fields cultivated with barley to investigate the impact of winter crop cultivation. Cropping system altered bacterial use of carbon sources, as reflected by the enhanced utilization of 2-hydroxy benzoic acid under monoculture conditions. CONCLUSION: These results show that soil use intensity and topological characteristics have a minimal impact on soil bacterial functioning in relation to carbon substrate utilization. Moreover, soil chemical properties were found to be important factors determining the physiological profile of the soil bacterial community in paddy fields.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.97 no.2
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• pp.165-170
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• 2008

Litterfall has been recognized an important part of the forest ecosystem production, playing a major pathway in energy flow and nutrient cycling through the ecosystem. This study was carried out to examine the quantity and components, temporal variation, and spatial heterogeneity of the litterfall in the mixed broadleaved-Korean pine forest. The data were collected from the 9ha permanent experimental plot, of which on the center area, i.e. $150m{\times}150m$, the total number of 319 circular litterfall traps with the size of $0.5m^2$ were established to collect falling litterfall. The results showed that the annual amount of litterfall was totalized 3,033.7 kg/ha, occupying broad-leaves of 39.3%, conifer-leaves of 29.5%, others of 18.5%, branches of 10.4%, and seeds of 2.3%. The peak point of the litterfall production was made at the end of September, proportionating 32.2% of total amount. The analysis of semivariogram revealed the existence of high spatial heterogeneity, calculated the scale of spatial heterogeneity ranged from 11.6 m to 29.1 m. The result of proportion (C/[Co+C]) showed that spatial heterogeneity of autocorrelation in total spatial heterogeneity were from 97.0% to 100%. The relatively heavy branches and others had significant differences in litterfall production between the areas of canopy gap and closed canopy in the 95% probability level, but the other components did not show statistical differences.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.415-425
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• 2013

In order to understand phytoplankton and bacterial distribution in tropical coral reef ecosystems in relation to the mangrove community, their biomass and activities were measured in the sea waters of the Chuuk and the Kosrae lagoons located in Micronesia. Chlorophyll a and bacterial abundance showed maximal values in the seawater near the mangrove forests, and then steeply decreased as the distance increased from the mangrove forests, indicating that environmental conditions for these microorganisms changed greatly in lagoon waters. Together with chlorophyll a, abundance of Synechococcus and phototrophic picoeukaryotes and a variety of indicator pigments for dinoflagellates, diatoms, green algae and cryptophytes also showed similar spatial distribution patterns, suggesting that phytoplankton assemblages respond to the environmental gradient by changing community compositions. In addition, primary production and bacterial production were also highest in the bay surrounded by mangrove forest and lowest outside of the lagoon. These results suggest that mangrove waters play an important role in energy production and nutrient cycling in tropical coasts, undoubtedly receiving large inputs of organic matter from shore vegetation such as mangroves. However, the steep decrease of biomass and production of phytoplankton and heterotrophic bacteria within a short distance from the bay to the level of oligotrophic waters indicates that the effect of mangrove waters does not extend far away.

• The Korean Journal of Ecology
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.369-375
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• 2000

Although urban soils must be well understood in order to ensure their conservation and optimum use, these intensively managed and disturbed soils have not been extensively investigated up to now. Urban soils from forest, lawn, streetside, and bare ground and under pavement in Inchon had high bulk density as a result of widespread trampling-induced soil compaction. The various urban soils including forests showed lower water content and higher temperature as compared with rural forest soil. Chemically, soils from urban areas had an unusual neutral pH and low organic matter content. Total bacterial numbers in urban soils was only 5∼50% of that in the rural forest soil. An analysis of stepwise multiple regression revealed that soil organic matter was the most important predictor variable on total bacterial number. The dehydrogenase activity of most urban soils was not significantly different from that of rural forest soil, whereas the microbial activity of soils under pavement was lower. Our investigations show that inadequate organic matter of highly compacted soils has adversely affected the abundance of microorganisms involving nutrient cycling in urban soils.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.1-16
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• 2018

Ground-level ozone ($O_3$) can be a menace for vegetation, especially in Asia where $O_3$ levels have been dramatically increased over the past decades. To ensure food security and maintain forest ecosystem services, such as nutrient cycling, carbon sequestration and functional diversity of soil biota, in the over-populated Asia, environmental standards are needed. To set proper standards, dose-response relationships should be established from which critical levels are derived. The predictor of the response in the dose-response relationship is an $O_3$ metric that indicates the dose level to which the plant has been exposed. This study aimed to review the relevant scientific literature and summarize the $O_3$ metrics used worldwide to provide insights for Asia. A variety of $O_3$ metrics have been used, for which we discuss their strengths and weaknesses. The most widely used metrics are based only on $O_3$ levels. Such metrics have been adopted by several regulatory agencies in the global. However, they are biologically irrelevant because they ignore the plant physiological capacity. Adopting AOT40 ($O_3$ mixing ratios Accumulated Over the Threshold of $40nmol\;mol^{-1}$) as the default index for setting critical levels in Asia would be a poor policy with severe consequences at national and Pan-Asian level. Asian studies should focus on flux-based $O_3$ metrics to provide relevant bases for developing proper standards. However, given the technical requirements in calculating flux-based $O_3$ metrics, which can be an important limitation in developing countries, no-threshold cumulative exposure indices like AOT0 should always accompany flux-based indices.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.175-191
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• 1999

The purpose of this study was to investigate the eating behavior and life habits of kindergarten children 5 to 7 years old in Chuncheon area. This study was conducted in December, 1996. Anthropometric indices(height, weight, skinfold thickness, mid-arm circumference) were measured and body mass index(BMI), Rohrer index, arm fat area were calculated to estimate children’s body fatness. Also the eating behavior and life habits were determined tv using questionnaire method. The results were as follows: Body fat rate of the children was almost normal according to Rohrer index and BMI. There was significant difference in birth weight between male and female. The problems of the eating behavior were frequent skipping breakfast and eating-out. The rate of the children who took snacks 2 times a day was 46.9％. Most children tended to take sweet snacks such as ice-cream, chocolates, cookies, and they tended to prefer meats and fishes to vegetables. The rate of breast feeding was 28.3％ and the rate of weaning foods prepared at home was 61.1%. Many children preferred indoor activities such as watching TV, toy furniture play, building block to outdoor activities such as roller-skating, cycling, jogging in their spare time. The rate of the children who took exercise regularly was 15％. Children tended to eat kimbap, fried chicken, ramyeon more frequently in various instant foods. The intake rates of fruit juice and barly tea were relatively high and children's favorite fruits were watermelon and mandarin orange. From this results, skipping breakfast, frequent eating-out and the monotony of food preference appears to cause imbalance in nutrient intakes of the children and to have bad influence on children’s health. Accodgingiy, the comprehensive nutrition education and proper modification program should be needed for the children and their parents to correct the eating behavior and life habits. The reasonable exercise programs are needed to motivate outdoor activities of the children, and the importance of breast feeding and weaning foods should be emphasized to lactating women and pregnant women.

• Mycobiology
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.217-236
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• 2016

Polyporoid and corticioid fungi are among the most important wood-decay fungi. Not only do they contribute to nutrient cycling by decomposing wood debris, but they are also valuable sources for natural products. Polyporoid and corticioid wood-inhabiting fungi were investigated in Odaesan National Park. Fruit bodies were collected and identified based on morphological and molecular analyses using 28S and internal transcribed spacer regions of DNA sequences. As a result, a total of 149 species, 69 genera, 22 families, and 11 orders were recognized. Half (74 species) of the species were polypores, and the other half (75 species) were corticioid fungi. Most of the species belonged to Polyporales (92 species) followed by Hymenochaetales (33 species) and Russulales (11 species). At the genus level, a high number of species was observed from Steccherinum, Hyphodontia, Phanerochaete, Postia, and Trametes. Concerning distribution, almost all the species could be found below 1,000 m, and only 20% of the species were observed from above 1,000 m. Stereum subtomentosum, Trametes versicolor, T. hirsuta, T. pubescens, Bjerkandera adusta, and Ganoderma applanatum had wide distribution areas. Deciduous wood was the preferred substrate for the collected species. Sixty-three species were new to this region, and 21 species were new to Korea, of which 17 species were described and illustrated.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.31-42
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• 2019

Background: Han River estuary is a national wetland reserve near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between South Korea and North Korea. This trans-boundary estuary area has been well preserved and shows distinctive plant communities along the salinity gradient. To elucidate energy flows and nutrient cycling in this area, we studied trophic relations between the dominant sesarmid crab, Sesarma dehaani, and food sources in three wetlands with different environments along the estuarine gradients. Results: Stable isotope signatures (${\delta}^{13}C$ and ${\delta}^{15}N$) of the crabs were significantly different among the sites and body size classes. Seasonal changes in ${\delta}^{13}C$ of small crabs were distinct from those of large individuals at all the sites. The isotopic values and fatty acid profiles of the crabs were more different among the sites in September than in May. In May, large-sized crabs utilized more plant materials compared to other dietary sources in contrast to small-sized crabs as revealed by a stable isotope mixing modeling, whereas contributions to diets of crabs were not dominated by a specific diet for different body size in September except at site 1. Based on PCA loadings, fatty acid content of $18:3{\omega}3$, known as a biomarker of plant materials, was the main factor to separate size groups of crabs in May and September. The ${\delta}^{13}C$ value of sediment had high correlation with those of small-sized crabs at site 1 and 2 when 1-month time lag was applied to the value for crabs during the surveyed period. Conclusions: Based on the stable isotope and fatty acid results, the consumption habits of S. dehaani appear to be distinguished by sites and their size. In particular, smaller size of S. dehaani appears to be more dependent on fewer food sources and is influenced more by the diet sources from the sediments in Han River estuary.