• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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• 2004.05b
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• pp.516-520
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• 2004

Stream Naturalness means the index of natural state in stream's ecosystem. The evaluation of stream naturalness can evaluate relatively the effect of environmental damages by human and to show how significantly current stream has been apart from its natural state. And it could be show what is the meaning of importance in stream's ecosystem by such distinctions and it Is done by showing the need how a large scale of action for restoration to be restored to natural state of stream system. In this study, a set of index for Stream Naturalness evaluation is proposed, which is referred to and modified problems with domestic and foreign study cases. This methodology is supposed to show well the characteristics of stream in Korea. A case study of Hong-Chun River shows how this methodology is applied to the Stream Naturalness evaluation. For improving the function of river which are water use and flood control and for preserving the function of inhabitation, the proposed methodology is expected to be used a index of direction for a environmental project related stream improvement by evaluation of ecologically sound function in streams.

• Journal of The Geomorphological Association of Korea
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.57-73
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• 2017

The formation of the lava dam of the paleo lake blocked the entrance to the Chatancheon River on the Jeongok lava plateau and it suddenly transformed the terrestrial ecosystem into the aquatic one by the overflow. The spiders in the lava dam adapted in the wetland and evolved into water spiders that could survive by forming bubble houses. Since then, the lava dam was connected to the present Hantangang River due to the dissection and the lake became a terrestrial environment, a small area of marsh composed of primarily clay soil layer. Change in water level of the habitat and thus the extension of the terrestrial area made the species a endangered now. This study carried out frequency of occurrence, degree of wetness and plant habitats of the vascular plant in the water spider habitat. As a result of this study, total 180taxa are of 55 (30.6%) wetland plant groups and of 113 (62.8%) upland plant groups except facultative plant groups. Among the wetland plant groups, the Isachne globosa community occupied the largest area, where the water spiders were most observed. The result of this study, the classification and the types of vascular plant species, would provide useful information for the sustaining healthy wetland ecosystem and the restoration of the habitat for the water spiders.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.637-656
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• 2023

River estuaries are dynamic and productive ecosystems with high regional biodiversity. Environmental DNA (eDNA) has become a useful approach to assessing biodiversity in aquatic ecosystems. This study was conducted to investigate fish community characteristics and species diversity in two river estuary ecosystems, the Taehwa River and Changwon Stream. We further compared conventional and eDNA metabarcoding analyses of the fish communities. The conventional survey was performed in May, July, and October 2022, while the eDNA analysis was conducted only in May. We observed various fish species with different life histories, including carp, goby, and marine fish. We also found that migratory fish, such as dace Tribolodon hakonensis, sweetfish Plecoglossus altivelis, and eel Auguilla japonica, occurred in the Taehwa River, suggesting high river connectivity. Marine fish species were predominant in the Changwon Stream, as this river is located close to the sea. The diversity indices showed that the Taehwa River generally had higher species richness, evenness, and diversity values than the Changwon Stream. A total of 9-19 species were detected in the conventional survey for the three sites, whereas 11-18 species were found from eDNA analysis. The findings indicate that the sensitivity of eDNA was similar to or higher than that of the conventional method. Our study findings suggest the efficiency and efficacy of eDNA-based fish community monitoring, although with some shortcomings in applying the genetic marker to Korean fish, including no clear-cut distinction for Korean endemic species and/or genetically closely related species groups.

• Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.238-247
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• 2020

This study aims to examine the causes of the rapid expansion of riparian vegetation in river channels in recent years. Accordingly, the changes in the monthly rainfall were analyzed at 19 locations over the period of 1984 to 2018. Moreover, the changes in the water levels of the target river sections of Seom River, Cheongmi River, and Naeseong River were analyzed. The results showed that rainfall increased by 30% in April and decreased by up to 49% in the May-September period since 2012. Between 2012 and 2018, when rainfall decreased, the inundation time of the floodplains of the target rivers decreased considerably. The floodplains of Seom River and Cheongmi River were not inundated since 2012 and 2013, respectively. In the case of Naeseong River, the inundation time of the low-water channel drastically decreased since 2013, and there was no inundation in 2015. Consequently, riparian vegetation settled rapidly on the floodplain without any disturbance and continued to expand. The settling and expansion of riparian vegetation reduce the flood capacity of the river channel and can also lead to the loss of the water ecosystem due to terrestrialization.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.56 no.9
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• pp.575-586
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• 2023

River vegetation has important functions such as providing a habitat for the river ecosystem and physical stability of the river bank. It also has adverse effects such as aggravating flood damages due to the increase in roughness coefficient and drag forces. River vegetation management is very important in finding a balance between flood and ecological management. There are still many uncertainties about the effect of vegetation on rivers. In this study, in order to analyze the effect of vegetated flow, the flow patterns according to the vegetation roughness are analyzed through a two-dimensional unsteady flow model for Chopyeong island of the Imjin River. According to the results of the 2D flow analysis using the HEC-RAS 2D model, the velocity distribution in the bend of the Imjin River was greatly affected by the vegetation roughness of Chopyeong Island. The formation of the main flow outside the bend of Chopyeong Island during flooding is presumed due to the influence of tree and grass on Chopyeong Island. If tree are distributed throughout Chopyeong Island, the velocity outside the bend is expected to be higher. River vegetation causes the effect of raising the water level, and could cause a change in the velocity distribution.

• Journal of The Geomorphological Association of Korea
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.1-19
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• 2020

A river bed which is submerged in water at high flow and becomes part of the river at low flow, serves as a bridge between the river and the land. The channel bar creates a unique ecosystem with vegetation adapted to the particular environment and the water pool forms a wetland that plays a very important role in the environment. To evaluate anthropogenic impacts on the river bed in the Middle Yeongsangang River, the fluvial landforms in the stream channel were analyzed using multi-temporal remotely-sensed images. In the aerial photograph of 2005 taken before the construction of the large weirs, oxbow lakes, mid-channel bars, point bars, and natural wetlands between the artificial levees were identified. Multiple bars divided the flow of stream water to cause the braided pattern in a particular section. After the construction of the Seungchon weir, aerial photographs of 2013 and 2015 revealed that most of the fluvial landforms disappeared due to the dredging of its riverbed and water level control(maintenance at 7.5El.m). Sentinel-2 images were analyzed to identify differences between before and after the opening of weir gate. Change detection was performed with the near infrared and shortwave infrared spectral bands to effectively distinguish water surfaces from land. As a result, water surface area of the main stream of the Yeongsangang River decreased by 40% from 1.144km² to 0.692km². A large mid-channel bar that has been deposited upstream of the weir was exposed during low water levels, which shows the obvious influence of weir on the river bed. Newly formed unvegetated point bars that were deposited on the inside of a meander bend were identified from the remotely sensed images. As the maintenance period of the weir gate opening was extended, various habitats were created by creating pools and riffles around the channel bars. Considering the ecological and hydrological functions of the river bed, it is expected that the increase in bar areas through weir gate opening will reduce the artificial interference effect of the weir.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.155-160
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• 2022

The debate of South-North transboundary rivers must be expanded from the existing cooperation in water resources towards cooperation within ecosystem conservation. Regarding the Han and Imjin rivers confluence water system, the nature of the estuarine ecosystem must be conserved considering the aspect of climate change. Furthermore, the agenda of maintaining continuous inter-Korean communication and cooperation should focus on ecosystem conservation, including conserving migratory species that inhabit both Koreas. Notably, within the Han and Imjin rivers confluence, transboundary rivers are abundant legally protected species such as Grus vipio, Anser fabalis, Anser cygnoides, Platalea minor, Lutra lutra, Prionailurus bengalensis which suggests a strong need for a debate regarding habitat conservation. This study analyzed the ecosystem conditions and environmental aspects within the confluence of Han and Imjin rivers. In addition, this study provided step wise approach of ecosystem conservation that consider conditions for potential direct inter-Korean cooperation. The inter-Korean cooperation mentioned in this study will be developed into legitimate cooperation once the results from monitoring the ecosystem of transboundary rivers, awareness raising are exchanged.

• Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.285-293
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• 2016

This study conducted the evaluations of stable channel and physical disturbance improvement for optimal construction of river structures by focusing on Wonju River. A stable slope was analyzed sectionally for stable channel design, and in order to satisfy the stable slope, river structure improvement scenarios were deduced. Accordingly, through physical disturbance improvement evaluation for each scenario, the study extracted the optimal scenario for stable channel design and physical disturbance improvements. The changes in physical habitat were analyzed when river structure improvements were made for stable channel design and physical disturbance improvement. Zacco koreanus, an indicator fish of the soundness of the aquatic ecosystem, was selected as a restoration target species by investigating the community characteristics of fish fauna and river environments in the Wonju River. The habitat suitability was investigated by the PHABSIM model with the habitat suitability index of Zacco koreanus. The results of the prediction evaluation showed a slight decrease in habitat suitability and weighted usable area. However, it was not influenced by the improvements in the river structure. The study suggested river structure arrangement methods that can improve physical soundness and safety of Wonju River, and confirmed that there were no effects to the changes in the physical habitat.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.335-344
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• 2012

Hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and Dichloro-Diphenyl-Trichloroethane (DDT) were determined in surface sediments collected from main rivers of Korea. Concentration of HCB in sediments ranged from 0.41 to 3.82 (average 1.58) ng/g, 0.08 to 6.09 (average 0.90) ng/g, 0.02 to 0.97 (average 0.30) ng/g, 0.28 to 0.59 (average 0.42) ng/g and 0.23 to 0.48 (average 0.32) ng/g in Han river, Nakdong river, Geum river, Yeongsan and Seomjin river respectively. The DDTs concentration was ranged from 0.67 to 14.20 (average 4.76) ng/g, N.D. to 10.36 (average 1.81) ng/g, N.D. to 7.26 (average 1.87) ng/g, N.D. to 3.12 (average 1.08) ng/g and 0.02 to 2.04 (average 0.56) ng/g in Han river, Nakdong river, Geum river, Yeongsan and Seomjin river respectively. In comparison with the concentration of HCB and DDTs in other studies, the values in sediments of this study were lower than those of other countries. Comparison with that Sediment quality guideline (SQG) of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the HCB levels of this study were very lower than Effect Range Low (ERL) value. In the case of DDTs, the concentrations of 46 points were higher than ERL (1.58 ng/g). It have not harmful effect on ecosystem of the sediment, however ongoing monitoring of sediments is deemed necessary.

• The Southeast Asian review
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.219-261
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• 2018

The conflicts among nations surrounding international rivers are intensifying as worldwide water shortage is getting worse. The Mekong River is a representative trans-boundary river in Southeast Asia shared by six countries, China, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. As the economy grows, hydroelectric power has become a major power supply source to meet the increasing power demand of the these countries. However, the construction of dams on the Mekong River is controversial because hydroelectric power in the river upstream has a negative impact not only on the whole river ecosystem but also on residents' life around downstream, in particular. In order to understand the controversy arising from international rivers, it is necessary to take into account different positions of countries sharing it. However, studies on the position of a specific country to Mekong hydropower have been conducted mainly focusing on China and Laos. Therefore, this study tried to study the position of Cambodian government which is located downstream of the Mekong River and is likely to bear costs rather than to gain benefits from hydroelectric power generation. What is the attitude of the Cambodian government to the hydroelectric development of the upper Mekong and what is the reason for that? The study confirmed the Cambodian government's support for dam construction on the Mekong River. It also figured out influential factors on the formation of such a position as follows: 1) economic asymmetry with China, 2) power dependency and geographical asymmetry in Laos, and 3) importance of hydroelectric power in Cambodia.