• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.74-83
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• 2005

The Riparian Buffer Zone has many potential values including the preservation of water quality as well as being ecologically friendly. This study aims to quantitatively analyze the landscape structure index of the Riparian Buffer Zone in the Kyoung-an stream and to produce base information necessary for proper management. The study used aerial images that were applied to geometric corrections for a time series from 1966 to 2000 for land data and also used FRAGSTATS, which is a type of ARCVIEW extension module, as an analysis tool. An analysis of land use change and the Landscape Index revealed that the area of farm land has decreased and that the area of residential property has increased. In addition, there was a slight change for land used for purposes other than farming or for residence. The results of analyzing the Landscape Structure Index, revealed that the NP has increased from 437 in 1966 to 695 in 2000. This data reveals that the change of land use is influenced by various artificial factors. The NPS, which represents the declining degree of patch, decreased from 9.441 to 5.934, revealing that the change of land use has been progressing considerably. In regard to forest areas, land use reduced somewhat but did not indicate a significant change. Therefore, an analysis of the total index reveals that the edge of patch has become more complicated and that the variation index of patch has increased significantly. However, this study reveals that barriers to block pollution have weakened as a result and that there is a need to concentrate on the implementation and the management of the Riparian Buffer Zone. Consequently, this study reveals that substantial research is necessary in order to carry out the proper management of the Riparian Buffer Zone, especially in light of the distribution type of each patch and the change in conditions regarding them.