• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.15-24
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• 2015

The soil ecosystem is a complex system performing particularly complicated and varied functions, such as providing a habitat for organisms, acting as a medium for plant cultivation and growth, and functioning as a buffer against external materials in the environment. To assess whether these important functions of the soil ecosystem are executed appropriately, the concept of soil ecosystem health has been introduced, which is defined as the ability to perform the specific functions of the soil ecosystem. Understanding soil properties and soil indicators related to soil functions is essential to assess the soil health. In this study, systems, the indicators, and evaluation factors for assessing soil ecosystem health employed in a number of countries were investigated and discussed. In particular, it is necessary to introduce a technique for the evaluation of soil ecosystem health in Korea and to develop techniques and indicators appropriate to the soil ecosystem and status in Korea.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.153-163
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• 2017

The underlying goal of the present paper is to investigate soil and structural uncertainties on impedance functions and structural response of soil-shallow foundation-structure (SSFS) system using Monte Carlo simulations. The impedance functions of a rigid massless circular foundation resting on the surface of a random soil layer underlain by a homogeneous half-space are obtained using 1-D wave propagation in cones with reflection and refraction occurring at the layer-basement interface and free surface. Firstly, two distribution functions (lognormal and gamma) were used to generate random numbers of soil parameters (layer's thickness and shear wave velocity) for both horizontal and rocking modes of vibration with coefficients of variation ranging between 5 and 20%, for each distribution and each parameter. Secondly, the influence of uncertainties of soil parameters (layer's thickness, and shear wave velocity), as well as structural parameters (height of the superstructure, and radius of the foundation) on the response of the coupled system using lognormal distribution was investigated. This study illustrated that uncertainties on soil and structure properties, especially shear wave velocity and thickness of the layer, height of the structure and the foundation radius significantly affect the impedance functions, and in same time the response of the coupled system.

• Korean Journal of Weed Science
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.95-105
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• 1998

The positive functions of aquatic and terrestrial weedy plants were reviewed in terms of water purification, soil erosion prevention, salt-affected soil utilization, etc.. Introduced were several examples to utilize weedy plants for environment management by exploiting their positive functions.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.73-81
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• 2013

Various remediation methods have been applied to clean soils contaminated with pollutants. They remove contaminants from the soils by utilizing physicochemical, biological, and thermal processes and can satisfy soil remediation standards within a limited time; however, they also have an effect on the biological functions of soils by changing soil properties. In this study, changes of the biological properties of soils before and after treatment with three frequently used remediation methods-soil washing, land farming, and thermal desorption-were monitored to investigate the effects of remediation methods on soil biological functions. Total microbial number and soil enzyme activities, germination rate and growth of Brassica juncea, biomass change of Eisenia andrei were examined the effects on soil microorganisms, plant, and soil organisms, respectively. After soil washing, the germination rate of Brassica juncea increased but the above-ground growth and total microbial number decreased. Dehydrogenase activity, germination rate and above-ground growth increased in both land farming and thermal desorption treated soil. Although the growth of Eisenia andrei in thermal desorption treated soil was higher than any other treatment, it was still lower than that in non-contaminated soil. These results show that the remediation processes used to clean contaminated soil also affect soil biological functions. To utilize the cleaned soil for healthy and more value-added purposes, soil improvement and process development are needed.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.529-537
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• 2009

A key parameter in the design of a laterally loaded pile is the determination of its performance level. Performance level of a pile is usually expressed as the maximum head deflection and bending moment. In general, uncertainties in the performance of a pile originates from many factors such as inherent variability of soil properties, inadequate soil exploration programs, errors taking place in the determination of soil parameters, limited calculation models as well as uncertainties in loads. This makes it difficult for practicing engineers to decide for the reliability of laterally loaded piles both in cohesive and cohesionless soils. In this paper, limit state functions and consequent performance functions are obtained for single concrete piles to predict the maximum bending moment, a widely accepted design criterion along with the permissible pile head displacement. Analyses were made utilizing three dimensional finite element method and soil-structure-interaction (SSI) effects were accounted for.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.271-281
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• 2014

BACKGROUND: Application of the transfer functions derived from local soil data is necessary in order to develop proper management protocols for agricultural soils contaminated with heavy metals through phytoavailability control of the heavy metals. The aim of this study was to derive the transfer functions of Korean agricultural soils affected by the abandoned mining sites and evaluate suitability of the derived transfer functions. METHODS AND RESULTS: 142 agricultural soils affected by the abandoned mining sites were collected and analyzed. Two extraction methods, including 1 M $NH_4NO_3$ extraction and 0.01 M $Ca(NO_3)_2$ extraction were applied to determine phytoavailable metal pools in soils. Multiple stepwise regression of phytoavailable metal pools against the corresponding total metal concentration and soil properties was conducted to derive suitable transfer functions for estimating phytoavailable heavy metal pools. Applicability of the derived transfer functions was examined by calculating NME and NRMSE. CONCLUSION: Soil pH and organic matter were valid variables for derivation of the transfer functions which were applicable for estimating phytoavailable metal concentrations in the soils being contaminated by heavy metals. In addition, it was confirmed that transfer functions need to be developed based on local soil conditions to accurately estimate heavy metal-phytoavailability.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.457-469
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• 2017

In order to conserve soil functions to the highest degree in development projects, it is necessary to identify and manage specific area (so called soil management area) including soils with good or excellent functions. Therefore, in this work, we conducted a preliminary study how to identify soil management area in environmental impact assessment on development projects. To do this, quantitative evaluation was carried out on two example projects, using InVEST model considering a couple of soil functions, i.e., erosion control and carbon sequestration functions. Then, soil management area was identified through overlay analysis. The methodology developed in this study is able to be used widely for more detailed analysis with high resolution and furthermore overlay anaysis with other assessment items. For more perfect assessment, other soil fuctions needed to be taken into account into our methodology.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.299-312
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• 2000

The response of an embedded body to dynamic loads is greatly influenced by the reactions of the soil to the motion of the body. The properties of the soil surrounding embedded bodies (e.g., piles) may be different than those of the far-field for a variety of reasons. It may be weakened or strengthened according to the method of installation of piles, or altered due to applying one of the soil strengthening technique (e.g., electrokinetic treatment of soil, El Naggar et al. 1998). In all these cases, the shear strength of the soils and its shear modulus vary gradually in the radial direction, resulting in a radially inhomogeneous soil layer. This paper describes an analysis to compute vertical and torsional dynamic soil reactions of a radially inhomogeneous soil layer with a circular hole. These soil reactions could then be used to model the soil resistance in the analysis of the pile vibration under dynamic loads. The soil layer is considered to have a piecewise, radial variation for the complex shear modulus. The model is developed for soil layers improved using the electrokinetic technique but can be used for other situations where the soil properties vary gradually in the radial direction (strengthened or weakened). The soil reactions (impedance functions) are evaluated over a wide range of parameters and compared with those obtained from other solutions. A parametric study was performed to examine the effect of different soil improvement parameters on vertical and torsional impedance functions of the soil. The effect of the increase in the shear modulus and the width of the improved zone is investigated.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.42 no.spc
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• pp.8-13
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• 2009

Mathematical models have become increasingly popular in both research and management problems involving flow and transport processes in the subsurface. Rosetta is a program to estimate unsaturated hydraulic properties from surrogate soil data such as soil texture data and bulk density. Models of this type are called pedotransfer functions (PTFs) as an alternative measurements since they translate basic soil data into hydraulic properties. These functions may be either measured directly or estimated indirectly through prediction from more easily measured data based using quasi-empirical models.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.353-362
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• 2012

In this paper decay and mapped elastodynamic infinite elements, based on modified Bessel shape functions and appropriate for Soil-Structure Interaction problems are described and discussed. These elements can be treated as a new form of the recently proposed Elastodynamic Infinite Elements with United Shape Functions (EIEUSF) infinite elements. The formulation of 2D horizontal type infinite elements (HIE) is demonstrated, but by similar techniques 2D vertical (VIE) and 2D corner (CIE) infinite elements can also be formulated. It is demonstrated that the application of the elastodynamical infinite elements is the easier and appropriate way to achieve an adequate simulation including basic aspects of Soil-Structure Interaction. Continuity along the artificial boundary (the line between finite and infinite elements) is discussed as well and the application of the proposed elastodynamical infinite elements in the Finite Element Method is explained in brief. Finally, a numerical example shows the computational efficiency of the proposed infinite elements.