• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.551-560
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• 2013

Environmental factors and epilithic diatom communities in the lower streams near the harbor region of South Korean peninsula were examined during no monsoon period in May 2013. The sampling of water and epilithic diatoms was conducted at both streams, 19 regulated streams (RS) that there are one or several dams constructed in the river system, and 19 un-regulated streams (US) that there are no dams within the river. A cluster analysis based on the number of species and abundance of epilithic diatoms through the stations, divided into three groups such as groups I (mainly US), II (mixed with US and RS) and III (mainly RS), respectively. Group I showed that water quality is good and high diversity of diatom, while Group II and III was water quality is relatively poor, but not differed in biomass of diatom from Group I. In addition, Group II that had high conductivity, nitrogen and phosphorus, was the lowest in diatom diversity among them. Dominant species were Nitzschia palea (17%) and Navicula seminuloides (11%) in Group I, Nitzschia inconspicua (19%) and Navicula perminuta (9%) in Group II, and Nitzschia inconspicua (15%) and Nitzschia palea (14%) in Group III, respectively. These taxa were widely distributed in brackish water, and not closely related with specific water quality, like eutrophic water. However, the groups II and III belonged to RS, had not only little biomass, but bad water quality such as high concentrations of nutrient and chlorophyll-a. Therefore, to determine the effect of dam construction on the lower water ecosystem, the planktonic algae, which can occur algal bloom in the estuary, also was considered to be a parallel investigation.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.762-770
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• 2016

This study intended to investigate environmental factors including soil and vegetation in order to understand the environmental and ecological characteristics of the Korean endemic species, Syringa fauriei. Syringa fauriei is mainly distributed along the valley and riverside of the Gangwondo and its population is located at an elevation of 121~520m. Consequent to a vegetation survey within natural populations, a total of 320 taxa were identified from 20 quadrates in 4 natural populations. The Syringa fauriei population was classified into Securinega suffruticosa dominant population, Acer pseudosieboldianum dominant population, Amorpha fruticosa dominant population and Sorbaria sorbifolia var. stellipila dominant population. According to the physical and chemical soil analysis, Syringa fauriei habitats contained 1.98~2.81% of organic matter and 0.13~0.20 mg/kg of total nitrogen. The concentrations of cation exchange capacities $K^+$, $Ca^{2+}$, and $Mg^{2+}$ were $0.10{\sim}0.33cmol^+/kg$, $3.44{\sim}20.53cmol^+/kg$, and $0.34{\sim}0.95cmol^+/kg$, respectively. Positive ion substitution capacity was $8.08{\sim}13.68cmol^+/kg$. The pH was 6.28~7.74. The importance value of Deutzia glabrata, Fraxinus rhynchophylla, Alangium platanifolium var. trilobum, Syringa fauriei, Juglans mandshurica, and Salix koreensis in the Syringa fauriei population were 86.99%, 43.97%, 23.01%,18.52, 18.40%, and 11.56%, respectively. Correlation analysis between the vegetation of Syringa fauriei populations and its environmental factors using DCCA revealed that the altitude above sea level and $Mg^{2+}$ were the most influential factors, while dominant populations of Securinega suffruticosa and Acer pseudosieboldianum were spread across areas with high percentages of pH, CEC, and $Mg^{2+}$. Acer pseudosieboldianum population was dispersed in areas with higher $K^+$ compared to Securinega suffruticosa population. The dominant population of Amorpha fruticosa was found to live in places with high altitudes above sea level and with high rates of available phosphate, $K^+$, and rock-exposure.

• Journal of Plant Biology
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.305-317
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• 1995

The bryophyte communities on the forest floor of the mixed coniferous, deciduous broad-leaf forest and the evergreen coniferous forest of cool temperate and subalpine zones in Chiri Mountains with the highest peak (Cheonwangbong 1915 m) in south-central part of the Korean Peninsula were investigated from the phytosociology viewpoint. As a result, five bryophyte communities were recognized, considering the species composition of vascular vegetation; A. Sasamorpha borealis-Abies koreana/Dicranum scoparium-Plagiothecium silvaticum community, B. Bosta minor-Abies koreana/Anomodon rugelii-Plagiomnium cuspidatum community, C. Abies koreana/Hylocomiopsis ovicarpa-Entodon rubicundus community, D. Abies koreana-Picea jezoensis/Hylocomiopsis ovicarpa-Thuidium kanedae community, E. Abies koreana-Pieea jezoensis/Hylocomium splendens-Pleurozium sehreberi community. Among these, the communities A, B, C and D were distributed in the mixed coniferous and deciduous broad-leaf forest of lower altitudes (1200 to 1700 m) and characterized by the elements of the cool temperate zone. They were confimled as synusies belonging to the Fraxino-Abietetum koreanae Song 1988. The community E was distributed in higher altitudes (1700 m to near the summit) and characterized by the species group of the holarctic elements, e.g. Hyloeomium splendens, Pleurozium sehreberi, Dieranum majus, etc. limited in subarctic; subalpine and arctic; alpine zones. The community E was confirmed as a synusie of the Abieti koreanae-Piceetum jezoensis Song 1991 belonging the Vaecinio-Pieeetea Br.-BI. 1939. Up to date many investigator have described the coniferous forest distibuted above 1200 m in Chiri mountauns as the forest vegetation of subalpine zone. However, from the results of the present study, the boundary of the mixed forest and the true subalpine coniferous forest was elucidated to be ca. 1700 m phytosociologically. Species richness was highest in the community E, and the other four communities showed a similar species richness. Among the species diversity indices, H' and D were high in the communities Band E, low in the communities A and C, and medium in the community D. The values of J' decreased with the increase in altitudes and the community E showed the lowest value. The result of Bray-Curtis ordination revealed that the diversity analysis and the division of the above two forest zones are justifiable. The taxa of the bryophyte communities were composed of 25 families, 46 genera, 73 species, 1 subspecies and 2 varieties.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.90 no.3
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• pp.257-265
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• 2001

This study was carried out to investigate composition and distribution of the soil microarthropods in Pinus rigida plantations following strip-cutting from May 1998 to April 1999. The results of this study were as follows; 1. The individuals of soil microarthropods found during the research periods were 181, 904 and were identified into 21 orders in 7 classes. The classes were Arachnida, Insecta, Malacostra, Pauropoda, Diplopoda, Chilopoda and Symphyla. 2. The population density of the soil microarthropods was 82,962 individuals at the control area, 62,688 individuals at the reserve area and 36,254 individuals at the cutting area. The microarthropods in the control area were 2 times higher than those in the cutting area. 3. Although the major dominant taxa, Acari and Collembola, decreased in densities at the cutting area, the density reduction in Acari was higher than that in Collembola. This resulted in the increase of Collembola in terms of the relative abundance at the cutting area. 4. Among the total soil microarthropods, Arachnida was 59.74%, followed by Insecta of 39.82%. Such two groups comprise 99.56% of soil microarthropods. 5. According to the relative population density, Acari was 99.18% in Arachnida and 59.25% in the total and Collembola 93.99% in Insecta and 37.42% in the total. Therefore, individuals of Acari and Collembola was 96.67% of the total individuals. And the next abundant groups were Hymenoptera (0.95%), Diptera (0.64%) and Pseudoscorpiones (0.39%). 6. The population density of the soil microarthropods fluctuated seasonally, showing the bimodal pattern, being high in fall and spring. The highest density occurred in November and the lowest in July.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.82 no.2
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• pp.139-151
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• 1993

The virgin forests on and around Sungin-bong in Ulreung-do, an island situated between the Korean peninsula and Japanese archipelago, were investigated phytosociologically. They were classified into two communities, i.e. Fagus crenata var. multinervis - Majanthemum dilatatum community and F. crenata var. multinervis - Sasa kuriensis community. The former was subdivided into several units ; Acer takesimense - Allium victorialis var. platyphyllum group, including Tsuga sieboldii - Taxus cuspidata var. tatifolia subgroup and a typical subgroup, and Acer mono var. savatieri - Rumohra standishii group, including Dystaenia takeshimana subgroup and a typical subgroup. The other was subdivided into two subunits ; Acer okamotoanum group and a typical group. It was estimated that this area was orginally covered with beech and maple dominated forest vegetation and with Machilus dominated forest or bamboo forest. However, in these days, The natural vegetation of it has been destroyed and in future, may also be disturbed gradually by human activities. Judging from the coincidence method, the structure and distribution of the forest communities was more related to altitude than to topography. The phytomass, based upon the basal area of each community to $100m^2$ showed that Acer mono var. savatieri - Rumohra standishii group ($BA=7574.1cm^2$, $P=9,882,058cm^3$) haved the largest value and Tsuga sieboldii - Taxus cuspidata var. latifolia subgroup($BA=2126.3cm^2$, $P=1,746,755cm^3$) showed the smallest value. The flora of the vascular plants collected from this area consists of 71 families, 187 genera, 243 species, 1 subspecies, 44 varieties, 6 forms and 294 taxa in total.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.90-97
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• 2012

Environmental characteristics and vegetation of the natural habitats of Eranthis byunsanensis B.Y. Sun were investigated in order to provide the basic data for conservation, restoration, and utilization of this Korean endemic plant. This study was conducted in Anyang, Byeonsan, Geoje, Gyeongju, Jeju, Ulsan and Yeosu. E. byunsanensis was distributed around the altitudes of 84~585 m with a slope degree of $10{\sim}20^{\circ}$, and mostly formed discontinuous populations in north-east part of valleys. Soil analysis showed the mean organic matter of 9.6% and a slightly acidic pH (mean pH of 4.9). The mean gravimetric water content was 16.5%. Correlation coefficients between environmental factors and community characteristics suggested that there was a positive correlation between slope degree and soil water content, between slope degree and soil pH, between soil organic matter and importance value, and between species richness or evenness and species diversity. The vascular plants from 59 quadrats of 7 habitats were identified into 144 taxa. A few species were dominants and similarly distributed in Byeonsan, Jeju, Ulsan and Yeosu. The highest species diversity was found in Geoje (1.43), while Anyang showed the lowest (0.87). Species evenness of Gyeongju and Jeju was bigger than 0.8, but that of Geoje was the lowest (0.59). Dominant species of woody plants in and around the 59 plots were represented by high frequency of Acer pictum subsp. mono, Carpinus cordata, Lindera obtusiloba, and Carpinus laxiflora. The results of this study can provide useful data for conservation and restoration of natural habitats of Korean endemic Eranthis byunsanensis and for the development and growth of this species for ornamental purposes.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.326-335
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• 2007

This study was conducted to assess the environmental risks of anthracnose resistant transgenic chili peppers with the PepEST gene on non-target organisms in the agroecosystem environments during the chili pepper growing seasons in 2006. We quantitatively collected arthropods assemblages living on leaves and flowers of chili peppers on June 20, July 25, and August 25 by using an insect vacuum collector to compare the patterns of arthropod community structures between non-transgenic chili peppers (nTR, WT512) and anthracnose resistant transgenic chili peppers (TR, line 68). We found the seasonal difference with the highest species richness and Shannon's diversity in July's sampling among the growing seasons (P<0.05) and each sampling season showed the different arthropod community composition. We also found there was no statistical difference between the two types of crops, nTR and TR, at each sampling time (P>0.05). The significance level of arthropod community showed that there were lots of seasonal difference of functional groups as well as taxa but only the herbivore group in the functional groups was significantly different for the types of plants (P<0.05). So, we further examined the herbivore groups to find any potential damage and identified the possibility of herbivorous damage from some herbivores, grasshoppers, aphids and thrips. Although we couldn't find any adverse effects from the environmental risk assessment between the arthropod community structures on two types of plants from our results, we should keep working for the environmental risk assessment because of the herbivorous potential risk possibility.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.51-59
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• 2002

The seasonal variation in species composition and abundance distribution of zooplankton was studied in the Seomjin river estuary along the salinity gradients. In this estuary, marine taxa predominated in all seasons and very limited number of freshwater species appeared. The total abundances showed a seasonal fluctuation. The highest total abundance appeared in spring with over 3,000 individuals/m$^3$. In summer, the high abundance was sustained although it decreased a little. The abundance was minimal in fall with about 500 individuals/m$^3$. When the study area was divided into three salinity regimes, oligohaline (salinity less than 5 psu), mesohaline (5${\sim}$18 psu), and polyhaline zone (over 18 psu), the zone of high abundance as well as the composition of zooplankton community in each salinity regime changed seasonally. In fall, marine copepods predominated in oligohaline zone while marine species other than crustaceans dominated in polyhaline zone. However, in winter copepods predominated in all area. In spring and summer, holozoic dinoflagellate Noctiluca scintillans dominated in higher salinity regimes. We listed major copepod species of each salinity regime for each season with the ranges of water temperatures (T) and salinities (S) of their occurrence. T, S's of maximum abundances of those major copepod species were also reported. The observed very wide tolerance ranges of major copepod species for salinity suggested that the concept of 'indicator species' should be used in quantitative context rather than qualitative.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.59-69
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• 2000

Environmental factors and phytoplankton community have been bimonthly investigated in order to clarify the bioecological characteristics of coral habitats around Moonsom at the southern Cheju Island from September 1995 to July 1996. Annual mean temperature and annual mean salinity were $17.4^{\circ}C$ and 34.06 psu, respectively, showing lower temperature-higher salinity in winter and higher temperature-lower salinity in summer, which means such conditions are inadequate for coral reef formation. Nutrient concentrations represent that total nitrogen ranged from $0.07{\sim}10.08\;{\mu}M$, phosphate from $0.05{\sim}1.70\;{\mu}M$, and silicate from $3.08{\sim}21.86\;{\mu}M$. The N/P ratio showed the range of 9.59-10.60 with decreasing offshore-ward, which means the phytoplankton community could be limited by nitrogen sources. Annual mean euphotic depth was 32.0m (18.9m-48.6m) with difference according to season and reveals the close relationship with the depth of coral distribution. Chlorophyll a concentrations of phytoplankton ranged from $0.12{\sim}1.51\;{\mu}g\;L^{-1}$ and standing crops from $1.5{\times}10^3{\sim}7.0{\times}10^5\;cells\;L^{-1}$, showing higher at inshore than at offshore with a blooming in May. A total of 128 species of phytoplankton occurred in all stations, representing 99 spp. of diatoms, 26 spp. of dinoflagellates, 2 spp. of silicoflagellates and 1 sp. of blue-green algae. Diatoms are main taxa in all seasons except for occupying by dinoflagellates in summer. Among dominant species, fParalia sulcata (Ehrenberg) Cleve and Cylindrotheca closterium (Ehrenberg) Lewin & Reimann were predominant and are likely to be main food sources for coral community. Annual mean species diversity index (H') was 1.84, showing lower than around the coast line of Cheju Island.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.381-402
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• 2017

In order to investigate distribution of vascular plants along elevational gradient in the Nodong valley of Gyebangsan, vascular plants of eight sections with 100-meter-high were surveyed from the Auto-camping site (800 m) to the top of a mountain (1,577 m). There were a total of 382 taxa: 89 families, 234 genera, 339 species, 7 subspecies, 34 varieties, and 2 forms. As a result of analyzing the pattern of species richness, it showed a reversed hump-shaped with minimum richness at mid-high elevation. As a result of analyzing habitat affinity types, the proportion of forest species increased with increasing elevation. But, the ruderal species decreased with increasing elevation, and then increased at the top of a mountain. As for the proportion of life forms, the annual herbs gradually decreased with increasing elevation, but it did not appear between 1,300 m and 1,500 m and then increased at the top of a mountain. The trees gradually increased with elevation and decreased from 1,300~1,400 m. The vascular plants divided into four groups by using DCA. The arrangement of each stands was arranged in order from right to left on the I axis according to the elevation. The distribution of vascular plants is determined by their own optimal ranges of vegetation. Also, rise in temperature due to climate change affects the distribution of vascular plants, composition, and diversity. Therefore, continuous monitoring is necessary to confirm ecological and environmental characteristics of vegetation, distribution ranges, changes of habitat. Furthermore, plans for conservation and management based on these data should be prepared according to climate change.