• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.73-83
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• 2016

Forest degradation reduces ecosystem services provided by forest and could lead to change in composition of species. In North Korea, there has been significant forest degradation due to conversion of forest into terrace fields for food production and cut-down of forest for fuel woods. This study analyzed the phenological changes in North Korea, in terms of vegetation and moisture in soil and vegetation, from March to Octorber 2013, using MODIS (MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) images and indexes including NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index), NDSI (Normalized Difference Soil Index), and NDWI (Normalized Difference Water Index). In addition, marginal farmland was derived using elevation data. Lastly, degraded terrace fields of 16 degree was analyzed using NDVI, NDSI, and NDWI indexes, and marginal farmland characteristics with slope variable. The accuracy value of land cover classification, which shows the difference between the observation and analyzed value, was 84.9% and Kappa value was 0.82. The highest accuracy value was from agricultural (paddy, field) and forest area. Terrace fields were easily identified using slope data form agricultural field. Use of NDVI, NDSI, and NDWI is more effective in distinguishing deforested terrace field from agricultural area. NDVI only shows vegetation difference whereas NDSI classifies soil moisture values and NDWI classifies abandoned agricultural fields based on moisture values. The method used in this study allowed more effective identification of deforested terrace fields, which visually illustrates forest degradation problem in North Korea.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.73-83
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• 2015

The objective of this study is to establish implications for forest restoration planning in North Korea by analyzing spatio-temporal forest changes and detecting bio-physical factors driving forest degraded. We measured the relationship and spatial distribution between shifting cultivation and sparse forest. We also analyzed between degraded forest land and ecological variables by binary logistic regression to find biophysical drivers of forest degradation and deforestation in North Korea. Between the sparse forest and the shifting cultivation, a positive relationship is found (r=0.91) and scattered discontinuously throughout the country (Moran's I = -1, Z score = -13.46 (p=0.000)). The sparse forest showed a negative relationship with the warmest month(bio 9), the coldest month(bio10), and the minimum of soil water contents (swc_min), while the shifting cultivation had a negative relationship with the warmest month(bio 9) and the minimum of soil water contents(swc_min). However, the most critical drivers convert forests into sloping farmland were the three months rainfall in summer(bio8) and the yearly mean of soil water contents. Such results reflect the growth period of crops which overlaps with the rainy season in North Korea and the recent land reclamation of uplands where the soil water contents are maintained with a dense forest. When South Korea aids forest restoration projects in North Korea, in consideration of food shortage due to North Korea's cropland deficiency, terrace farmlands where soil water contents can be maintained should be excluded from the priority restoration area. In addition, an evaluation method for selecting a potential restoration area must be modified and applied based on multiple criteria including altitude and socio-economic factors in the respective regions.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Traditional Landscape Architecture
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.157-165
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• 2011

This study is to be used as a fundamental material of rural amenity resources researches, such as excavating, establishing and modifying national agricultural landscape resources, so as to efficiently manage them. It is carried out with targeting traditional Darangyi-Rice terrace which has design factors of agricultural landscape resources. We have set up the standard range with practicable similar standard(Marginal Farmland and Less Favored Areas and etc), those of Japan, and the results of analyzing the characteristics of Darangyi-Rice terrace already known. As a result of the field investigation, it has been revealed that a great deal of Darangyi-Rice terrace are being used for not corresponding purposes, or damaged and disappeared. For preserving and well-managing Darangyi-Rice terrace as a rural landscape resource which has rural design factors, it should be advanced detailed and accurate studies on present conditions and changes of Darangyi-Rice terrace, with researches on significances, values, utilities and economical efficiency of Darangyi-Rice terrace by regions. In addition, we utilized various spatial imagery data in the researching process. Consequently, it is concluded that if high resolution imagery data is used, it can establish rather minute and accurate large-scale DB, and monitor elaborate changes as well. It is therefore thought that its application can be higher as actualizing DB hereafter.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.51 no.5
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• pp.69-78
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• 2009

In order to improve water quality of upper watershed of Paldang reservoir, it is necessary to evaluate non-point source pollution loads and identify critical watershed pollution sources. A GIS based Soil and Water Assessment Tool was applied to evaluate model application and reliability, estimate NPS pollution load, identify critical watershed by NPS pollution sources, and suggest various best management practices for Kyongan Stream watershed. Yearly NPS pollution loads were estimated 30.0% SS, 60.1% TN and 35.4% TP, respectably. The watershed pollution load is mainly decided by precipitation condition and SS and nutrients load have a significant regression relationship. Based on 10-year average yearly NPS pollution load, critical sub-watersheds were identified. The No. 5 and 17 which have lots of relatively intensive agricultural fields and scattered industrial area were vary critical sub-watersheds and under more intensive pollution load. In order to control critical watershed, watershed best management practices such as scientific fertilizer, contour farming and parallel terrace, transferring the sloppy farmland to grass or forest and constructing a buffer zone, and constructing wetlands and retention ponds will be applied. Overall the SWAT model can be efficiently used for identification of critical sub-watersheds in order to develop a priority watershed management plan to reduce water pollutions.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.158-167
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• 2006

The object of this study is to detect of land-cover change in western DMZ and vicinity. This was performed as a basic study to construct a decision support system for the conservation or a sustainable development of the DMZ and Vicinity near future. DMZ is an is 4km wide and 250km long and it's one of the most highly fortified boundaries in the world and also a unique thin green line. Environmentalists want to declare the DMZ as a natural reserve and a biodiversity zone, but nowadays through the strengthening of the inter-Korean economic cooperation, some developers are trying to construct a new-town or an industrial complex inside of the DMZ. This study investigates the current environmental conditions, especially deforestation of the western DMZ adopting remote sensing and GIS techniques. The Land-covers were identified through the linear spectvral mixture analysis(LSMA) which was used to handle the spectral mixture problem of low spatial resolution imagery of Landsat TM and ETM+ imagery. To analyze quantitative and spatial change of vegetation-cover in western DMZ, GIS overlay method was used. In LSMA, to develop high-quality fraction images, three endmembers of green vegetation(GV), soil, water were driven from pure features in the imagery. Through 15 years, from 1987 to 2002, forest of western DMZ and vicinity was devastated and changed to urban, farmland or barren land. Northern part of western DMZ and vicinity was more deforested than that of southern part. ($52.37km^2$ of North Korean forest and $39.04km^2$ of South Korean were change to other land-covers.) In case of North Korean part, forest changed to barren land and farmland and in South Korean part, forest changed to farmland and urban area. Especially, In North Korean part of DMZ and vicinity, $56.15km^2$ of farmland changed to barren land through 15 years, which showed the failure of the 'Darakbat' (terrace filed) project which is one of food increase projects in North Korea.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.19-28
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• 2016

The objectives of this study were to establish the slope criteria and analyze the forest land restoration plan in North Korea. Reviewing the literature of the countries, the relationships among the climate, erosion controls, and slope criteria with forest restoration programmes, implemented were analyzed. Comparison of forest land management policies was conducted between South and North Korea. The soil erosion controls using biological barriers were at $15{\sim}20^{\circ}$slopes in arid climate regions and $25{\sim}30^{\circ}$ in humid climate regions. In the case of South Korea, an afforestation policy from the "Act on Clearance Project of Slash-and Burn Agriculture" of 1966 was enforced on mountains with slope greater than $20^{\circ}$, however, at present, the "Marginal Cropping Land Policy" recommends cropping lands with slope bigger than $8.5^{\circ}$ to forest land. In 1961, in "Land Reclamation of One Million Hectare", North Korea reclaimed additional cropping lands with slope bigger than $8.5^{\circ}$, and currently, the "Act on Forestry" states to enforce reforestation with slope bigger than $20^{\circ}$. This study recommends that South Korea aids for forest land restoration in North Korea based on the different stages of their development on reconciliation and cooperation between South and North Korea.

• Magazine of the Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.2535-2548
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• 1972

Instead of fertilizing the lands they moved to find other fertile lands and lived a feudal life agriculture and various machincs played a main role in the land reclamation. The best method of land clearing, the time and capacity in the operation and the effect of growing crops should systematically analized prior to the time of 3rd Five-year Economic Development(1972-1976) in order to cultivate 210,000ha of wasteland or the modernization of our country. The present study was investigated to find out a new working-system of mechanical land clearing and development of fertile soil. The results are as follows: 1) The first stage of productive power increases when weeds were mixed soil in the land clearing work in order to supply organic materials and to make soil swollen instead of burning or just removing. 2) The equipments such as bulldozers, harrows, power tillers and so on should be prepared in order to do a systematic work in the land clearing. 3) The work of pulling-up roots is dependent upon the forms of roots spreading under the ground. The work of the pulling-up of the straight roots was most difficult. But before the roots are pulling-up we do not know the forms of roots. 4) The cutting of soil from upside to under side land clearing method (II) Spent 6 hr 7 min 43 sec per 1 Danbo in doing land clearing and control method spent 4 hr 52 min 30 sec per 1 Danbo in doing land cearing. No significant difference could be found between II treatment type and I treatment type. 5) The volume of soil carried by bulldozer $270.38m^3$ per 1 Danbo in I type and in II type, $368.58m^3$ per 1 Danbo or about 36% increased in II type then in I type. But that is not a significant difference when considering the whole productive power of soil. 6) The land clearing of terrace by bulldozers cannot escape making the embankment slope of about $45^{\circ}$, and 25.3% should be decreased in the area. It is recommended to make use of the embankment slope by planting grass for cows. 7) The time of retary tilling increased 2.3 times or 1 hr 42 min 22 sec per 1 Danbo compared to the timesrequired in the harrowing. Because it mixed the Organic matter on ground and the harrowing of subsoil. 8) The havest of pasture growing on the land reclamation in natural slope is as follows. (a) The none fertilizers with reclaimed block of productivity decresed 1/10 than that of the farmland. Therefore the none fer tilizing in the cultivated pasture is unprofitable. (b) The havest of the manured IV treatment block was the best not only in the kinds of fertilizers but also in the kinds of pasture grass.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.64-72
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• 2009

The method to generate a digital elevation model(DEM) from contour lines causes a problem in which the low relief landform cannot be clearly presented due to the fact that it is significantly influenced by the expression of micro landform elements according to the interval of contours. Thus, this study attempts to develop a landcover burning method that recovers the micro relief landform of the DEM, which applies buffering and map algebra methods by inputting the elevation information to the landcover. In the recovering process of the micro landform, the DEM was recovered using the buffering method and elevation information through the map algebra for the landcover element for the micro landform among the primary DEM generation, making landcover map, and landcover elements. The recovering of the micro landform was applied based on stream landforms. The recovering of landforms using the buffering method was performed for the bar, which is a polygonal element, and wetland according to the properties of concave/convex through generating contours with a uniform interval in which the elevation information applied to the recovered landform. In the case of the linear elements, such as bank, road, waterway, and tributary, the landform can be recovered by using the elevation information through applying a map algebra function. Because the polygonal elements, such as stream channel, river terrace, and artificial objects (farmlands) are determined as a flat property, these are recovered by inputting constant elevation values. The results of this study were compared and analyzed for the degree of landform expression between the original DEM and the recovered DEM. In the results of the analysis, the DEM produced by using the conventional method showed few expressions in micro landform elements. The method developed in this study well described wetland, bar, landform around rivers, farmland, bank, river terrace, and artificial objects. It can be expected that the results of this study contribute to the classification and analysis of micro landforms, plain and the ecology and environment study that requires the recovering of micro landforms around streams and rivers.