• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.149-161
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• 2018

This study was carried out to investigate the flora of Deokjeongsan Mt. (Ganghwa-gun) from March to October 2016. The vascular plants identified during the 8 round field surveys were a to total of 484 taxa: 107 families, 305 genera, 423 species, 8 subspecies, 48 varieties, 4 forms and 1 hybrid. The plant formation of Deokjeongsan Mt. is the deciduous broad-leaved and conifer mixed forest which is the common one in the middle part of Korean peninsula. All most mountain covered with young secondary forest which is mainly composed of Pinus and Quercus. The plant species diversity largest families were Asteraceae (62 taxa, 12.7%), Poaceae (48 taxa, 9.9%), Cyperaceae (27 taxa, 5.6%), Fabaceae (23 taxa, 4.7%), and Lamiaceae (21 taxa, 4.3%). The four taxa of Korean endemic plants such as Clematis brachyura Maxim., Salix koriyanagi Kimura ex Goerz, Carex brevispicula G. H. Nam & G. Y. Chung, and Hemerocallis hakuunensis Nakai were collected. The vascular plants on the red list according to IUCN evaluation basis were found to be five taxa: Near Threatened (NT) species of Senecio argunensis Turcz., Least Concern (LC) species Pseudoraphis ukishiba Nakai, and Not Evaluate (NE) species of Thladiantha dubia Bunge, Cirsium lineare (Thunb.) Sch. Bip., and Scorzonera austriaca ssp. glabra Lipsch. & Krasch. ex Lipsch., respectively. The floristic regional indicator plants found in this area were 26 taxa comprising one taxa of degree V, two taxa of degree IV, four taxa of degree III, eight taxa of degree II, and 11 taxa of degree I. In addition, the alien plants were identified as 46 taxa and the percentage of naturalized index (NI) was 9.5%, and urbanization index (UI) was 14.3%, respectively.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.28-38
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• 2004

Korean goral (Nemorhaedus caudatus raddeanus) is one of the endangered species in Korea, and the rugged terrain of the Soraksan National Park (373㎢) is a critical habitat for the species. But the goral population is threatened by habitat fragmentation caused by roads and hiking trails. The objective of this study was to develop a potential habitat suitability model for Korean goral in the park, and the model was based on the concepts of fuzzy set theory and multi-criteria evaluation. The process of the suitability modeling could be divided into three steps. First, data for the modeling was collected by using field work and a literature survey. Collected data included 204 points of GPS data obtained through a goral trace survey and through the number of daily visitors to each hiking trail during the peak season of the park. Second, fuzzy set theory was employed for building a GIS data base related to environmental factors affecting the suitability of the goral habitat. Finally, a multiple-criteria evaluation was performed as the final step towards a goral habitat suitability model. The results of the study were as follows. First, characteristics of suitable habitats were the proximity to rock cliffs, scattered pine (Pinus densiflora) patches, ridges, the elevation of 700∼800m, and the aspect of south and southeast. Second, the habitat suitability model had a high classification accuracy of 93.9％ for the analysis site, and 95.7％ for the validation site at a cut off value of 0.5. Finally, 11.7％ of habitatwith more than 0.5 of habitat suitability index was affected by roads and hiking trails in the park.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.62-68
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• 2021

Despite numerous efforts on reducing road-kill worldwide, the collisions have been occurring continuously. Many factors are affecting road-kill occurrences and the effect is various by species. We investigated Hydropotes inermis argyropus road-kill characteristics on the national highway. We examined 9,099 H. i. argyropus road-kill points with distance to the gaps on road (interchange and intersection) and distance to six natural land-cover types as explanatory variables. We also examined the number of road-kill occurrences according to temporal variation using chi-square test with 9,658 events. In general, H. i. argyropus road-kill location tended to occur close to the gaps on road, agricultural lands and forests. The average distance from road-kill to the gap was 694.7 m and 78.6% of the collisions were occurred within 1 km from the gaps. In addition, Kruskal-Wallis test showed the distance between road-kill points and each land cover and the gaps was significantly different. The temporal analyses showed that the differences of the H. i. argyropus road-kill frequency are significant in both month and season. Our results implies H. i. argyropus road-kill location tended to occur close to the gaps on road, agricultural lands and forests in general, especially during May and June, according to their seasonal behavior. Thus, we suggest there is a need of concentrated management on the roads with specific characteristics for both wildlife and human safety.

• Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.70-89
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• 2019

In this study, we investigated the flora of Jeonggwangsan Mt. (Yongin, Korea) from May of 2015 to September of 2016. Through 14 independent field investigations, we identified a total of 367 taxa of vascular plants, including 89 families, 234 genera, 323 species, six subspecies, 34 varieties, and four formae. Eight taxa were endemic to Korea, while 27 were naturalized in Korea. Nineteen taxa were the floristic regional indicator plants in Korea: four in Rank VI, four in Rank III, two in Rank II, and nine in Rank I. A total of 59 taxa were designated as controlled Korean biological resources, requiring special permission for export to outside countries. Two taxa were listed on the Red List of Korea, including one Near Threatened (NT) taxon (Hololeion maximowiczii Kitam.) and one Least Concern (LC) taxon (Iris minutoaurea Makino).

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.589-596
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• 2013

Vaccinium bracteatum Thunb. is an evergreen plant that belongs to the Genus Vaccinium distributed in Korea, and its fruit has been used for food by the common people and thus has a high possibility of commercialization. Therefore, the habitat environment and individual characteristics of V. bracteatum in Jeju Island were investigated to obtain the basic data for commercialization and preservation. The results showed that V. bracteatum is mostly distributed on the southern slope of Mt. Halla at an altitude of 100 to 500 m. V. bracteatum that occurred in the quadrat were total 30 individuals, which had an average height of 6.0 m, an average DBH of 7.8 cm, and an average number of trunk of 4.3. As for the community structure of the habitat, the average percentage of vegetation cover for the tree layer was 36%, while that for the subtree layer was 78%, which emphasized the importance of the subtree layer. The total number of species that occurred in the quadrat was 76. For the tree layer, total 10 species occurred, which include 2 species of evergreen coniferous trees, 3 species of evergreen broad-leaved trees, and 5 species of deciduous broad-leaved trees. For the subtree layer, total 24 species occurred, which include 1 species of evergreen coniferous tree, 11 species of evergreen broad-leaved trees, and 10 species of deciduous broad-leaved trees. Among these, Eurya japonica Thunb. was the species with a high relative contribution, which threatened V. bracteatum For the shrub layer, 27 species occurred including Cinnamomum japonicum Siebold, and for the herbaceous layer, 64 species occurred including Ardisia crenata Sims. The similarity between the habitats of V. bracteatum was very low, and it did not prefer a characteristic community. The V. bracteatum community around Shinrei stream was distributed on the surrounding area adjacent to the slope of the stream rather than the slope. There were a lot of basins, but the branches, which did not receive sunlight, had withered. It is thought that V. bracteatum would decline if the forest formation continues.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.58-70
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• 2016

An investigation was carried out to study the diversity of aquatic insects, functional feeding groups (FFGs), habitat oriented groups (HOGs), and species-specific distribution in the Taean area in Korea from June to August, 2015. As a result, a total of 72 species belonging to 30 families and six orders were identified in all the investigated regions. Odonata (22 spp.: 30.56%) was the largest group in species richness followed by Coleoptera (21 spp.: 29.16%), Hemiptera (17 spp.: 23.61%) and Diptera (8 spp.: 11.11%) while for Ephemeroptera and Trichoptera, only two species (2.78%) were found. In addition, Plecoptera and Megaloptera inhabiting clean and flowing waters were not found. In the FFGs, predators (48 spp.: 66.67%) were relatively larger as represented by Odonata, Coleoptera, and Hemiptera, whereas shredders and scrapers were lower in proportion. The dominant groups of HOGs were swimmers (24 spp.: 33.33%), climbers (18 spp.: 25.0%), and sprawlers (12 spp.: 16.67%), which were characterized as aquatic insects community of island. Four species: Cybister lewisianus Sharp, Helophorus auriculatus Sharp, Agrypnia pagetana Curtis, Diplonychus esakii Miyamoto & Lee that are designated as Endangered, Near Threatened, and Vulnerable (Korean Red List) have been found to inhabitthe Taean area. Also, two species belonging to the exportable species group (Ceriagrion auranticum Fraser, Paracercion melanotum (Selys)) and one species belonging to the climate-sensitive biological indicator group (Ischnura elegans (Van der Linden)) were identified. In this study, four significant species including the Endangered are presented on the Korean distribution map based on the information in the national ecosystem survey accumulated for 7 years (2006-2012) by the Ministry of Environment.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.220-256
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• 2022

The most important thing for conserving plant diversity in an area is to make an overall inventory of the plant species inhabiting the area. In particular, limestone areas are known for their high plant diversity and distribution of specific plants. Despite that, only a few have been designated as protected areas. This study investigated the vascular plants distributed in Goyangsan Mtn. and Munraesan Mtn., located in limestone areas of the central part of the Korean Peninsula. A field survey was conducted eight times from April to October 2021. As a result, we identified a total of 654 taxa comprising 113 families, 357 genera, 592 species, 15 subspecies, 44 varieties, and 3 formulas. They included four endangered wild plant species: Astilboides tabularis, Eleutherococcus senticosus, Cypripedium macranthos, and Epilobium hirsutum. Endemic plants in Korea were identified as 32 taxa. Floristic target plants were identified as 168 taxa, specifically 5 taxa of grade V, 41 taxa of grade IV, and 36 taxa of grade III. The red data plants included 2 taxa as "Endangered (EN)", 7 taxa as "Vulnerable (VU)", and 7 taxa as "Near threatened (NT)". A total of 41 taxa of naturalized plants were identified, and 4 of them were invasive alien plants. The surveyed vicinity of Goyangsan Mtn. and Munraesan Mtn. showed high plant diversity and contained core habitats for distribution of an endangered wild plant, Astilboides tabularis,in the limestone area. Moreover, both mountains contained a small population of Cotoneaster integerrimus. These findings confirm that the area has conservation values. Therefore, we propose to identify areas with high plant diversity and designate them as special protected areas.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.368-380
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• 2022

Biomonitoring of an invasive alien crayfish species, Procambarus clarkii (Girard, 1852), was performed from February to October 2021, along with environmental DNA analysis, at five locations including Wanju-gun, Hampyeong-gun, Naju-si, Gurye-gun, and Cheongju-si. For the investigation, an umbrella-shaped trap for adults and a hand net for young crayfish were used, and 8 to 10L of freshwater was collected for eDNA analysis. The current status and past distributional records of crayfish in Korea were analyzed along with benthic macroinvertebrates at each survey site. As a result of the investigation, a total of 122 individuals were identified, and Hampyeong-gun recorded the largest number of populations with 59 individuals (48.36%) and the highest environmental DNA (eDNA). The frequency of appearance of P. clarkii was highest in May. The ratio of females to males was 21:5, and the body size was 72.2±21.1mm for female, 80.5±15.6mm for male, and 25.3±9.8mm for young crayfish. P. clarkii introduced into Korea is mainly spreading in the southwest region and it has not been observed in Seoul where there had been a record of appearance in the past. No external symbiosis (Branchiobdellida) of P. clarkii has been identified, and P. clarkii that has appeared in Korea was presumed to be imported from Japan. There are more than eight kinds of exotic crayfish distributed in Korea, and among them, the marbled crayfish (P. virginalis) was identified as a harmful species to the ecosystem of Korea by the Ministry of Environment in 2021. The identified species of benthic macroinvertebrates inhabiting the survey area where P. clarkii has appeared were 69 belonging to 39 families, 15 orders, five classes, and three phyla. Among them, Odonata were the most abundant (16 spp.; 24.62%), followed by Coleoptera (11 spp.; 16.92%) and Hemiptera (11 spp.; 16.92%). In the survey area, one Korean endemic species (Rhoenanthus coreanus), one species (Helophorus auriculatus) classified as Near Threatened (NT) on the Korean Red List, and six species of Crustaceans appeared. In the functional feeding group, the predators appeared predominantly while in habitat oriented group, the climbers appeared to be abundant. It was confirmed that P. clarkii in the survey area prefers an area rich in aquatic vegetation with waterside vegetation, and has high resistance to turbid water quality. The omnivore invader P. clarkii is expected to maintain a competitive relationship with carnivorous benthic macroinvertebrates that are predominant in the same species, and is expected to continue to generate ecosystem disturbance along the food chains.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.101-111
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• 2018

The Korean government has been trying to conserve a marine ecosystem that has been shifting due to climate change. As part of this effort, the government designated seventy-seven marine species that have been disappearing and deserve to be protected as endangered managing them specially. To generate basic data to guide policy for these endangered species, their value must be measured. OOf the species declared endangered, coral is particularly threatened by climate change, and its management is important. Accordingly, understanding the potential value of reefs, can be an effective way of proving the benefits of continuous management to decision makers and the general public alike. To this end, we have applied the contingent valuation method (CVM), an economic technique of for valuing a environmental and non-market goods such as a coral reef. A national face-to-face survey of 1,000 randomly selected households was conducted in order to determine the public's willingness to pay (WTP) for conserving coral reefs. A one-and-one-half-bound (OOHB) model was adopted to interpret WTP responses, and a spike model was employed to deal with zero WTP responses. The results show that the conservation value of a coral reef can be estimated at 3,016 won per household per year, statistically significant at the 1 % level. Expanding values to the national population gives an annual value of 58.9 billion won. We can conclude that the public is willing to pay a significant amount to conserve coral reefs.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.189-203
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• 2016

This study was carried out to investigate the flora of Jingangsan Mt. (Ganghwa-gun). The vascular plants identified during the 11 round field surveys were a to total of 560 taxa: 114 families, 336 genera, 495 species, 7 subspecies, 53 varieties, 4 forms and 1 hybrid. A high plant diversity were Poaceae (11.0%), Asteraceae (10.8%), Cyperaceae (8.8%), Rosaceae (4.6%) and Lamiaceae (4.3%) in regular order. The four taxa of Korean endemic plants such as Viola seoulensis Nakai, Salix koriyanagi Kimura ex Goerz, Hemerocallis hakuunensis Nakai and Polygonatum infundiflorum Y. S. Kim, B. U. Oh & C. G. Jang were collected. The vascular plants on the red list according to IUCN evaluation basis were found to be four taxa: Near Threatened (NT) species of Delphinium maackianum Regel, and Not Evaluate (NE) species of Mosla japonica (Benth. ex Oliv.) Maxim., Carex paxii Kük. and Polygonatum infundiflorum Y. S. Kim, B. U. Oh & C. G. Jang. The floristic regional indicator plants found in this area were 28 taxa comprising two taxa of degree IV, three taxa of degree III, eight taxa of degree II, and 15 taxa of degree I. In addition, the naturalized plants were identified as 44 taxa and the percentage of naturalized index (NI) was 7.9%, and Urbanization Index (UI) was 13.7%.