• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.205-215
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• 2016

In order to improve water quality in the Paldang Lake, a riparian vegetation belt, treatment wetland, and artificial floating island were designed for introduction in the upland field, the estuary of tributaries, and the section of water facing mountainous land, respectively. We synthesized vegetation information collected from a reference river and found that herbaceous, shrubby, and tree vegetation zones tended to be dominated by Phragmites japonica, Phalaris arundinacea, etc.; Salix gracilistyla, S. integra, etc.; and S. koreensis, S. subfragilis, and Morus alba, respectively. In our plan, the herbaceous vegetation zone, which is established on floodplains with a high frequency of disturbance, will be left in its natural state. A shrubby vegetation zone will be created by imitating the species composition of the reference river in the ecotone between floodplain and embankment. A tree vegetation zone will be created by imitating species composition on the embankment slope. In the treatment wetland, we plan to create emerged and softwood plant zones by imitating the species composition of the Zizania latifolia community, the Typha orientalis community, the P. communis community, the S. integra community, and the S. koreensis community. The floating island will be created by restoring Z. latifolia and T. orientalis for water purification purposes.

• Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.169-176
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• 2016

Roads are widely accepted to be as a major cause of habitat fragmentation. The wildlife road-crossing structure is one of the most acceptable alternatives among the solutions to provide connectivity between patches isolated by roads. We investigated noise disturbance, vegetation structure and wildlife crossing and habitation at a wildlife road-crossing structure located at the Jingmaei-Pass in Incheon, Korea, to monitor and evaluate its conservation value and ecological performance and to propose measures for their adaptive management. From the result of noise measurement, the noise disturbance from the road traffic was not properly blocked out at the wildlife crossing structure. The survey results of vegetation structure showed that the early-successional plant species such as Ambrosia trifida, Erigeron annuus, Pueraria lobata, Rosa multiflora invaded widely on the crossing structure. An efficient management of the vegetation should be necessarily considered for the facilitation of vegetation succession and the improvement of animal habitat. The crossing structure was used by limited mammal species: Apodemus agrarius, Nyctereutes procyonoides, Mogera wogura and Sciurus vulgaris coreae as the results of the monitoring using footprints and closed-circuit television. In conclusion, The Jingmaei-Pass wildlife crossing structure is unable to function properly as a biological corridor because of the interference of noise and flourishing disturbed vegetation. Therefore, proper alternatives are required for improving animal habitats and mobile environments to enhance the ecological function of a wildlife corridor.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.275-285
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• 2020

Background: In Korea, Symplocos prunifolia Siebold. & Zucc. is only found on Jeju Island. Conservation of the species is difficult because little is known about its distribution and natural habitat. The lack of research and survey data on the characteristics of native vegetation and distribution of this species means that there is insufficient information to guide the management and conservation of this species and related vegetation. Therefore, this study aims to identify the distribution and vegetation associated with S. prunifolia. Results: As a result of field investigations, it was confirmed that the native S. prunifolia communities were distributed in 4 areas located on the southern side of Mt. Halla and within the evergreen broad-leaved forest zones. Furthermore, these evergreen broad-leaved forest zones are themselves located in the warm temperate zone which are distributed along the valley sides at elevations between 318 and 461 m. S. prunifolia was only found on the south side of Mt. Halla, and mainly on south-facing slopes; however, small communities were found to be growing on northwest-facing slopes. It has been confirmed that S. prunifolia trees are rare but an important constituent species in the evergreen broad-leaved forest of Jeju. The mean importance percentage of S. prunifolia community was 48.84 for Castanopsis sieboldii, 17.79 for Quercus acuta, and 12.12 for Pinus thunbergii; S. prunifolia was the ninth most important species (2.6). Conclusions: S. prunifolia can be found growing along the natural streams of Jeju, where there is little anthropogenic influence and where the streams have caused soil disturbance through natural processes of erosion and deposition of sediments. Currently, the native area of S. prunifolia is about 3300 ㎡, which contains a confirmed population of 180 individual plants. As a result of these low population sizes, it places it in the category of an extremely endangered plant in Korea. In some native sites, the canopy of evergreen broad-leaved forest formed, but the frequency and coverage of species were not high. Negative factors that contributed to the low distribution of this species were factors such as lacking in shade tolerance, low fruiting rates, small native areas, and special habitats as well as requiring adequate stream disturbance. Presently, due to changes in climate, it is unclear whether this species will see an increase in its population and habitat area or whether it will remain as an endangered species within Korea. What is clear, however, is that the preservation of the present native habitats and population is extremely important if the population is to be maintained and expanded. It is also meaningful in terms of the stable conservation of biodiversity in Korea. Therefore, based on the results of this study, it is judged that a systematic evaluation for the preservation and conservation of the habitat and vegetation management method of S. prunifolia should be conducted.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.123-132
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• 2003

This ecological study investigated the vegetation changes of abandoned salt field, 21 plots(1${\times}$lm, 1${\times}$2m) set up by the methods of Braun-Blanquet and Elenberg in a coastal island, Gasado, Jindogun, from July to September,2002. The vascular plants of abandoned salt field in the surveyed site identified 17 families and 48 species. Of these species, halophytes and mesophytes were 20(42%) and 28(58%) species. In addition, the disturbance to this habitat led to the change of halophytes in abandoned sald field, exotic plants was distributed 23 species, which included Dactylis glomerata, Conyza canadensis, Oenothera odorata, Cosmos bipinnatus, etc., in the group of, mesophytes were 20(71%) species, vegetation communities were classified into 3 community types, i.e. the halophyte grassland community(Limonium tetragonum community, Suaeda japonica community, Spergularia marina community), the wetland grassland community(Phragmites communis community, Carex scabrifolia community, Phaceturus latifolius var. angustifolius community), and the mesophyte grassland community(Erigeron bonariensis community, Daucus littoralis var. koreana community). Each communities was described the structual, distribution and changes of the vegetation in the abandoned salt field, the vegetation table and actual vegetation map were prepared.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.42-57
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• 2011

We described the above-ground plant species composition and measured a range of soil physico-chemical properties and the composition and size of the soil seed bank in the remnant natural vegetations on the flood plains of the Han River within Seoul, South Korea. We used analysis of variance and multivariate analyses to analyse the data and S${\o}$rensen's similarity index to compare the composition of the vegetation and seed banks. The soils were circum-neutral and composed of mainly sand and silt fractions with a very limited clay component; a gradient based on sand/clay proportions was identified. The soil seed banks varied markedly between- and within-sites and had much greater species diversity than the above-ground vegetation. Two of the major dominants in the vegetation (Miscanthus saccariflorus and Phragmites australis) were found at very low densities in the seed bank. The site differences appeared to be correlated with the sand-clay gradient, suggesting that the soil properties differentially affected seed inputs into the soil, or that the processes than controlled sediment deposition during floods was also important in differentially affecting seed deposition. Lastly, there was relatively little similarity between the vegetation, dominated mainly by perennials, and the seed bank which contained a relatively large proportion of annuals and biennials. This result suggests that after disturbance caused by flooding there is the potential for many other species to colonize. This may impinge on the regeneration potential of the sites and cause concern for the future conservation of these important remnants of natural vegetation.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.347-356
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• 2010

Forests are being seriously fragmented as a result of land development. Land development with disregard to its subsequent environmental impacts is a primary threat to biodiversity by incurring massive habitat losses and changes in structure and composition of forests. The purpose of this study was to develop the impact assessment model for quantitative distance or degree of disturbance by land developments. This study conducted a survey about structure and composition of forest species to determine degree of impact from land development. The edge effect of forest fragmentation on the number of bird species, population size, and bird diversity was obvious. In particular, the bird diversity sharply declines around the forest edge where intensive land development projects take place. To assess the disturbance of forest species, the factors selected were the bird diversity and the rate of edge species. The impact assessment model about bird diversity was explained by type of forest fragmentation and type of vegetation ($R^2$=0.23, p<0.005). The other model about edge species explained by a distance, type of forest fragmentation, type of vegetation, and width of road ($R^2$=0.34, p<0.001). In order to test the applicability of the model developed in this study, the models was applied to the Samsong housing development in Goyang-si, Gyunggi-do. The impacts of land development on the bird species were reasonably quantified to suggest effective mitigation measure. The impact assessment model developed in this study is useful to assess the magnitude of disturbance of bird species. Particularly, the model could be applied to the current Environmental Impact Assessment practices to predict and quantify the impacts of land developments projects on forest bird species.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.347-355
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• 2011

Effects of forest thinning on community level properties have not been understood yet in Korea. We investigated regeneration patterns and trajectories after a disturbance by applying a chronosequence approach. Light availability, litter and woody debris cover, and species composition were determined for twenty 50 m line-transect samples representing a disturbance duration gradient (within 11 years). Environmental factors such as light availability and coverage of woody debris and litter changed abruptly after thinning and then returned to the pre-disturbance state. Although species richness was gained at shrub and ground layer in a limited way in both forests, cover of various functional types revealed diversity in their responses. Notably, Alnus firma stands exhibited a larger increment of cover in woody plants. Ordination analysis revealed different regeneration trajectories between natural and planted stands. Based on ordination analysis, rehabilitated stands showed movement to alternative states compared with natural ones, reflecting lower resilience to perturbation (i.e., lower stability). Our results suggest that community resilience to artificial thinning depends on properties of the dominant species. But to get more explanatory ecological information, longer-term static observations are required.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.61-74
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• 2002

The purpose of this study is to propose vegetation management devices through analyzing the actual vegetation, flora, plant community structure and soil chemical concentrations in Weolmi urban nature park, Incheon. The actual vegetation of Weolmi Park in various areas is composed of urbanization area(2 types, 25.9%), landscape planting area(4 types, 16.1%), grass and marsh area(5 types, 7.6%) and mountain forest areal(14 types, 50.4%). The flora is composed of 295 taxa with 80 families, 253 species, 35 varieties and 7 formas, and among them there are 16 naturalized plant families, 39 species, 3 varieties. In reflection of size, the number of the species seems high but most of the them are under influence of human disturbance. Nine survey plots of plant community structure are classified into two groups. One is the semi-natural plant community(Prunus sargentii-Acer palmatum, Quercus accutissma-Prunus sargentii, Quercus serrata-Quercus accutissma-Prunus sargentii, Prunus sargentii, and Zelkova serrata-Prunus sargentii) that migrated finn the planting forest to the natural forest and the other is planting forest(Pinus koraienssis-Pinus thunbergii-Abies holophylla-Chamaectparis obtusa, Prunus sargentii, Pinus thunbergii-Alnus firma, Zelkova serrata). The average pH is 4.65 which means the soil acidity is quite high. The concentration of K, Ca, Mg and base saturation is very low. It seems that the environmental pollutants from Incheon Port and industrial plants near by survey site and long-distance transport of air pollutants from China made the soil condition worse. On the basis of the results above, six vegetation management devices are suggested: 1) removing the hazard plants(Pueraia thunbergiana and Humulus japonica), 2) natural landscape management of the middle and long term, 3) increasing species diversity, 4) Robinia pseudoacacia management, 5) keeping the naturalized plants from being distributed any further inside the mountain forest, 6) improving soil acidification.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.62-73
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• 2001

The riparian environments of urban streams in Korea have been disturbed through the channelization for flood control and artificial land use as well as water pollution and flow decrease due to industrialization and urbanization. The flora and vegetation structure were investigated and an implication of stream restoration was discussed for the conservation of biodiversity in the riparian area of the Seunggi stream in Incheon. Naturalized plants and ruderal plants were widely distributed in the riparian area which was disturbed from cultivating, trampling, dumping etc. Submerged and floating hydrophytes were not found in the stream due to channelization and water pollution. Some halophytes were remained in downstream and reservoir after reclamation and embankment. The communities of Humulus japonicus, Panicum dichotomiflorum, Digitaria sanguinalis, Artemisia montana, Amaranthus retroflexus, and Aster pilosus were distributed in the disturbed area of bank slope and floodplain in the stream. As a natural potential vegetation, Phragmites australis in the wet meadow, Typha latifolia, Typha angustifolia, Oenanthe javanica, Persicaria thunbergii, and Penthorum chinense in the marsh, and Salix babylonica and Salix matsudana for. tortuosa in the woodland appeared in the floodplain. The topography in the stream played an important role on the distribution of riparian vegetation in the Seunggi stream. Appropriate methods for conservation and restoration of the riparian ecosystems must be planned on the basis of the actual vegetation in the disturbed urban stream.

• The Korean Journal of Ecology
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.103-108
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• 2003

This study examined the coastal sand dune vegetation before and after the construction of an embankment on Anmado Island in order to compare vegetation in relation to the development of islands. A total of 24 species distributed on the sand dunes. 18 species were found to be in common before and after the construction of the embankment, which included Vitex rotundifolia, Imperata cylindrica var. koenigii, Zoysia sinica, etc. The species which were not found in this survey included Rumex japonicus, Setaria viridis, Portulaca oleracea, Artemisia japonica, Poiygonum aviculare, etc, and new species included Arena fatua, Carex boottiana, Lycium chinense, Leonurus sibiricus, Torilis japonica, Solanum carolinense, etc. The washing away of sand brought about the changes in habitat and the increase in naturalized plants, which included Oenothera odorata, Lepidium apetalum, Bidens bipinnata, Erigeron canadensis, Datura stramonium, Xanthium strumarium, Arena fatua, Solanum carolinense etc. In addition, the disturbance to this habitat led to the changes in vegetation. The main plant communities in the surveyed site were classified as Vitex rotundifolia-Imperata cylindrica var. koenigil community, Zoysia sinica-Calystegia soldanella community and Messerschmidia sibirica community. The sand dune vegetation on Anmado Island changed with regard to the community and the composition of species after the construction of the embankment, due to the sand being severely eroded. While Vitex rotundifolia community and Commelina communis community were found before the construction of the embankment, they were replaced by Vitex rotundifolia-Imperata cylindrica var. koenigii community, Zoysia sinica-Calystegia soldanella community and Messerschmidia sibirica community, after the construction of the embankment.