• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.240-245
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• 2017

In this study, we developed a method to assess quantitatively the amount and the economic value of water quality regulating service of ecosystem services. Numbers of species and aquatic organisms such as fish increased because of the improved water, but it was due to complex factors such as water quality regulation services of ecosystems, installation of environmental facilities for water quality treatment, and water quality regulation. Therefore we sought ways to quantitatively estimate the value of ecosystem regulation services. In this study, we propose a method to estimate the quantitative value of water quality regulation service of ecosystem by utilizing the total amount of water pollution. In addition, the economic value evaluation method was proposed by multiplying the estimated the quantitative value of water quality regulation service of ecosystem by the unit cost per unit capacity. Finally, the ecosystem water quality regulation service was estimated by using the evaluation method for BOD and T-P in Nakdong river watershed.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.737-747
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• 2006

Ministry of Environment (MOE) of Korea has been implementing the water quality management policy to focus on the control of organic matters (BOD and COD) for 28 years since 1978 when the water quality standards had been established. However, the government and the public have begun to recognize the necessity of creating the best water environment for people and aquatic life, and also formulating the various measures of water pollution, Consequently, MOE of Korea is establishing the basic plan of water environment management, with the vision of "Clean Water, Eco River 2015." The major targets of water environment management plan are to maintain ecosystem health and to protect water quality from various hazardous substances in water bodies. In order to achieve the major targets, it is essential to amend the water quality standards, which bring about the systematic management of various pollutants and healthy ecosystem. Introduction of the new techniques of water environment assessment is also prerequisite to maintain sustainable water environment. These can be accomplished under the consideration of following suggestions in environmental quality standards. First, several criteria should be complemented in water quality standards; they include the improvement of the current water quality classification system, the strengthening and supplement of relevant parameters considering human health in the standards, the introduction of biotic indices, and management standards on eutrophication. Secondly, it should be considered to introduce the biological water quality standards using biotic indices and the management standards for sediments. Lastly, it needs to introduce or develop an ecological status classification which could be used in the assessment of the water environment as a whole.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.44-59
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• 2014

Despite the implementation of TMDL, the water quality in lower watershed of Nam river dam has worsened continuously since 2005. Multifarious pollution sources such as cities and industrial districts are scattered around it. Nam river downstream bed slope is very gentle towards the downstream water flow of slows it down even more, depending on the water quality deterioration is accelerated eutrophication occurs. In this study, the mainstream in lower watershed of Nam river dam region to target aquatic organic matter by phytoplankton growth contribution was evaluated by statistical analysis. and statistical evaluation of water quality and the accuracy of forecasting, model calibration and verification procedures by completing QUALKO2 it's eutrophic phenomena that occur frequently in the dam outflow through scenarios predict an increase in water quality management plans to present the best should.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.39-47
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• 2010

Annually, the scale of agricultural areas in Korea were being reduced as the lands were converted to other land uses. While the rate of productivity were either being maintained or increased, the pollution load from these areas were still greater in magnitude. Although the levels of pollutant concentration released in the agricultural watersheds were minimal, the combined quantities mostly from diffuse sources were high. As a consequence, the Ministry of Environment (MOE) in Korea adopted the use of free water surface (FWS) flow constructed wetlands to reduce the pollutant loadings emitted from agricultural watersheds for the improvement of water quality and protection of aquatic ecosystems. In this study, a constructed wetland treating stream water in an agricultural watershed was monitored since April 2009 subsequent to its completion in December 2008. Satisfactory performance was achieved for TSS, BOD and TP with 26%, 28% and 39% pollutant removal rates, respectively. In addition, the effluent water quality was improved and achieved compliance the national water quality criteria. Results of this study can be useful to establish design parameters and employ proper removal techniques of similar natural treatment systems for future implementation in the country.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.56 no.5
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• pp.21-27
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• 2014

Sediment-laden water is problematic in aquatic ecosystem and for hydraulic structures in a watershed, and agriculture area in a watershed is one of source areas of nonpoint source (NPS), since soil surface typically exposures due to agricultural activities. Especially, severe sediment might flow into stream when agricultural area is located near stream like the Imha-dam watershed. Soil erosion is affected by precipitation, therefore there is a need to consider precipitation characteristics in soil erosion and best management practices (BMPs) simulation. The Web-based Spreadsheet Tool for the Estimation of Pollutant Load (STEPL WEB) allows estimating long-term sediment loads and the impact of best management practices to reduce sediment loads. STEPL WEB and predicted precipitation data by MIROC-ESM model was used to estimate sediment loads and its reduction by filter strip and conversion of agricultural area to forest in the future 30 years. The result indicates that approximately 70 % of agricultural area requires filter strip installation or that approximately 50 % of agricultural area needs to be converted to forest, for 41 % of sediment load reduction.

• Journal of Aquaculture
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.252-256
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• 2003

Effluent from farm trefish contained high concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus, such kinds of nutrients were released to the environment without proper treatment and thses increased the pollution of the environment. We evaluated the conventional treatment system with cost effective ecotechnologies for the removal of nutrients. Water lettuce chambers were investigated under the various experimental conditions to improve the efficiency of N&P removal and the treatment of from aquaculture effluent. In this research, six water lettuce chambers (80 liter each) received combination of aquaculture wastewater effluent at hydraulic retention times (HRTs) of 1, 2, 4 and 8days. The water lettuce chambers operated at a 8 day HRT investigated for aquaculture effluent (1'st) showed average removal efficiency, BOD, T-N, T-P of 92.8, 79.0 and 93.6% on average respectively.

• Advances in environmental research
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.179-187
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• 2016

This study evaluated some markers of oxidative stress in the organs of African Catfish, Clarias gariepinus from Eleyele River in Oyo State, Nigeria. Clarias gariepinus (250 g-400 g) were collected from Eleyele River (a suspected polluted River) and Clarias gariepinus from a clean fish farm (Durantee fisheries) were used as the control. Levels of Malondialdehyde (index of lipid peroxidation), Glutathione (GSH) and activities of antioxidant enzymes- Superoxide dismutase (SOD), Catalase and Glutathione-S-Transferase (GST) were evaluated in the liver, kidney and gills of the fish. From the results, there were significant (p<0.001) increases in malondialdehyde and GSH levels in the liver, kidney and gills of Clarias gariepinus from Eleyele River compared with control. The activity of GST increased significantly (p<0.05; p<0.001) in the liver and kidney of fish from Eleyele River compared with control. There was a significant decrease (p<0.05; p<0.001) in SOD activity in all the organs of Clarias gariepinus from Eleyele River compared with conrol and also a significant (p<0.001) decrease in catalase activity in the gills and kidney of the fish but catalase activity increased in the liver. Increase in lipid peroxidation and alterations in antioxidant status in Clarias gariepinus from Eleyele River show that the fish were under oxidative stress. These suggest that the River is polluted probably as a result of various wastes frequently discharged into the River. This could pose serious health risks to consumers of water and aquatic organisms from the River.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.55-66
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• 2009

The increase of pollutant loadings from nonpoint sources affect the water quality of the major rivers in Korea. Consequently, the need for managing the nonpoint source (NPS) pollution becomes the main concern of the Korean Ministry of Environment (MOE). Recently, the policy was changed from pollutant concentration-restricting approach to the total maximum daily load (TMDL) approach to improve the water quality and protect the aquatic ecosystem. Part of the program is the construction of Best Management Practice (BMP) pilot facilities basically to control NPS. Most of the BMPs adopted were foreign technologies which could not be properly employed in the country due to some limitations such as climate, watershed characteristics, etc. In other words, to be able to apply the BMPs, research on its applicability is necessary. In this study, a three-year monitoring has been conducted to assess the treatment performance of the BMP installed in highway toll plaza and parking lot. The data gathered aid in the characterization of NPS pollutants in runoff and estimation of the pollutant removal efficiency of the BMP. The results will be used for the future implementation of BMP in different land uses as well as for the determination of optimum operation and maintenance.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.33-49
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• 1989

Pollution in the rivers has received considerable attention in recent years, particullary with reference to the effect due to increasing concentration of heavy metals. The metals are toxic to the ecosystem as a whole and to man in particular, since he is at the end of a variety of food chains by virture of his varigated diet. In addition, numerous laboratory tests have established that certain metals, such as Cd, pose a threat to a wide variety of aquatic organisms at concentrations as low as a few $\mu$g/1. Before the biological effects of heavy metals in impacted ecosystems can be completely assessed, however it is necessary to provide data on the concentration of heavy metals in such systems. This study was performed to investigate the concentration level of heavy metals in water, fish and sediments from upstream ($S_1-S_4$) to downstream ($S_5-S_9$) of the Mankyung river. Samples of water, fish, and sediments were collected along the tributaries of the Mankyung from September to October in 1987 and analyzed for lead, cadmium, copper, and zinc by atomic absorption spectrophotometer. From the data presented in this study, we can infer that the concentrations of the heavy metals investigated both in water and sediments are similar to those found in literature for unpolluted regions. The results obtained from the analysis of the edible tissue of the C. auratus show low concentration levels of the four heavy metals investigated. We conclude that the area is still relatively unpolluted and recommended continuing the monitoring of heavy metal concentrations to improve our understanding of their cycle in the river environment.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.418-434
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• 2010

As concerns regarding water pollution grow, the need increases for a fast and accurate assessment of ecological risk. In this context, many studies have been conducted to identify biomarkers which can sensitively indicate exposure to and effects of various contaminants in a water environment. However, the utility of most such biomarkers in the real water environment is not yet validated. In this paper, we conducted a thorough review of publications that were related to developing or evaluating molecular and biochemical biomarkers of freshwater fish in ecological risk assessment, and evaluated whether these biomarkers of interest could link to the effects on higher biological levels, such as histopathology and above. Biomarkers of interest included those associated with metabolism, oxidative stress, reproduction and endocrine disruption, genotoxicity, and defense against heavy metal exposure. We found that, when used alone, most molecular and biochemical biomarkers are not sufficient to understand the effects of toxic substances in higher biological levels, due to defense or acclimation mechanisms of organisms. Moreover, some biomarkers respond not only to hazardous substances but also to the changes in water quality and disease outbreak. Molecular and biochemical biomarkers may be most useful in understanding the potential biological effects of toxic compounds when used in parallel with relevant endpoints of higher biological levels.