• Journal of Climate Change Research
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.351-356
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• 2016

The carbon capture and storage (CCS), which collects and stores carbon dioxide in a geological site, is a promising option to mitigate climate change. However, there is the possibility of carbon dioxide leakage from the soil in the steps of collecting, transporting, and storing. To ensure the feasibility of this technology, it is important to monitor the leakage of carbon dioxide and to assess the potential impacts. As plants are sensitive to the changes in carbon dioxide in the soil environment, we can utilize plant parameter to detect the carbon dioxide leakage. Currently, chlorophyll a content is a conventional index indicating the changes in plants, however, this method is labor intensive and it only utilizes a small portion of leaves. To overcome its limitations, a simple spectroscopic parameter, DGCI (dark green color index), was suggested as an easy and quick indicator. In this study, we compared the values of chlorophyll a contents with DGCI from the experiment investigating the impacts of high underground $CO_2$ on grape plants. Results suggest that DGCI had high correlation with chlorophyll a contents and it has high potential to be utilized as an easy indicator to monitor plants' responses to $CO_2$ treatment.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.28-45
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• 2024

This study was conducted to investigate the flora of Sonjukdo Island(Yeosu-si), Korea. From results of four field surveys from April 2023 to October 2023, we identified 483 total taxa, representing 440 species, seven subspecies, 35 varieties, and one hybrid. They were placed in 322 genera and 109 families, including 249 taxa newly recorded in this study. Among them, four taxa were endemic to Korea, four taxa were IUCN red list plants, and 22 taxa were climate sensitive indicator plants. Floristic target plants amounted to 99 taxa, including two taxa of grade IV, 41 taxa of grade III, 10 taxa of grade II, and 46 taxa of grade I. A total of 54 taxa of alien plants were identified, with a Naturalized Index of 11.2% and an Urbanization Index of 13.8%. Three plants disturbed the ecosystem. The flora of this surveyed area belongs to the south-coast province among floral provinces of the Korean Peninsula. Our results provide basic data on vascular plants flora, plant species diversity, and distributional changes.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.1-21
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• 2024

This study conducted surveys to identify the distribution of communities and flora according to vegetation in the coastal sand dunes of Sagye in Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, located at the southernmost tip of Korea. The survey was conducted over 20 sessions from April 2020 to October 2021. As a result of the study, physiognomy was classified into six correlated vegetation types: plant communities on the salt marsh, annual communities on a coastal drift-line, herb communities on a dune, shrub communities on a coastal dune, forest-edge communities on a dune, and artificial afforestation vegetation. The survey identified 43 communities, and a total of 212 taxa were found to be distributed among 62 families, 166 genera, 191 species, 15 varieties, 3 subspecies, and 3 forma. It was found that there were five rare plant taxa distributed in the area, including the Cymbidium macrorrhizum which was classified as an endangered Class II plant by the Ministry of Environment. Floristic target species identified by the surveys included 2 taxa for grade V, 5 taxa for grade IV, 15 taxa for grade III, 14 taxa for grade II, and 19 taxa for grade I. Climate-sensitive biological indicator species included 11 indicator and 2 candidate species, representing a high ratio of 33.3% of all indicator species and 15.4% of candidate species. Naturalized plants included 16 families, 43 genera, and 52 taxa, with a naturalization rate of 21.1% and an urbanization index of 24.5%. It is expected that these results will be widely used as data needed to prepare conservation and management measures for biodiversity in response to climate change in coastal dunes in the future.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.374-390
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• 2015

This study aimed to identify the insect diversity and forest in urban green space, which can determine the current status of the ecosystem and provide basic data and information required for conservation planning and sustainable use of the environment. For this study, we have surveyed insect diversity by habitat types in the botanic garden of Wonkwang University, Iksan, from September, 2010 to September, 2011. During the research period, a total of 209 species, 78 families and 10 orders were observed, including 10 exportable species, 1 species of Korean Red List, 2 climate-sensitive indicator species and 70 designated species. Among these taxonomic groups, Coleoptera (36.36 %) showed the highest diversity with 76 species, followed by Hemiptera (25.36 %) with 46 species, Diptera (11.48 %) with 24 species and Hymenoptera (7.66 %) with 16 species. As for the diversity by survey time, the largest number of species were observed in September 2010 (52 families, 105 species), followed by May 2011 (37 families, 87 species), July 2011 (50 families, 86 species), June 2011 (40 families, 80 species) and August 2011 (43 families, 73 species). Relatively low diversity was observed in September 2011 (38 families, 60 species), October 2010 (36 families, 52 species) and April 2011 (19 families, 29 species). As for the diversity by survey point, the highest diversity was observed in S4 (75 families, 186 species, 88.99 %), followed by S1 (41 families, 70 species, 33.49 %), S2 (41 families, 63 species, 30.14 %), and S3 (36 families, 59 species, 28.22 %). According to the community analysis, the survey area S4 (H'=3.344, RI=9.257) showed the highest numbers in diversity index (H') and richness index (RI) of insects and S1 (0.985) showed the highest species evenness index (EI). On the other hand, S3 showed the lowest numbers (H'=2.428, RI=4.307, EI=0.832) in every index. The insect fauna is closely associated with the plants and vegetation structure in the green space. Therefore, it is necessary to manage and maintain the urban green space to make it similar to the natural environment.