• Title/Summary/Keyword: ecological regions

Search Result 446, Processing Time 0.031 seconds

Identification of Molecular Markers for Population Diagnosis of Korean Fir (Abies koreana) Vulnerable to Climate Change

  • Kim, Dong Wook;Park, Da Young;Jeong, Dae Young;Park, Hyeong Cheol
    • Proceedings of the National Institute of Ecology of the Republic of Korea
    • /
    • v.1 no.1
    • /
    • pp.68-73
    • /
    • 2020
  • Korean fir (Abies koreana) is an evergreen coniferous tree species that is unique to South Korea. A. koreana is found in a limited sub-alpine habitat and is considered particularly vulnerable to climate change. Identification of populations vulnerable to climate change is an important component of conservation programs. In this study, a heat stress-induced transcriptome RNA-seq dataset was used to identify a subset of six genes for assessment as candidate marker genes for ecologically vulnerable populations. Samples of A. koreana were isolated from ecologically stable and vulnerable regions of the Halla and Jiri mountains, and the expression levels of the six candidate markers were assessed using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. All six of the candidate genes exhibited higher expression levels in samples from vulnerable regions compared with stable regions. These results confirm that the six high temperature-induced genes can be used as diagnostic markers for the identification of populations of A. koreana that are experiencing stress due to the effects of climate change.

Biocultural diversity and traditional ecological knowledge in island regions of Southwestern Korea

  • Hong, Sun-Kee
    • Journal of Ecology and Environment
    • /
    • v.34 no.2
    • /
    • pp.137-147
    • /
    • 2011
  • In 2009, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recognized the unique outstanding ecosystem biodiversity and distinct ecocultural values of the Shinan Dadohae Biosphere Reserve in the island region. The Dadohae area, which has been sustainably conserved for scores of years, boasts not only a unique ecosystem, but also has residents with a wide range of traditional ecological knowledge. In terms of understanding the soundness of the ecosystem network known as the landscape system, the recent expansion of environmental development has served to heighten the degree of consideration given not only to biodiversity, which has long been used as an indicator to assess ecosystem soundness, but also to assess cultural diversity. Man has used the surrounding landscape and living organisms as his life resources since the beginning. Moreover, whenever necessary, man has developed new species through cultivation. Biodiversity became a foundation that facilitated establishing cultural diversity such as food and housing. Such ecological knowledge has been conveyed not only to adjacent regions, but also at the international level. The recent rapid changes in the Dadohae area island ecosystem caused by the transformation of fishing grounds by such factors as climate change, excess human activities, and marine pollution, is an epoch event in environmental history that shows that the balance between man and nature has become skewed. Furthermore, this issue has moved beyond the biodiversity and landscape diversity level to become an issue that should be addressed at the cultural diversity level. To this end, the time has come to pay close attention to this issue.

Sediment Pollution of Heavy Metal and Potential Ecological Risk Assessment in Baiyangdian Lake, China

  • Li Guibao;Yang Zhuo;Wang Dianwu;Hao Hong
    • Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
    • /
    • 2005.05b
    • /
    • pp.1-8
    • /
    • 2005
  • Baiyangdian Lake, the largest freshwater lake in North China, is known as 'Pearl of North China' and 'kidney of North China' fur its abundant products and multiple ecological services. However, from the 1970s, due to the ever-increasing discharge of polluted water from upstream rivers, it has been severely polluted. Sediment Investigation and analysis were conducted on contents of heavy metal (Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb) from Baiyangdian Lake in June 2004. Results showed that pollution situation at downriver regions are more serious than that of upstream regions. The seriously polluted spots are access of Fuhe River, original wastewater reservoir of Tanghe River, densely populated Chunshui Village and Wangjiazhai Village. By using method of the potential ecological risk assessment, the heavy metal evaluation of polluted sediment has been conducted. The results showed that the contents of Cd and Pb were very high in sediment of Baiyangdian Lake. There were extremely stronger ecological risk for Cd and slight- medium ecological risk for Pd. According to the current situation of Baiyangdian Lake, countermeasures and suggestions have been put forward.

  • PDF

Strategies to prevent the new infectious diseases from an ecological perspective

  • Lee, Chang Seok
    • Journal of Ecology and Environment
    • /
    • v.46 no.3
    • /
    • pp.172-182
    • /
    • 2022
  • Background: The coronavirus problem is an ecological problem stemming from a sudden change in the relationship between parasites and hosts. Ecologists judge organisms that are established out of their original territory as exotic species. Unlike in their original habitat, these exotic species become very aggressive in their newly settled habitat. Coronavirus infection damage was bigger in Europe or the United States than that in the country of its origin, China, and its neighboring countries. Therefore, coronavirus infection damage resembles the damage due to the invasive species. Results: Exotic species are found in places with similar environmental conditions to those of their origin when introduced to other ecological regions. However, there are few ecological ill effects in their place of origin, while the damage is usually severe in the ecological regions in which it is introduced. According to historical records, exotic infectious diseases, such as European smallpox and measles, also showed a similar trend and caused great damage in newly established places. Therefore, it is expected that measures to manage exotic species could be used for the prevention of exotic infectious diseases such as the coronavirus. Conclusions: Prevention comes first in the management of exotic species, and in order to come up with preventive measures, it is important to collect information on the characteristics of related organisms and their preferred environment. In this respect, ecosystem management measures such as exotic species management measures could be used as a reference to prevent and suppress the spread. To put these measures into practice, it is urgently required to establish an international integrated information network for collecting and exchanging information between regions and countries. Furthermore, a systematic ecosystem-management strategy in which natural and human environments could continue sustainable lives in their respective locations may serve as a countermeasure to prevent infectious diseases.

Ecological Restoration on Degraded Ecosystem in the Tropical and Subtropical Region of China (중국 열대 및 아열대 훼손지 생태계 복원)

  • Jin Yong-Huan;Oh Koo-Kyoon;ZHAO Fuqiang
    • Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
    • /
    • v.18 no.4
    • /
    • pp.465-474
    • /
    • 2004
  • Due to the rapid increase of human population and economic development, the natural ecosystem has been severely degraded. To restore the degraded ecosystem is extremely urgent and an important task in China. High biodiversity status in the natural ecosystem in tropical and subtropical regions in China has given high attention to the conservationists. The recent trends to the ecological restoration on degraded ecosystem in the tropical and subtropical regions of China were discussed for four different ecological recovery types: watershed ecosystems, wetlands, mining wastelands and mountain forests. The successful restoration case studies in tropical and subtropical regions of China were also discussed.

Ecological traits and distribution patterns of Osmia spp. in different regions and altitudes in South Korea

  • Kyu-Won Kwak;Kathannan Sankar;Su Jin Lee;Young-Bo Lee;Kyeong Yong Lee
    • International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
    • /
    • v.47 no.1
    • /
    • pp.25-33
    • /
    • 2023
  • Solitary bees, such as Osmia cornifrons, O. pedicornis, O. satoi, and O. taurus (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae), have the potential for cost-effective and sustainable pollination, necessitating a comprehensive understanding of their ecological traits to implement effective fertilization strategies for various crops. This study investigated the nesting rate of Osmia spp. in different regions and altitudes, using various trap types, and found that the highest nesting rate occurred at altitudes of 300-399 m a.s.l. and showing a preference for bamboo-type traps, with the Andong region having the highest nesting rate overall, indicating the influence of altitude, habitat area, and trap type on the density of Osmia spp. nests. The distribution and diversity of the four Osmia spp. in different regions and altitudes revealed variations in their occurrence, with O. pedicornis having the broadest distribution rate, particularly at altitudes above 300 m a.s.l.. The present study found significant differences between species in the cocoon masses of O. cornifrons, O. pedicornis, and O. taurus, with region and altitude influencing the masses of each species too.

Comparative Study of Regional-scale Ecological Risk Assessment used in Developed Countries (지역단위 생태위해성평가 선진국사례 분석)

  • Shin, Yu-Jin;Lee, Woo-Mi;An, Youn-Joo
    • Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
    • /
    • v.25 no.2
    • /
    • pp.169-177
    • /
    • 2010
  • Ecological risk assessment (ERA) has been used to establish environmental quality standards or evaluate ecological risk in site-specific areas. The scope of ERA was expanded based on regions, and the concept of regional-scale ecological risk assessment was recently introduced in developed countries. In the present study, regional ERA approaches of relative risk model (RRM), contaminants in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems (CATS) model, and procedure for ecological tired assessment of risks (PETAR) in advanced countries were extensively investigated. Regional ERA was compared with traditional ERA process. Stressors, receptor and response in traditional ERA were replaced with sources of stressors, habitats, and ecological impacts, respectively in regional ERA. This study introduces the concept and assessment process of regional ERA, and provides a wide perspective how the relative ERA could be applied in Korean ecosystem.

Improvement and Application for Environmental Conservation Value Assessment Map(ECVAM) of Nationwide Land in Korea

  • Lee, Moung-Jin;Jeon, Seong-Woo;Jo, Min-Jeong;Song, Won-Kyong;Kang, Byung-Jin
    • Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
    • /
    • v.23 no.5
    • /
    • pp.335-346
    • /
    • 2007
  • This study is aiming at improving the Environmental Conservation Value Assessment Map(ECVAM) of National Land in Korea. The ECVAM items are composed of legal and environmental/ecological assessments. A popular method applied to ECVAM is an overlay environmental/ecological assessment items. The purpose of this study is to offer complementary items of the ECVAM by examining assessment items. In this study we assessed the ECVAM by five methods. Method 1 is Grade 1 areas of each administrative district; Method 2 is comparing overlapped areas of each assessment items Grade 1, 2 and permission of each assessment items duplication; Method 3 is Grade 1, 2 areas by only singular assessment items; Method 4 is Grade 1 areas only of Method 2; and Method 5 is Grade 2 areas only of Method 2. Method 1 showed Seoul and other metropolitan cities revealed a large proportion of Grade I regions by the legal assessment items. Gang won-Do, showed a large proportion of Grade I regions by the environmental/ecological assessment item. Method 2 showed 93.4% of diameter Grade II(standard for stability); forest diameter item accounted for 99.9% by Method 3, Method 4 showed 95.7% of forest diameter, and forest density accounted for 66.4% by Method 5. This study contributes to reduce the complexity in the process of manufacturing ECVAM of National Land, and to raise the flexibility in the process of managing and updating this map.

The Importance Analysis of Experts on Eco-Cultural Regeneration Index in Island Regions (도서지역의 생태문화적 재생 요소에 대한 중요도 분석)

  • Byun, Byung-Seol;Shin, Sun-Mi
    • Journal of Wetlands Research
    • /
    • v.13 no.3
    • /
    • pp.687-696
    • /
    • 2011
  • This study induced ecological and cultural regeneration factors which can be introduced in island regions. And then, survey on recognition on importance was carried out with experts group. First of all, based on status and development trend of islands, farming and fishing village, ecological and marine city, eco-cultural regeneration factors fit to islands area were induced. Ecological regeneration factors were classified to land use, transportation system, buildings, and resources cycle. While cultural regeneration factors were classified to preservation, making tourism resources, and base facilities. This study compared recognition on importance by field such as occupation and major field. One-way ANOVA was used. As a result, this study compared recognition on importance about eco-cultural regeneration factors in island regions and suggested future direction.