• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.126-136
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• 2017

We describe characteristics of diversity and distribution of oak forests on the Daegok-cheon gorge of the Southeastern Korean Peninsula, the oldest prehistoric site, in view of a sort of food resources of acorns. The $Z{\ddot{u}}rich$-Montpellier School's method was adopted for field investigation on the oak dominant stands. A total of 20 phytosociological $relev\acute{e}s$ composed of 193 taxa were analyzed by syntaxonomy and ecological flora. The Daegok-cheon's oak forests occupied 36.9% ($513,374m^2$) of the surveyed area, and its 99% ($507,677m^2$) was Quercus variabilis and Q. serrata stands. Oak forests of the Daegok-cheon gorge are a kind of regional vegetation type characterizing by the high relative net contribution degree (r-NCD) of Platycarya strobilacea and Sapium japonicum, which are an edaphic type of the xerophilous and thermophilic oak forests. The region of the Daegok-cheon petroglyphs is defined as an ecoregion with rich acorn supply and abundant water resources, and the warmer environment, which attracts prehistoric man.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.268-287
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• 2022

This study reports newly discovered seven forest wetlands in the western part of the Korean Demilitarized Zone-Civilian Control Zone ecoregion. The wetland assessment criteria proposed by National Arboretum were adopted to evaluate four fields: vegetation and landscape, biogeochemical cycle, hydraulics and hydrology, and social-cultural-historical landscape and disturbances. Among seven wetlands located in Gimpo and Paju, five were of the fallow field type and two were of the natural type. A total of 474 plant species were recorded, including nine rare plants, such as the Carex capricornis Meinsh. ex Maxim. Three forest wetlands were sorted into A-grade, three into B-grade, and one into C-grade. Monitoring forest wetlands scattered across the border area ruled by military regulations can be challenging; still, as forest wetlands with high conservation value turned out, further investigations through remote sensing and cooperation by the relevant agencies will be required.

• The Korean Journal of Malacology
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.19-31
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• 2010

Seogundo is a small island adjacent to the southern coast of Jeju Island and connected to it by a boulder beach at low tide Surveys of this area were conducted from 2001 to 2009 to enumerate the mollusks there and also to examine their diversity, relative abundance, and ecological relationships. Both the boulder beach itself and several large tide pools were studied, including the coarse sand substrate and several species of seaweed and coralline algae found in the tide pools. Of the 121 species obtained or observed, there were 97 gastropods, 16 bivalves, and 8 polyplacophorans. Live specimens were obtained for about half of those species. About one third were found on rocky substrate, with the most common species being Nodilittorina radiata and Nerita japonica in the upper intertidal zone, N. radiata and Littorina brevicula in the middle intertidal, and Turbo (Lunella) coronata coreensis and Acanthopleura japonica in the lower intertidal and shallow subtidal. The seaweeds and coralline algae contained about 40% of all mollusk species. The most common mollusks in two species of brown seaweed were Ittibittum parcum, Musculus nanus, and Euplica scripta. In a species of red seaweed, Komaitrochus pulcher was the most frequent, as in the coralline algae, along with M. nanus. The coarse sand in the tidepools contained about 25% of the species, with the Cerithiidae having the largest number. A sample of beach drift contained 17 species, with Bittium aleutaceum and Rissoina (Phosinella) pura being most common. Most species, about 60%, were found in a variety of habitats, especially the marine flora; few species exhibited any habitat preferences. Biographically, Jeju Island is part of the Warm Temperate Northwest Pacific Province and the East China Sea ecoregion with a strong faunal affinity with southern Japan, eastern China, and northeastern Taiwan. Zonal-geographical groupings reveal that the fauna is mainly subtropical-low boreal, preferring moderately warm water, with a somewhat smaller number of tropical-subtropical species.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.249-260
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• 2022

This mini review examines the habitat connectivity and effectiveness of Korean Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the Yellow Sea Large Marine Ecosystem (YSLME) region. We first reemphasize that the Korean region of the YSLME is a single ecosystem (ecoregion) given the biophysical distribution patterns. The MPAs within the YSLME contribute about 50% to the total MPAs in Korea, accounting for about 10% of the territorial sea waters of Korea and 20% of the waters of YSLME on the Korean side. By area, national parks account for nearly 45% of the MPAs, followed by the wetland protected areas at 25%, with other types of MPA comprising the remaining 30%. Large MPA (> 100 km²) is the dominant type of MPA, accounting for 90% of the total area. We find that MPAs in the region are connected physically and perhaps also genetically. However, the level of protection was found to be low, and a no-take zone is rarely implemented. In addition, interrupted freshwater discharge caused by river-mouth dams poses a major hindrance to the physical connectivity of the MPAs. Restoration of the river-mouth dams and strengthened regulation on MPAs, with further expansion of MPAs in line with the current development of post-2020 global biodiversity frameworks, should be priorities for better management of marine resources. The newly revised law incorporating the concept of "Marine Ecosystem Axis Management" would reinforce the processes, and their effectiveness together with overall management of MPAs in Korea should be evaluated by designing appropriate measurement tools.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.215-231
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• 2020

Forest landscape models (FLMs) can be used to investigate the complex interactions of various ecological processes and patterns, which makes them useful tools to evaluate how environmental and anthropogenic variables can influence forest ecosystems. However, due to the large spatio-temporal scales in FLMs studies, parameterization and validation can be extremely challenging when applying to new study areas. To address this issue, we focused on the parameterization and application of a spatially explicit forest landscape model, LANDIS-II, to Mt. Gyebang, South Korea, with the use of the National Forest Inventory (NFI) and long-term ecological research (LTER) site data. In this study, we present the followings for the biomass succession extension of LANDIS-II: 1) species-specific and spatial parameters estimation for the biomass succession extension of LANDIS-II, 2) calibration, and 3) application and validation for Mt. Gyebang. For the biomass succession extension, we selected 14 tree species, and parameterized ecoregion map, initial community map, species growth characteristics. We produced ecoregion map using elevation, aspect, and topographic wetness index based on digital elevation model. Initial community map was produced based on NFI and sub-alpine survey data. Tree species growth parameters, such as aboveground net primary production and maximum aboveground biomass, were estimated from PnET-II model based on species physiological factors and environmental variables. Literature data were used to estimate species physiological factors, such as FolN, SLWmax, HalfSat, growing temperature, and shade tolerance. For calibration and validation purposes, we compared species-specific aboveground biomass of model outputs and NFI and sub-alpine survey data and calculated coefficient of determination (R²) and root mean square error (RMSE). The final model performed very well, with 0. 98 R² and 8. 9 RMSE. This study can serve as a foundation for the use of FLMs to other applications such as comparing alternative forest management scenarios and natural disturbance effects.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.512-527
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• 2012

Jangdo Island (area $1.54km^2$) located in the western end of Dadohae Haesang National Park has been recognized as an prominent ecoregion possessing high moor and national biodiversity hotspot. In terms of the Z$\ddot{u}$rich-Montpellier School's phytosociology, we investigate the diversity of plant communities on the island and reevaluate the Jangdo wetland designated as Ramsar site. Ten physiognomic types of the Jangdo's vegetation were classified into 22 syntaxa (3 associations, 15 communities and 4 subcommunities). Jangdo wetland was actually denominated as 'eutrophic wetland' by Pharagmitetea and Orizetea rather than 'high moor'. Nevertheless, existence value of the Jangdo wetland is evaluated very high as a stepping stone for migratory birds and even plant dispersions. A new site of the northernmost distribution of Arachniodo-Castanopsietum sieboldii, which is a kind of cold-resistant phytocoenosis among the Camellietea japonicae of the warm-temperate broad-leaved forests, was described. Hosta yingeri-Carpinus turczaninovii var. coreana community and Carex wahuensis var. robusta-Juniperus chinensis var. procumbens community were described specifically as an endemic and an edaphic vegetation type, respectively. The unique Jangdo's vegetation reflects regional environmental conditions such as much higher frequency of frost-free days and the highest number of annual average foggy days in Korea and a well-developed aquifer in the depressed basin formed by differential erosion. We identified that human interventions (pasture, logging, forest fire, cultivation, etc.) has been involved intensively on every vegetation types, even though a rugged and inaccessible topography of the island. Particularly the Jangdo wetland has been recently threatened by fundamental distortion on hydrological system. We request an immediate establishment of the conservation prescription manual.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.677-684
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• 2022

This study is a basic study to evaluate the ecological environment of Changwon City. The study site was 6 ecotourism districts in Changwon-si, and the ecotourism index was evaluated through direct visits and interviews with the person in charge through preliminary research and various literature data from June to July 2021. There are six ecotourism indicators: climate crisis, air quality improvement, water conservation, natural coexistence, citizen participation, and tourism resource management. When looking at the scores for the six ecotourism areas in Changwon, it received the highest score in the areas of natural coexistence and air quality improvement. However, the ecoregion received the lowest score in the water resource conservation category, indicating that the water resource conservation as a whole was weak. Next, tourism resource management, climate crisis, and citizen participation are at the same level in all regions. As a result of the evaluation through the low-carbon ecotourism index, the Changwon City low-carbon ecotourism certification system should first be operated as a measure to revitalize the ecotourism region. It is necessary to prepare a low-carbon ecotourism level for Changwon City. Second, it is very important to guide and promote ecotourism areas to revitalize ecotourism areas. Lastly, to operate a sustainable eco-environment area, it is necessary to operate using local governance above all else.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.24-35
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• 2023

Rapid industrialization and urbanization have led to severe marine pollution. A Water Quality Index (WQI) has been developed to allow the effective management of marine pollution. However, the WQI suffers from problems with loss of information due to the complex calculations involved, changes in standards, calculation errors by practitioners, and statistical errors. Consequently, research on the use of artificial intelligence techniques to predict the marine and coastal WQI is being conducted both locally and internationally. In this study, six techniques (RF, XGBoost, KNN, Ext, SVM, and LR) were studied using marine environmental measurement data (2000-2020) to determine the most appropriate artificial intelligence technique to estimate the WOI of five ecoregions in the Korean seas. Our results show that the random forest method offers the best performance as compared to the other methods studied. The residual analysis of the WQI predicted score and actual score using the random forest method shows that the temporal and spatial prediction performance was exceptional for all ecoregions. In conclusion, the RF model of WQI prediction developed in this study is considered to be applicable to Korean seas with high accuracy.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.209-220
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• 2023

Over the past few centuries, widespread changes to natural ecosystems caused by human activities have severely threatened biodiversity worldwide. Understanding changes in ecosystems is essential to identifying and managing threats to biodiversity. In line with this need, the IUCN Council formed the IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (GET) in 2019, taking into account the functions and types of ecosystems. The IUCN provides maps of 10 ecosystem groups and 108 ecological functional groups (EFGs) on a global scale. According to the type classification of IUCN GET ecosystems, Korea's ecosystem is classified into 8 types of Realm (level 1), 18 types of Biome (level 2), and 41 types of Group (level 3). GETs provided by IUCN have low resolution and often do not match the actual land status because it was produced globally. This study aimed to increase the accuracy of Korean IUCN GET type classification by using land cover maps and producing maps that reflected the actual situation. To this end, we ① reviewed the Korean GET data system provided by IUCN GET and ② compared and analyzed it with the current situation in Korea. We evaluated the limitations and usability of the GET through the process and then ③ classified Korea's new Get type reflecting the current situation in Korea by using the national data as much as possible. This study classified Korean GETs into 25 types by using land cover maps and existing national data (Territorial realm: 9, Freshwater: 9, Marine-territorial: 5, Terrestrial-freshwater: 1, and Marine-freshwater-territorial: 1). Compared to the existing map, "F3.2 Constructed lacustrine wetlands", "F3.3 Rice paddies", "F3.4 Freshwater aquafarms", and "T7.3 Plantations" showed the largest area reduction in the modified Korean GET. The area of "T2.2 Temperate Forests" showed the largest area increase, and the "MFT1.3 Coastal saltmarshes and reedbeds" and "F2.2 Small permanent freshwater lakes" types also showed an increase in GET area after modification. Through this process, the existing map, in which the sum of all EFGs in the existing GET accounted for 8.33 times the national area, was modified so that the total sum becomes 1.22 times the national area using the land cover map. This study confirmed that the existing EFG, which had small differences by type and low accuracy, was improved and corrected. This study is significant in that it produced a GET map of Korea that met the GET standard using data reflecting the field conditions.