• Title/Summary/Keyword: environmental/ecological assessments

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Preliminary Ecological Environmental Assessments of a Brooklet in Jeungchon (증촌 도랑의 생태환경 조사와 평가)

  • Han, Jeong-Ho;An, Kwang-Guk
    • Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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    • v.21 no.6
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    • pp.841-857
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    • 2012
  • Preliminary ecological environmental assessments including physico-chemical constituents, water quality, fish fauna analysis, physical habitat health, and ecological health assessment were conducted as a primary step for Jeungchon micro-habitat ecosystem restoration in 2012. Water chemistry analysis of conductivity, dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll-a and etc. indicated that there were no significant differences(p < 0.05) among 6 sites between the headwaters and downstream. Multi-metric model analysis of Qualitative Habitat Evaluation Index(QHEI) showed that brooklets were at "good condition" as a mean QHEI of 158.7(n = 6) and the longitudinal differences of the model values between the sites were minor(QHEI range: 153 - 165). Total fish species and the number of individuals were 12 and 481, respectively, and dominant species were Zacco platypus(49.5%) and Zacco koreanus(36.8%). Tolerance guild analysis showed that the proportion of sensitive species($S_S$) had a negative linear function[$S_S=86.35-0.31(D_H)$; $R^2$ = 0.892, p < 0.01] with a distance from the headwaters, while the proportion of tolerant species($T_S$) had a positive linear function($R^2$ = 0.950, F = 90.28, p < 0.001) with the distance. Trophic feeding guild analysis showed that the proportion of insectivore species($I_n$) had a negative linear function($R^2$ = 0.934, p < 0.01) with a distance from the headwaters, while the proportion of omnivore species($O_m$) had a positive linear function($R^2$ = 0.958, p < 0.001) with the distance. Index of Biological Integrity(IBI) model, based on fish assemblages, showed a "fair condition" as a mean IBI of 23(n = 6), and there was a distinct differences of ecological health between the headwaters(S1 = 30; "good condition") and the downstreams(S6 = 14; "poor condition"). Overall, the preliminary environmental impact assessments suggest that water quality, physical habitat conditions(QHEI model), and ecological health(IBI model) were maintained well, even if the state was not an excellent conditions.

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
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    • v.23 no.5
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    • pp.335-346
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    • 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.

Schemes for Assessing Ecosystem Impacts in the Offshore Wind Siting Processes of European Countries and Implications for Korea (유럽 주요 국가 해상풍력 입지 선정 과정에서 생태계 영향을 평가하는 제도와 한국에 주는 함의)

  • Seunghyeok Ahn;Yoonmie Soh;Hojae Ryu;Jihun Ha;Younghoi Cha;Sun-Jin Yun
    • Journal of Wind Energy
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    • v.15 no.3
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    • pp.5-20
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    • 2024
  • This study examines how ecological impacts are addressed in the siting processes of European countries that are international leaders in offshore wind energy, and draws implications for Korea. The United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, and Denmark are the countries with the most offshore wind installations after China. These European countries conduct strategic environmental assessments (SEAs) and appropriate assessments (AAs) at both the overall site planning stage and the individual site decision stage to evaluate ecological impacts from offshore wind power. In the UK, the SEA and AA for offshore wind are conducted separately at different stages of the siting process. Germany has three siting stages, and the Netherlands and Denmark have two siting stages, each of which includes both an SEA and an AA. Compared to the SEA, which assesses overall ecological impacts, the AA is limited to impacts on Natura 2000 sites, a network of protected areas for species and habitats. The ecological impacts of offshore wind are examined for birds, bats, marine mammals, fish, and benthic organisms.

Current Status and Perspective of Biological Assessments of Water Environment in Korea (우리나라 생물학적 물환경평가의 현황과 미래)

  • Hwang, Soon-Jin;Kim, Nan-Young;Won, Doo Hee;An, Kwang Kuk;Lee, Jae Kwan;Kim, Chang Soo;Shin, Jae-Ki
    • Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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    • v.22 no.5
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    • pp.757-767
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    • 2006
  • Biological assessments are the primary tool for evaluating the biological condition of a water body and makes it possible to understand accumulative and long-term effect of stressors. They also provide reliable biological information for which disturbed systems are to be restored. Sustainable water environment is not enough with attaining only the clean water, but it should sustain healthy and diverse aquatic life. Aquatic organisms are affected by various factors, including not only water quality but also habitat condition and stressors, and thus good condition of both physical and chemical water quality is prerequisite for sustaining healthy organisms. Therefore, biological assessment, along with other physical and chemical assessments, are crucial for evaluating the health of a water body. Overall, sustainability of water environment demands the attainment and maintenance of ecological integrity, which is resulted from the combination of physical, chemical and biological integrity. The biological criteria will play very important role in the water resource management and policy issues, and thus bioassessment program should be fully implemented and supported eventually by the law. To keep ecosystem health of water environment safely from the toxic pollutants and other stressors, the following suggestions need to be considered in environmental quality standards in Korea. For the first step, the biological indicators need to be introduced in evaluating river quality condition; they provide a qualitative description of biological condition of water body. Secondly, the biological water quality standards using biotic indices should be developed and implemented under the consideration of characteristics of Korean river systems. Lastly, the ecological status classification regime (ESCR) should be developed and introduced; it could be used in quality assessment of the water environment in general. In developing ESCR, integration of physico-chemical, biological, and habitat parameters should be taken into account.

Selection of Mitigation Scenarios Based on Prediction of the Dispersion Impact of Ecosystem-Disturbing Plant Species on Ecosystems (생태계교란식물의 확산 영향 예측에 따른 저감대책 시나리오 선정)

  • Lee, Sang-Wook;Kim, Yoon-Ji;Chung, Hye-In;Lee, Ji-Yeon;Yoo, Young-Jae;Lee, Gwan-Gyu;Sung, Hyun-Chan;Jeon, Seong-Woo
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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    • v.27 no.4
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    • pp.15-27
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    • 2024
  • Ecosystem-disturbing plant species pose a significant threat to native ecosystems due to their high reproductive capacity, making it essential to monitor their distribution and develop effective mitigation strategies. Consequently, it is crucial to enhance the evaluation of the impacts of these species in environmental impact assessments by incorporating scientific evidence alongside qualitative assessments. This study introduces a dispersal model into the species distribution model to simulate the potential spread of ecosystem-disturbing plant species, reflecting their ecological characteristics. Additionally, we developed mitigation scenarios and quantitatively calculated reduction rates to propose effective mitigation strategies. The species distribution model showed a reliable AUC (Area Under the Curve) of at least 0.890. The dispersal model's results were also credible, with 31 out of 34 validation coordinates falling within the predicted spread range. Simulating the impact of the spread of ecosystem-disturbing plant species over the next five years revealed that one project site had potential habitats for Ambrosia artemisiifolia, necessitating robust mitigation measures such as seed removal. Another project site, with potential habitats for Symphyotrichum pilosum, indicated that physical removal methods within the site were effective due to the species' relatively short dispersal distance. These findings can serve as fundamental data for project executors and reviewers in evaluating the impact of the spread of ecosystem-disturbing plant species during the planning stages of projects.

THE WATERSHED MANAGEMENT AND ASSESSMENT USING GIS BASED ON HYDROLOGICAL AND LANDSCAPE ECOLOGICAL ANALYSIS

  • Lee, Ju-Young;Hopkins, James
    • Water Engineering Research
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    • v.7 no.1
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    • pp.9-20
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    • 2006
  • The watersheds are functional geographical areas that integrate a variety of environmental and ecological processes and human impacts on landscapes. Geographical assessments using GIS recognize the relationship between interdependence of resources and ecological/environmental components in watersheds. They are useful methodology for viable long term natural resource management. This paper performs through the using hydrological analyses, landscape ecological analyses, remote sensing, and GIS. Indicators are items or measures that represent key components of the small watersheds, and they are developed to be evaluated. Some indicators are described that they represent watershed condition and trend as well as focus on physical, biological and chemical properties of small watershed. Also, ecological functions such as stability, resilience, and sensitivity are inferred from them. The model implemented in GIS allows to reflect the ecological and hydrological functioning of watershed. Methodology from image analysis, landscape ecological analysis, spatial interpolation, and numerical process modeling are integrated within GIS to provide assessment for eco-logical/environmental condition. Results are described from the small watershed of Gwynns Falls in Baltimore County and Baltimore City, Maryland, an area of about 66.5 square miles. The small watershed within Gwynns Falls watershed are subject to a number of land-use. But it is predominantly urban, with significantly lesser amounts of forest and agriculture. The increasing urbanization is ass-coiated with ecological/environmental impacts and citizen conflicts.

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