• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
• /
• v.33 no.4
• /
• pp.422-439
• /
• 2019

The rear edge population is considered to have low genetic diversity and high risk of extinction according to a highly isolated distribution. However, the rear edge population is observed to have persisted for an extended period despite the low genetic diversity. As such, it is necessary to understand the ecological process involved in the persistence of the population. Viola mirabilis L. in Korea is considered the rear edge population from the perspective of the worldwide distribution. We surveyed the distribution range of V. mirabilis, which shows the isolated distribution in the central area of Korea, to find out the factors of its persistence. Next, we investigated and accessed the vegetational pattern of habitats, soil environment, phenology, self-compatibility, population structure, and extinction risk factors observed in the distribution area. V. mirabilis was distributed in the understory of the deciduous forest, planted forest of the deciduous conifer and deciduous broad-leaved trees, shrubland, and grassland in the limestone area. We also observed the re-establishment of seedlings in the population, and most of them showed a stable population structure. For chasmogamous flowers, the visit by pollinators has a significantly positive relationship with the production of fruits. However, we found that the production of the cleistogamous flowers was more numerous in all studied populations and that only the cleistogamous flowers were produced despite a more substantial plant size in some populations. The plant size was more related to the production of the cleistogamous flowers than that of the chasmogamous flowers. Accordingly, the cleistogamous flowers significantly contributed to seedling recruitment in the population. We found that the production of the chasmogamous flowers and the cleistogamous flowers did not have a correlation with the factors of the soil analysis except for phosphoric acid. V. mirabilis showed the self-incompatibility characteristics most likely due to the production capability of the cleistogamous flowers. Potential extinction risk factors observed in the distribution area was included the development of limestone mine, the expansion of agricultural fields, and the construction of houses. Although V. mirabilis showed an isolated distribution in the limestone area in the Korean peninsula, it showed a diverse distribution in a wide habitat environment ranging from the grassland to the understory of the trees with relatively low canopy closure rate. Moreover, we concluded that the persistence of the population was possible if we can maintain the current state of multiple populations and stable population structure.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
• /
• v.39 no.1
• /
• pp.108-118
• /
• 2021

The purpose of this study was to provide baseline ecological data for the conservation of the Manchurian trout habitat through the investigation of the growth status of Brachymystax lenok tsinlingensis, and Pearson's correlation analysis (PCA) between the B. lenok tsinlingensis population and the use of the land around Gyebangcheon stream. Sampling was conducted twice in July, September, and October 2018. During the July and September surveys, 882 individuals belonging to 13 species from six families were collected. The dominant species was Rhynchocypris kumgangensis and the subdominant species was Zacco koreanus. The total number of B. lenok tsinlingensis collected was 99. The results of the length-weight relationship in the B. lenok tsinlingensis population were analyzed with a regression coefficient b value of 3.1272 and a condition factor (k) value of 0.0006. Therefore, the growth condition of B. lenok tsinlingensis was regarded as fairly good. The QHEI(Qualitative habitat evaluation index) value in the B. lenok tsinlingensis habitat was 119.5(±0.5)-153.5(±0.5), indicating optimal-suboptimal conditions. As a result of the HIS (Habitat suitability index) analysis, it was confirmed that the optimal habitat for B. lenok tsinlingensis was 0.45-0.55m and >1 m in water depth, 0.55-0.65 m s^-1 in water velocity, and boulder in the substrate. The ratio of the land use in this study site was analyzed as 66.26-96.31% for forest and grassland areas, 0.00-23.79% for agricultural areas, 0.00-4.19% for urbanized areas, and 3.69-8.87% for others. Correlation analysis of the number of B. lenok tsinlingensis and various factors revealed statistically significant correlations between QHEI and forest and grassland areas, agricultural areas, and urbanized areas.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
• /
• v.40 no.2
• /
• pp.224-238
• /
• 2022

North Korea has actively participated in the international community related to environmental agreements. It has proposed various environmental policies internally since the Kim Jong-un regime. In particular, it emphasizes activities related to climate change response, the Sustainable Development Goals, and the conservation of ecosystems including forests and wetlands. In this study, a new security cooperation plan was proposed with an understanding of the climate crisis and environmental regime as a starting point. To this end, trends and recent activities for climate-environment cooperation in the international community and on the Korean Peninsula were analyzed. In addition, North Korea's conditions for cooperation on the Korean Peninsula, technology demand, and the projected future environment of the Korean Peninsula were dealt with. Ultimately, through advice of experts, we were able to discover cooperation agendas by sector and propose short-term and long-term environmental cooperation strategies for the Korean Peninsula based on them. In this study, conditions and directions for cooperation in fields of climate technology, biological resources, air/weather, water environment, biodiversity, renewable energy, bioenergy, and so on were considered comprehensively. Among 21 cooperation agendas discovered in this study, energy showed the largest number of areas. Renewable energy, forest resources, and environmental and meteorological information stood out as agendas that could be cooperated in the short term. As representative initiatives, joint promotion of 'renewable energy' that could contribute to North Korea's energy demand and carbon neutrality and 'forest cooperation' that could be recognized as a source of disaster reduction and greenhouse gas sinks were suggested.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
• /
• v.33 no.3
• /
• pp.280-291
• /
• 2019

A. antiquum, first observed in Jeju Samdo Island in 1949, was designated as the Natural Monument No. 18 in December 1962 in recognition of its academic value. In Korea, it grows in nature only in Samdo in Jeju Island. Although its natural habitat was greatly damaged and almost destroyed due to firewood, stealing, etc. After the emancipation, it has been maintained by the transplantation and restoration. The site observed by this study has been managed as a restricted area since 2011. Since it has been about 20 years since the restoration of the native site in the 2000s, it is necessary to check the official management history records, such as the origin of transplantation and restoration to monitor the changes in the growth status and to control the habitat. As the results of this study, we have secured the records of cultural property management history, such as the identification of native species and the transplantation and restoration records. We also examined the change of the growth and development of A. antiquum 20 years after the restoration. There are no official records of the individuals transplanted to the restored natural habitat of A. antiquum in the 1970s and 1980s, and there was a controversy about the nativeness of those individuals that were restored and transplanted in 1974 since they were Japanese individuals. The studies of identifying native as the results of this study, we have secured the records of cultural property management history, such as the identification of native species and the transplantation and restoration records. We also examined the change of the growth and development of A. antiquum 20 years after the restoration. There are two sites in natural habitat in Samdo Island. A total of 65 individuals grow in three layers on three stone walls in a site while 29 individuals grow in two columns in the other site. A. antiquum grows in an evergreen broad-leaved forest dominated by Neolitsea sericea, and we did not find any other individuals of naturally growing A. antiquum outside the investigated site. This study checked the distribution of A. antiquum seedlings observed initially after the restoration. There were more than 300 seedling individuals, and we selected three densely populated sites for monitoring. There were 23 A. antiquum seedlings with 4 - 17 leaves per individual and the leaf length of 0.5 - 20 cm in monitoring site 1. There were 88 individuals with 5 - 6 leaves per individual and the leaf length of 1.3 - 10.4 cm in monitoring site 2 while there were 22 individuals with 5 - 9 leaves per individual and the leaf length of 4.5 - 12.1 cm in monitoring site 3. Although the natural habitat of A. antiquum was designated as a restricted public area in 2011, there is a high possibility that the habitat can be damaged because some activities, such as fishing and scuba diving are allowed. Therefore, it is necessary to enforce the law strictly, to provide sufficient education for the preservation of natural treasures, and to present accurate information about cultural assets.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
• /
• v.13 no.1
• /
• pp.67-78
• /
• 1971

The measures of contour-terracing with sod has been executed as a major measures for hillside erosion control works for a long time in Korea. It is, however, recognized that pair terracings make a new slope-face having the more steeper degree of slope between the upper and the lower terraces on hillsides and it also does not contribute for establishing the natural vegetation-cover by penetration of pioneer seeds on the slope faces or cut-faces of hillsides. The study was therefore conducted in connection with the above problems on the cut-face having slope of $40^{\circ}$ and 1.6 meter in slope length with clay soils. Plot allocation for the experiment consists of 3 kinds of 3 replica plots having each $1.6m^2$ of slope area, i. e., the control plot with direct seeding on slopes only ($T_1$), the covering plot with the straw-mats after seeding on slopes ($T_2$) and the seeding plot after covering with the straw-mats. ($T_3$). The main results obtained may be summarized as follows : 1. Effects of the straw-mat mulchings on surface soil loss control:-The total amount of soil losses from each treatments are measured as 4,651 gr from $T_1$, 163 gr. from $T_2$ and 2,891 gr. from $T_3$ treatment respectively. (Refer to table No. 2, 3 and 4). In short, it is recognized that effect of $T_2$ treatment is compared as 28.5 times than that of $T_1$ treatment and 17.7 times than that of $T_3$ treatment respectively. Effect of $T_3$ treatment compared with $T_1$ treatment is also such recognizable as 1.6 times in control of surface soil losses on a slope face. 2. Effect of the straw-mat mulchings on soil moisture content on slopes; -Average per cent of surface soil moisture content by treatments show as 21.60 at the $T_1$, 23.04 at the $T_2$ and 22.21 at the $T_3$ treatment respectively and that of subsurface soil moisture content by treatment show as 23.81 at the $T_1$, 26.16 at the $T_2$ and 24.81 at the $T_3$ treatment respectively. The variance of soil moisture content by treatments was highly significant (Refer table No. 7, 8 and 9). 3. Effect of the straw-mat mulchings on vegetation establishment;-Average numbers of germination by treatments are counted as 237 Nos. at the $T_1$, 246 Nos. at the $T_2$ and 262 Nos. at the $T_3$ treatment plots and the vegetation coverage on ground was almost same as about 90% of covers in all treatments. This effect is more or less lower than that of surface soil erosion control. 4. Regarding the effect on surface soil erosion control, the straw-mat mulchings would be effective as a new measures for control of soil erosion on erosion susceptible lands such slope-faced bare-lands as cut-fill faces, mass-movement faces and bare hillsides.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• v.49 no.3
• /
• pp.197-207
• /
• 2016

This study aims at providing basic data to objectively evaluate the areas suitable for reintroduction of the species of Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus) in order to effectively preserve the Asiatic black bears in the Korean protection areas including national parks, and for the species restoration success. To this end, this study predicted the potential habitats in East Asia, Southeast Asia and India, where there are the records of Asiatic black bears' appearances using the Maxent model and environmental variables related with climate, topography, road and land use. In addition, this study evaluated the effects of the relevant climate and environmental variables. This study also analyzed inhabitation range area suitable for Asiatic black and geographic change according to future climate change. As for the judgment accuracy of the Maxent model widely utilized for habitat distribution research of wildlife for preservation, AUC value was calculated as 0.893 (sd=0.121). This was useful in predicting Asiatic black bears' potential habitat and evaluate the habitat change characteristics according to future climate change. Compare to the distribution map of Asiatic black bears evaluated by IUCN, Habitat suitability by the Maxent model were regionally diverse in extant areas and low in the extinct areas from IUCN map. This can be the result reflecting the regional difference in the environmental conditions where Asiatic black bears inhabit. As for the environment affecting the potential habitat distribution of Asiatic black bears, inhabitation rate was the highest, according to land coverage type, compared to climate, topography and artificial factors like distance from road. Especially, the area of deciduous broadleaf forest was predicted to be preferred, in comparison with other land coverage types. Annual mean precipitation and the precipitation during the driest period were projected to affect more than temperature's annual range, and the inhabitation possibility was higher, as distance was farther from road. The reason is that Asiatic black bears are conjectured to prefer more stable area without human's intervention, as well as prey resource. The inhabitation range was predicted to be expanded gradually to the southern part of India, China's southeast coast and adjacent inland area, and Vietnam, Laos and Malaysia in the eastern coastal areas of Southeast Asia. The following areas are forecast to be the core areas, where Asiatic black bears can inhabit in the Asian region: Jeonnam, Jeonbuk and Gangwon areas in South Korea, Kyushu, Chugoku, Shikoku, Chubu, Kanto and Tohoku's border area in Japan, and Jiangxi, Zhejiang and Fujian border area in China. This study is expected to be used as basic data for the preservation and efficient management of Asiatic black bear's habitat, artificially introduced individual bear's release area selection, and the management of collision zones with humans.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
• /
• v.24 no.4
• /
• pp.352-366
• /
• 2015

The purpose of this study is to offer the basic data to the habitat conservation and management by surveying and analysing the ecological characteristics such as the flora, vegetation structure and soil of Rhodotypos scandens habitat. The flora were summarized as 131 taxa including 57 families, 99 genera, 107 species, 1 subspecies, 17 varieties and 6 forms. The life forms grouped as in the follows; the megaphanerophytes(MM) were 21 taxa, 24 taxa of the microphanerophytes(M), 30 taxa of nanophanerophytes(N), 6 taxa of chamaiphytes(Ch), 20 taxa of hemicryptophytes(H), 17 taxa of geophytes(G), 12 taxa of therophytes(Th) and 1 taxa of hydrophytes(HH). The present conditions of communities were 8 types including Zelkova serrata, Quercus aliena, Ulmus parvifolia, Rhamnella frangulioides, Castanea crenata, Albizia julibrissin, Celtis sinensis and Robinia pseudoacacia. In case of the dominant species by layers, the tree layer species were Zelkova serrata, Quercus aliena, Ulmus parvifolia, Castanea crenata, Albizia julibrissin, Celtis sinensis and Robinia pseudoacacia, and the subtree layer species were Rhamnella frangulioides, Q. aliena, Z. serrata, A. julibrissin, U. parvifolia and Broussonetia kazinoki. The shrub layer species was Rhodotypos scandens. In the results of analyzing the diversity index, $H^{\prime}{_{max}}$ from 1.691 to 2.610, from 2.197 to 3.466 in H'max, from 0.646 to 0.903 in J' and from 0.097 to 0.354 in D. In the results of analysing the soil, there showed that acidity was 5.6, 0.5dS/m of electrical conductivity(EC), 59.1mg/kg of available $P_2O_5$, 49.7% of organic matter content, $0.4cmol^+/kg$ of exchangeable $K^+$, $13.5cmol^+/kg$ of exchangeable $Ca^{2+}$, $3.3cmol^+/kg$ of exchangeable $Mg^{2+}$.

• Natural Product Sciences
• /
• v.8 no.1
• /
• pp.1-15
• /
• 2002

An International Cooperative Biodiversity Group (ICBG) program based at the University of Illinois at Chicago initiated its activities in 1998, with the following specific objectives: (a) inventory and conservation of of plants of Cuc Phuong National Park in Vietnam and of medicinal plants of Laos; (b) drug discovery (and development) based on plants of Vietnam and Laos; and (c) economic development of communities participating in the ICBG project both in Vietnam and Laos. Member-institutions and an industrial partner of this ICBG are bound by a Memorandum of Agreement that recognizes property and intellectual property rights, prior informed consent for access to genetic resources and to indigenous knowledge, the sharing of benefits that may arise from the drug discovery effort, and the provision of short-term and long-term benefits to host country institutions and communities. The drug discovery effort is targeted to the search for agents for therapies against malaria (antimalarial assay of plant extracts, using Plasmodium falciparum clones), AIDS (anti-HIV-l activity using HOG.R5 reporter cell line (through transactivation of the green fluorescent protein/GFP gene), cancer (screening of plant extracts in 6 human tumor cell lines - KB, Col-2, LU-l, LNCaP, HUVEC, hTert-RPEl), tuberculosis (screening of extracts in the microplate Alamar Blue assay against Mycobacterium tuberculosis $H_{37}Ra\;and\;H_{37}Rv),$ all performed at UIC, and CNS-related diseases (with special focus on Alzheimer's disease, pain and rheumatoid arthritis, and asthma), peformed at Glaxo Smith Kline (UK). Source plants were selected based on two approaches: biodiversity-based (plants of Cuc Phuong National Park) and ethnobotany-based (medicinal plants of Cuc Phuong National Park in Vietnam and medicinal plants of Laos). At mc, as of July, 2001, active leads had been identified in the anti-HIV, anticancer, antimalarial, and anti- TB assay, after the screening of more than 800 extracts. At least 25 biologically active compounds have been isolated, 13 of which are new with anti-HIV activity, and 3 also new with antimalarial activity. At GSK of 21 plant samples with a history of use to treat CNS-related diseases tested to date, a number showed activity against one or more of the CNS assay targets used, but no new compounds have been isolated. The results of the drug discovery effort to date indicate that tropical plant diversity of Vietnam and Laos unquestionably harbors biologically active chemical entities, which, through further research, may eventually yield candidates for drug development. Although the substantial monetary benefit of the drug discovery process (royalties) is a long way off, the UIC ICBG program provides direct and real-term benefits to host country institutions and communities.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
• /
• v.6 no.3
• /
• pp.107-118
• /
• 2004

The flora of the vascular hydrophytes and hygrophytes and the change of flora according to the fluctuation of the water level before and after flooding were investigated from September 2002 to October 2003 in Woopo Wetland and Topyeong Stream, Changnyeong-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do, Korea. The flora of the Woopo, Mokpo, Sajipo, Jokjibyeol, Topyeongcheon Upstream, and Topyeongcheon Downstream were composed of 256, 242, 265, 177, 201, and 180 taxa, respectively. The flora of total study area was 86 families, 232 genera, 302 species, 42 varieties, 6 form, or total 350 taxa. Among them, hydrophytes, hygrophytes, and others were 36, 96, and 218 taxa, respectively. The life form of the vascular hydrophytes was classified as 19 taxa of emergent plants, 6 taxa of floating-leaved plants, 4 taxa of free-floating plants, and 7 taxa of submersed plants. The specified wild plants designated by the Korean Association for Conservation of Nature, Ministry of Forest, and Ministry of Environment were Euryale ferox, Hydrocharis dubia, Persicaria amphibia, Acorus calamus var. angustatus. And Aristolochia contorta was distributed in the study area. The floras of the naturalized plants of the Woopo, Mokpo, Sajipo, Jokjibyeol, Topyeongcheon Upstream, and Topyeongcheon Downstream were composed of 27, 25, 35, 21, 26 and 24 taxa, respectively. The flora of the naturalized plants of total study area was 43 taxa, this equalled 12.3% of total vascular plants in the study area. And 165~244 taxa were surveyed in the each study area before flooding, total 299 taxa, and 86~212 taxa after flooding, total 299 taxa. Among them, hydrophytes, hygrophytes, and others were 33 and 29, 93 and 83, 183 and 187 taxa before and after flooding, respectively. Before and after flooding, the species number of emergent plants, floating-leaved plants, free-floating plants, and submersed plants was nearly the same. It was guessed that vascular hydrophytes and hygrophytes adapted to fluctuation of the water level in the study area.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
• /
• v.25 no.2
• /
• pp.103-123
• /
• 2016

This study is a comparison of the flora and case studies distributed in Gulup-do Ongjingun, Incheon. The numbers of vascular plants were summarized as 282 taxa including 81 families, 201 genera, 252 species, 3 subspecies, 22 varieties and 5 forms. The Raunkiaer life forms are analyzed in hemicryptophytes were 66 taxa (23.4%) in dormancy form, non-clonal growth ($R_5$) were 160 taxa (56.7%) in propagation form of radicoid form, having no special modification for dissemination ($D_4$) were 197 taxa (48.6%) in propagation form of disseminule form, erect form (e) were 117 taxa (41.5%) in growth form. The halophytes were 23 taxa including Salsola collina, Asparagus oligoclonos and so on. The rare plants were 7 taxa including Pyrrosia hastata (VU), Senecio nemorensis (VU) and so on. The Korean endemic plants were 5 taxa including Hepatica insularis, Lespedeza maritima and so on. In the specific plants by floristic region were 38 taxa, a degree I were 23 taxa (Dictamnus dasycarpus, Vitex rotundifolia and so on), 6 taxa of a degree II (Morus cathayana, Euphorbia esula and so on), 8 taxa of a degree III (Pyrrosia hastata, Rhodotypos scandens and so on), Senecio nemorensis of a degree V and degree IV were not found. The naturalized plants were 17 taxa including Robinia pseudoacacia, Bromus tectorumand so on. Of those Ambrosia artemisiifolia is a invasive alien plants. Naturalization rate (NR) was 6.0% of all 282 taxa of vascular plants and urbanization index (UI) was 5.3% of all 321 taxa of naturalized plants. Gulup-do and adjacent Baega-do were locally investigated field work and it summarizes the results of a total of 41 islands literature in Ongjin-gun and Ganghwa-gun, Incheon including uninhabited islands, Baengnyeong-do, Daecheong-do and so on. The average number of species were each analyzed in about 89 taxa, rare plants are about 2 taxa, endemic plants are about 1 taxa, naturalized plants are about 4 taxa. This study was the comparison of the flora and literature distribution case that the Gulup-do maintain the naturalness and continuously conducted to explore the future conservation measures the adjacent islands.