• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.109 no.1
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• pp.1-22
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• 2020

In order to evaluate the vertical distribution and distributional pattern of vascular plants in the Samga district of Sobaeksan National Park, vascular plants were surveyed along a hiking trail from the Samga Tour Support Center to the top of a mountain. The elevation range was divided into 11 sections with 100 m intervals from 400 m to 1439 m above sea level.A total of 375 taxa were listed, comprising 92 families, 235 genera, 332 species, 3 subspecies, 37 varieties, and 3 forms. The pattern of species richness along the elevational gradient showed a reverse hump-shaped trend. The species distribution pattern was positively correlated with the soil exchangeable cations Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺, soil pH, available phosphate, and the warmth index. Furthermore, slope, soil moisture content, and soil exchangeable cations were significantly correlated with species distribution. DCA grouped herb species into two groups. Stands of each section were sequentially arranged from 400 m to 1500 m along an altitudinal gradient. Soil moisture content, soil pH, soil K²⁺ and Na²⁺, available phosphate, and slope were significantly correlated with stand distribution. This study provides important data that could be useful for conservation and the sustainable use of biodiversity in the study area. In order to understand the ecological and environmental characteristics and distribution of plant species, it will be necessary to continuously develop relative studies with continuous monitoring.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.54 no.5
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• pp.581-594
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• 2021

In 2020, about 132 million m³ of aggregate was produced in Korea. Of the total domestic aggregates produced in 2020, about 33.3 % was sand and about 66.7% was gravel. It estimated that of the 132 million m³ of aggregates in Korea in 2020, about 52% was produced by screening crushed aggregate, by 36% by forest aggregate, 3% by land aggregate, 5.6% by sea aggregate and 2.5% by washing each other, and 0.4% by river aggregate. This indicates that screening crushed aggregate and forest aggregate are the main producers of domestic aggregates. Leading producing metropolitan cities were Gyeonggi-do, Gyeongsangnam-do, Chungcheongbuk-do, Gangwon-do, Chungcheongnam-do, Incheon in order decreasing volume, which together accounted for about 72.4% of total product. In 2020, aggregates were produced in 153 cities, about 67% of the 231 cities of Korea, 38 local governments have developed aggregates of more than 1 million m³, and the combined production of the 38 cities accounted for about 65% of national total. This means that the aggregate extraction trend of local governments is becoming larger and more concentrated. In 2020, at 153 local governments, a total of 889 operations produced aggregates with 420 operations by permission, 469 operations by declaration. A review of production by size of operation indicated that about 17 million m³ (12.8% of the total aggregate) was produced by 14 operations reporting production of more than 1 million m³. In about 420 operations, the maximum period of permit is 32 years to at least 2 months. When the remaining period of permit is taken into account, only about 55% of active operations can be developed the aggregate after 2021. In order to maintain the permitted aggregate volume by 2020 level, it will be necessary to obtain an extension permit or find new operation sites for at least 200 or more operations.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.109 no.4
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• pp.371-381
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• 2020

The Ministry of Environment (ME) is planning to adopt in 2020 the IUCN regional Red List for "Guidelines for listing and delisting rare & endangered species and management of endangered Species System". The ME designated 377 species of vascular plants on the regional Red List. In a previous study it had been suggested that 103 species from this list are candidates for the regional Red List. With respect to a possible Red List, we assessed 59 species (after excluding 34 additional NA species and ten endemic species). These assessments indicated that 16 species are at the "threatened" level. Of those, one species is Critically Endangered, ten are Endangered, and five are Vulnerable. A further four species are classified as Near Threatened, 30 as Of Least Concern, and nine as Data Deficient. We found that most of the assessments proposed by the Ministry of Environment were not supported by scientific data, including quantitative geographic data (over 70%) in Criteria B. In order to determine the endangered species belonging to the orchid family, it is necessary to obtain records of illegal activities or data on overcollection. The current problem with the Ministry of Environment Red List has been the lack of management of scientific data on species showing a trend in decreasing population in the mid- to long-term; thus, there is a lack of critical resources for policy-makers. The ME legally designated categories and assessment, and the lack of expertise in failing to comply with the legal law by itself. The key to presenting an accurate overview of the state of Korean flora is to fill the information gaps with respect to significant geographical and taxonomical biases in the quality and quantity of data. By regularly updating the qualified data, we will be able to track the changes in the conservation status of the flora and inform the necessary conservation policies.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.87-92
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• 2005

The study was performed using of ethanol and water extracts of Fatsia japonica Decne. et Planch. in anticancer and immune activities. All extracts of 1.0 $g/{\ell}$ concentration were increased in over 60% of the anticancer activites in A549 and MCF7 cells. Root barks inhibited 55%, 74% in A549 and MCF7 cell by adding ethanol extracts of $g/{\ell}$ concentration. The cytotoxicity of human lung nomal cell (HEL299) counted up to about 22% for ethanol extracts of root barks in 1 $g/{\ell}$ concentration. The activity of human immune T and B cells were increased up to $140{\sim}170%$ by adding ethanol extract of the root barks. Increasing trend of secretion of cytokine (IL-6, $TNF-{\alpha}$) from human B and T cell for 5 days cultivation has been abserved. From the results, the anticancer and immune-stimulatory activities of the roots extract were higher than the extracts of other parts.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.128-148
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• 2019

Massive environmental monitoring has been conducted continuously since the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power accident in March of 2011 by different monitoring methods that have different features together with migration studies of radiocesium in diverse environments. These results have clarified the characteristics of radiological environments and their temporal change around the Fukushima site. At three months after the accident, multiple radionuclides including radiostrontium and plutonium were detected in many locations; and it was confirmed that radiocesium was most important from the viewpoint of long-term exposure. Radiation levels around the Fukushima site have decreased greatly over time. The decreasing trend was found to change variously according to local conditions. The air dose rates in environments related to human living have decreased faster than expected from radioactive decay by a factor of 2-3 on average; those in pure forest have decreased more closely to physical decay. The main causes of air dose rate reduction were judged to be radioactive decay, movement of radiocesium in vertical and horizontal directions, and decontamination. Land-use categories and human activities have significantly affected the reduction tendency. Difference in the air dose rate reduction trends can be explained qualitatively according to the knowledge obtained in radiocesium migration studies; whereas, the quantitative explanation for individual sites is an important future challenge. The ecological half-lives of air dose rates have been evaluated by several researchers, and a short-term half-life within 1 year was commonly observed in the studies. An empirical model for predicting air dose rate distribution was developed based on statistical analysis of an extensive car-borne survey dataset, which enabled the prediction with confidence intervals. Different types of contamination maps were integrated to better quantify the spatial data. The obtained data were used for extended studies such as for identifying the main reactor that caused the contamination of arbitrary regions and developing standard procedures for environmental measurement and sampling. Annual external exposure doses for residents who intended to return to their homes were estimated as within a few millisieverts. Different forms of environmental data and knowledge have been provided for wide spectrum of people. Diverse aspects of lessons learned from the Fukushima accident, including practical ones, must be passed on to future generations.

• Journal of Korea Soil Environment Society
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.41-51
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• 1998

The research was conducted to measure the heavy metal pollution of soils and vegetations adjacent to the closed Daeseong coal mine in Keumsan, Chungnam. The studied area was divided into two sites ; the coal-bearing polluted and the non-polluted without coal. The samples of the weathered soils and vegetations(Miscnthus sinenis(MS) and Pinus rigida(PR)) were collected from both area. Cr, Mo, Ni, and Fe concentrations were high in the polluted soils, whereas Co, Sc, and Zn concentrations were high in the non-polluted soils. In the vegetations, Co, Cr, Sc, and Fe concentrations in the roots of MS and PR growing on the polluted sites were higher than the above-ground. However, on the non-polluted sites, Mo and Ni concentrations had an opposite trend. In the above-ground parts, high heavy metal concentrations (except Cr) were shown in MS of the non-polluted sites, whereas in the roots, heavy metal concentrations (except Zn) were high in the polluted sites. In the average heavy metal concentrations of two plants, most elements (except Zn) were lower in the plants than the soils. Comparing with vegetations and adjacent forest soils, heavy metal concentrations of the MS were similar to those of soil concentrations relative to the PR, suggesting that absorptions of the elements were higher in the MS than the PR.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.18 no.12
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• pp.1712-1717
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• 2008

Volatile flavor compounds of onions were analyzed and compared during storage at $0.5^{\circ}C$, which harvested in 6 regions, such as Muan, Buan, Andong and 3 regions of Changnyeong (Yueo, Jangma and Seongsan). A total of 45 compounds were detected in samples by solid phase microextraction (SPME)/GC/MSD, consisting mainly of sulfur-containing compounds (21), aldehydes (13), ketones (2) and miscellaneous compounds (9). The sulfur-containing compounds were major compounds with ranges of $66.9{\sim}86.9%$ of total volatiles in 0 day of storage as regardless of harvested regions. Three regions (Yueo, Seongsan and Muan) had high amounts of over 4,043 ng/g in 0 day of storage, whereas 2 regions (Muan and Yueo) only had amounts of over 2,400 ng/g after 60 days of storage. Five sulfur-containing compounds known as having antioxidant activity (2,4-, 2,5-dimetylthiophene, 2-vinyl-1,3-dithiane, 5-methoxy thiazole and 3,5-diethyl-1,2,4-trithiolane and isomer) were the high levels in 3 regions (Yueo, Seongsan and Muan) during 60 day of storage. These 3 regions had also the highest amounts in 5 sulfur-containing compounds known as having anticarcinogenic activity ((Z)-, (E)-methyl propenyl disulfide, (Z)-, (E)-propenyl propyl disulfide, and di-2-propenyl disulfide) and kept same trend after 60 days of storage.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.243-248
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• 2018

This study was carried out to clarify changes in community structure of Quercus acutissima dominant stand on the south slope of Mt. Danseok-san with fixed twenty quadrates. Five field surveys were conducted from Aug. 1999 to May 2018. During the period, the density lessened to 0.20 in 2012 comparing with 0.33 in 1999. However recent field study in 2018 showed moderate rising to 0.24. In 1999, the DBH class distribution of all trees formed reverse J curve. However, the reverse J curve was torn down, forming bell curve. In 2018, the curve showed similar shape of reverse J shape on the group of young trees, forming bell shape on the group of mature trees. It reveals that DBH 13cm is on the threshold of trees competition trend where the downtrend in the trees are on uptrend. The most dominant Q. acutissima formed bell curve. The peak of the curve shows the shift to the right of the graph as it gets lower by year.In case of Q. mongolica, shows a change in the shape of a low bell as the distribution curve increases. The oak stand in this study is in the process of changing from the initial stage of the secondary forest succession to the intermediate stage. The most dominant tree is Q. acutissima, and the sub-dominant tree is Q. mongolica in present. Considering the age distribution of the two competing tree species, the succession of this stand is expected to transfer to the Q. mongolica-dominant community.

• Journal of Integrative Natural Science
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.38-43
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• 2011

The recent global warming may be estimated to give lots of impacts to the human society and biosphere of influencing climate change included by the natural climate variations through the human activity which can directly and/or indirectly play a major role of total atmospheric composition overall. Therefore it currently appears evidences such as hot wave, typhoon, and biosphere disturbance, etc. over the several regions to be influenced by global warming due to increasing the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere through inducing forest destruction, fossil fuel combustion, greenhouse gases emission, etc. since industrial revolution era. Through the working group report of IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) for climate change was analyzed by the individual country's current status and figure out the important issues and problems related to the future trend of climate change science with advanced countries preparedness and research, In this study, the first working group report of IPCC focuses on those aspects of the current understanding of the physical science of climate change that are judged to be most relevant to policymakers. As this report was assessed and analyzed by including the progress of climate change science, the role of climate models and evolution in the treatment of uncertainties. This consists of the changes in atmospheric constituents(both aerosols and gases) that affect the radiative energy balance in the atmosphere and determine the Earth's climate, considering the interaction between biogeochemical cycles that affect atmospheric constituents and climate change, including aerosol/cloud interactions, the extensive range of observations snow available for the atmosphere and surface, for snow, ice, and frozen ground and for the oceans, respectively and changes in sea level, the paleoclimate perspective and assessment of evidence for past climate change and the extension, the ways in which physical processes are simulated in climate models and the evaluation of models against observed climate, the development plans and methods of improving expert and building manpower urgently and R&D fund expansion in detail for climate change science in Korea will be proposed.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.408-423
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• 2021

We established and monitored survey sites in seven regions of Mt. Jiri to investigate population decline and change of the Korean fir (Abies koreana) over a ten-year period from 2009 to 2018. With the exception of one site (Seseok), the six remaining ones all showed a four-layer stratification structure. The importance value of Korean firs in all of the survey areas decreased significantly by 28.5%, from 55.7% in 2009 to 39.8% in 2018. The average population of objects with a diameter at breast height (DBH) of 5cm or more in all survey sites was 711 objects/ha in 2018, and the cumulative death rate from 2009 to 2018 was 10.8%. Among the death types, DS (dead standing) was the most dominant, comprising 82.4% of the total survey area. However, in Banyabong 1, which had a high gradient of 35°, the death types other than DS accounted for 44.2%. We estimate that A. koreana can maintain a stable population as its distribution type for each diameter class in the Saeseokpyeongjeon site showed a reverse-J shape. The average annual ring growth in all survey sites was 1.09 mm/year, with the most abundant growth observed in the Seseokpyeongjeon site, which was formed mainly by a subtree layer. The growth ring survey showed the estimated average age of A. koreana population in the Byeoksoryeong and Banyabong 1 sites to be 102 and 91 years, respectively, a general downward trend of vitality since 2013.