• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.221-230
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• 2020

The aim of this study was to evaluate the antioxidant and antibacterial activity of Hovenia (Hovenia dulcis) monofloral honey produced in Korea. To produce Hovenia monofloral honey, Hovenia trees were surrounded by a net house, and honeybees were breed there over a 20-day period. Hovenia monofloral honey contained more than 95% of Hovenia pollen and showed physicochemical properties in agreement with the international honey standard (Codex). The total phenolic and flavonoid contents of Hovenia monofloral honey ranged from a 24.82-27.00 mg gallic acid equivalent/100 g honey and a 0.41-0.46 mg quercetin equivalent/100 g honey, respectively. In addition, to evaluate the functional properties of Hovenia monofloral honey, the antioxidant activity of Hovenia monofloral honey was estimated by using the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical and the 2,2'-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) radical scavenging assay. Furthermore, Hovenia monofloral honey showed an antibacterial activity against foodborne gram positive (Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus) and gram negative bacteria (Salmonella Typhimurium and Escherichia coli O157:H7).

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.311-325
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• 2023

This study was conducted to analyze the habitat suitability of the major honey trees including Kalopanax septemlobus Koidz., Prunus spp., Tilia spp., and Styrax obassia Siebold & Zucc. indigenous to mountain Gariwang and Yumeong using the machine learning approach (i.e., MaxEnt model). The AUC values of the model predictions were mostly above 0.7, and the results of the response curves showed that the environmental drivers that had effects on the habitat suitability of the major honey trees were elevation, mean annual precipitation, and mean annual temperature. These results indicate that climatic drivers along the elevation gradient are the main environmental drivers in explaining the distribution patterns of the major honey trees. In addition, the results of the response curves of Prunus spp. and Styrax obassia Siebold & Zucc. differed slightly in terms of slope and mean annual solar radiation as the main environmental drivers. The results of this study will be valuable for the establishment of honey tree forests and management plans for the natural and artificial forests in South Korea, as well as for the mapping the distribution of honey trees. Further studies at different regional levels, reflecting biotic drivers, will be needed to expand the production of honey and pollen at different strata and to produce honey annually.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2017

Background: Though the biomass of floral vegetation in understory plant communities in a forested ecosystem only accounts for less than 1% of the total biomass of a forest, they contain most of the floral resources of a forest. The diversity of understory honey plants determines visitation rate of pollinators such as honey bee (Apis mellifera) as they provide rich food resources. Since the flower visitation and foraging activity of pollinators lead to the provision of pollination service, it also means the enhancement of plant-pollinator relationship. Therefore, an appropriate management scheme for understory vegetation is essential in order to conserve pollinator population that is decreasing due to habitat destruction and disease infection. This research examined the diversity of understory honey plant and studied how it is related to environmental variables such as (1) canopy density, (2) horizontal heterogeneity of canopy surface height, (3) slope gradient, and (4) distance from roads. Vegetation survey data of 39 plots of mixed forests in Chuncheon, Korea, were used, and possible management practices for understory vegetation were suggested. Results: This study found that 113 species among 141 species of honey plant of the forests were classified as understory vegetation. Also, the understory honey plant diversity is significantly positively correlated with distance from the nearest road and horizontal heterogeneity of canopy surface height and negatively correlated with canopy density. Conclusions: The diversity of understory honey plant vegetation is correlated to vegetation structure and human impact. In order to enhance the diversity of understory honey plant, management of density and height of canopy is necessary. This study suggests that improved diversity of canopy cover through thinning of overstory vegetation can increase the diversity of understory honey plant species.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.111 no.1
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• pp.50-60
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• 2022

In this study, habitat suitability was analyzed for three major honey tree species, namely Kalopanax septemlobus, Tilia amurensis, and Styrax obassis, in the Baekdudaegan Mountains using MaxEnt models. The AUC values indicating the prediction accuracies of the models were 0.747, 0.790, and 0.755 for K. septemlobus, T. amurensis, and S. obassis, respectively. The most important variables for K. septemlobus and T. amurensis were elevation, mean annual temperature, and slope, whereas mean annual temperature, elevation, and mean annual precipitation were the most important predictors for S. obassis. For all three studied species, elevation and mean annual temperature were the most important topographic and climatic factors, respectively, indicating that such variables are crucial for explaining species distribution. Honey tree species are essential resources in forest beekeeping, a high value-added process for improving forest income, and this study identified sites with the potential for management of such species in the Baekdudaegan Mountains, where it may be possible to establish a honey forest. However, the accuracy of the models should be improved through comprehensive analysis with abiotic variables, such as soil properties and aridity, which affect the distribution of honey tree species, as well as biotic variables, such as interspecific competition.

• Journal of Apiculture
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.169-180
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• 2019

Beekeeping has been practiced for centuries in Ethiopia. Currently, there are three broad classification of honey production systems in Ethiopia; these are traditional (forest and backyard), transitional(intermediate) and modern(frame beehive) systems. Ethiopian honey production is characterized by the widespread use of traditional technology resulting in relatively low honey yield and poor honey quality. Despite the challenges and constraints, Ethiopia has the largest bee population in Africa with over 10 million bee colonies, of which 5 to 7.5million are hived while the remaining exists in the wild. Consequently, these figures, indeed, has put Ethiopia as the leading honey and beeswax producer in Africa. In fact, Ethiopia has even bigger potential than the current honey production due to the availability of plenty apicultural resources such as natural forests with adequate apiculture flora, water resources and a high number of existing bee colonies. However, lack of well-trained man powers, lack of standardization, problems associated with honey bee pests and diseases, high price and limited availability of modern beekeeping equipment's for beekeepers and absconding and migration of bee colonies are some of the major constraints reported for beekeeping in Ethiopia. In this review, an attempt was made to present all beekeeping practices in Ethiopia. The opportunities and major constraints of the sector were also discussed.

• Journal of Apiculture
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.297-301
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• 2018

Hawthorn is widely distributed in Korea and has been used as herbal medicine for treating various cardiovascular disease, arteriosclerosis and hypertension in Korea. In order to select superior honey tree plant from Korea, the free sugar and organic acid in hawthorn fruits, including five Korean clones and four Chinese cultivars, were evaluated. We also compared these hawthorn fruits of five clones (selected from different area of Korea) with Chinese hawthorn cultivars. Glucose, galactose, fructose and sucrose were the major sugar components of hawthorn. In this study, we observed that sucrose, glucose and fructose content. The highest sucrose content of hawthorn fruit was 188.12g/100g in Daegeumseong cultivar. The sweetness index, which plays important role of taste, was also calculated from the content of sucrose, glucose and fructose. The contribution of each carbohydrate was calculated, based on the fact that fructose is 2.30 and sucrose 1.35 times sweeter than glucose. The highest sweetness of hawthorn fruit was 579.52 in Pocheon clone. Main organic acid detected in hawthorn fruit were citric acid, malic acid and shikimic acid. The highest citric acid and malic acid content in hawthorn fruit were 157.50g/100g (Pocheon 3) and 34.12g/100g (Daegeumseong), respectively. The results of this study would be helpful for using food and functional food products, due to the beneficial effects of free sugar and organic acid for human health such as antioxidants and anticarcinogenic properties.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.112 no.2
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• pp.209-216
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• 2023

This study aimed to use national forest inventory data to develop a forest productivity index and yield prediction model of a Tilia amurensis stand. The site index displaying the forest productivity of the Tilia amurensis stand was developed as a Schumacher model, and the site index classification curve was generated from the model results; its distribution growth in Korea ranged from 8-16. The growth model using age as an independent variable for breast height and height diameter estimation was derived from the Chapman-Richards and Weibull model. The Fitness Indices of the estimation models were 0.32 and 0.11, respectively, which were generally low values, but the estimation-equation residuals were evenly distributed around 0, so we judged that there would be no issue in applying the equation. The stand basal area and site index of the Tilia amurensis stand had the greatest effect on the stand-volume change. These two factors were used to derive the Tilia amurensis stand yield model, and the model's determination coefficient was approximately 94%. After verifying the residual normality of the equation and autocorrelation of the growth factors in the yield model, no particular problems were observed. Finally, the growth and yield models of the Tilia amurensis stand were used to produce the makeshift stand yield table. According to this table, when the Tilia amurensis stand is 70 years old, the estimated stand-volume per hectare would be approximately 208 m³ . It is expected that these study results will be helpful for decision-making of Tilia amurensis stands management, which have high value as a forest resource for honey and timber.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.111 no.3
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• pp.428-434
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• 2022

This study was conducted to derive the site index of forest productivity of Robinia pseudoacacia (honey plant) to characterize suitable planting sites and to investigate the effect of the site environmental factors on the site index using the quantification theory I method. The data used in the analysis were growth factors (stand age, dominant height, etc.) of the 6th national forest resources survey and various site environmental factors of a forest soil map (1:5,000). The average site index value of the R. pseudoacacia stand in Korea was 14 (range, 8 to 18). The environmental factors affecting the site index were parent rock, climatic zone, soil texture, local topography, and altitude. The accuracy of the estimation model using quantification theory I was only 33%. However, the correlation between the site index and the site environmental factors was statistically significant at the 1% level. Results of quantification analysis between site index and site environmental factors revealed that metamorphic and igneous rocks received high grades as parent rocks, climate zones received higher grades than central temperate zone, clay loam and silt loam received high grades in soil texture, and hillside received a high grade in local topography. Analysis of the partial correlation between site topographical factors and forest productivity (site index) found that soil class and altitude were partially correlated to x by 0.4129 and 0.4023, respectively, indicating that these factors are the most influential variables.

• Journal of Apiculture
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.327-332
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• 2017

In this study, we studied the changes in antioxidant activity of Actinidia arguta fruit of Autumn Sense cultivar during fruit ripening. The aim of this investigation was to find the knowledge of the changes of physiochemicals associated with fruit quality, antioxidant properties (free-radical scavenging activity and reducing power), total phenolics and vitamin C during fruit ripening. The highest free-radical scavenging activity (at $100{\mu}g/ml$) and reducing power (at $100{\mu}g/ml$) in A. arguta fruit were 78.57% and 0.22, respectively. Total phenolic content and vitamin C content in fruit of 10 days after fruit set were $639.48{\mu}g/g$ and $1052.2{\mu}g/g$, respectively. In general, the antioxidant activity and the related parameters, including total phenolic content and vitamin C content decreased during fruit ripening. These results improve knowledge of the effect of ripening on the antioxidant activity and related compounds contents that could help to establish the optimum A. arguta fruit harvest data for various usages.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.109 no.4
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• pp.512-520
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• 2020

We assessed the nectar source potential of a prospective honey plant, Idesia polycarpa, by analyzing nectar volume, free sugar content, and free amino acid content. Idesia polycarpa is a dioecious tree; the males bloom approximately four days earlier than females, and the blooming period is approximately 17 days-from March 14th to March 30th. Upon investigating the patterns of nectar secretion, it was found that male flowers peak on the third day of blooming at 5.0 ± 2.5 μL, and female flowers peak on the second day of blooming, at 1.1 ± 0.4 μL. There was a significant difference between males and females in the total nectar volume (9.7 ± 2.9 μL for males and 1.7 ± 0.5 μL for females) and the dried nectar volume (2.2 ± 0.6 μL for males, 0.8 ± 0.3 μL for females) during the blooming period. The free sugar content of floral nectar was 54.6 ± 15.4 ㎍/μL for males and 20.5 ± 4.9 ㎍/μL for females, and the sugar content per flower was higher in males (170.7 ± 15.4 ㎍) than in females (24.9 ± 5.5 ㎍). Our analysis of the amino acid content showed that 20.4 ± 3.9 mg/L (comprised of 19 amino acids) is produced in male flowers and 3.2 ± 0.1 mg/L (11 amino acids) in female flowers. In the male flower, the main amino acid was glutamine, followed by asparagine and proline, whereas in the female nectar, asparagine was the main amino acid, followed by glutamic acid and glutamine. Idesia polycarpa blooms after the blooming period of a major honey plant, Robinia pseudoacacia, and its nectar volume and nectar characteristics, such as free sugar content and amino acid content, make it a viable honey plant.