• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2001

Total upland area for cultivating the vegetable crops in the Alpine soils of Northeastern South Korea has been extending its limit to meet the increasing demand of vegetable food in recent decades. About 70% of these alpine soils are located in over 7% of the slope and most of vegetable crops have been cultivated intensively without practicing the best management systems. Thus, soil erosion and continuous cropping system have degenerated the soil fertility and shown detrimental effects on water quality. We initiated an intensive and extensive investigation to characterize the fertility problems encountered in these uplands. Objectives of this paper were to characterize the fertility status in the Alpine soils cultivated with vegetable crops for many years and to provide the recommendations for adequate soil management measures including fertilization and erosion control. Soils in general have good drainage with textural classes of loam or sandy loam. Their topographical characteristics tended to lead them to shallow plow layers, and the steepness of the terrain created erosion hazard. Of the soils examined, about 11% of uplands over 30% gradient was found in need of an urgent reforestation. A high content of gravel and firm hardness of soil attributed to inhibit the utilization of farm machinery and plant-root development. The average soil pH 5.6 was slightly low relative to pH 5.70 of the national average. Organic matter content was high compared with 2.0% of national average, but decreased with the prolonged cultivation periods. Available $P_2O_5$ concentration was unusually high due to the consequence of over dose application with chemical and organic fertilizers. Exchangeable cations as Ca, Mg, and K were appeared to be decreased in these regions with prolonging the cultivation periods. There were no significant differences in cation exchange capacity (CEC) and electrical conductivity (EC) among locations. Heavy metal contents were mostly lower than the threshold of danger level designated by Soil Environment Conservation Law of South Korea. Results indicated that a proper countermeasure and the best management practice should be immediately implemented to conserve the top soil and fertility in the Alpine regions.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.39 no.6
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• pp.357-365
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• 2006

The investigations were conducted to find out the situation of fertilizer use and the contents of soil chemical components on summer vegetable crops at 791 farmers' upland fields located in the parts of Gangwon-do, Gyengsangbuk-do and Jeollabuk-do of alpine area. Major vegetable crops were potato, Chinese cabbage, radish, carrot, onion, and cabbage. From the location surroundings cultivated alpine vegetable crops, the orders were Gangwon-do>Gyeongsangbuk-do>Jeollabuk-do part in the sizes of a fie1d area and the height above sea level, and Jeollabuk-do>Gyeongsangbuk-do>Gangwon-do part in the slope degrees. The soil texture was of wide distribution on sandy loam soil for Gangwon-do(76%) and Jeollabuk-do part(64%), and 1oam(42%) and sandy loam soil(35%) for Gyeongsangbuk-do part. From the numbers of investigated fields, the distribution of slope degree was wider than those of height above sea level in relation to location surroundings. The upland soils of 785 fields cultivated vegetable crops were sampled at 0~15 cm of top soil before seeding or transplanting and analyzed. On an average, pH, organic matter, available phosphate and exchangeable potassium, calcium, magnesium of soil were 5.7, $27.6g\;kg^{-1}$, $765mg\;kg^{-1}$, $1.16cmol_c\;kg^{-1}$, $6.1cmol_c\;kg^{-1}$, and $1.6cmol_c\;kg^{-1}$, respectively. The average cation exchange capacity(CEC) of 120 sites in Gangwon-do part was $9.2cmol_c\;kg^{-1}$. The content of organic matter, exchangeable potassium, exchangeable calcium and exchangeable magnesium was higher, while that of available phosphate was lower with slope degrees. And the content of major chemical components in carrot soil was lower in comparison with other crop soils. The average levels of N, $P_2O_5$, $K_2O$, livestock manure and lime fertilizer of 785 Belds applied by farmers were 335, 198, 244, 12,680 and $1,750kg\;ha^{-1}$, respectively, for summer vegetable crops in alpine area. The average amounts of $N-P_2O_5-K_2O$ fertilizers applied by farmers in 785 Gelds of vegetable crops were higher 1.7~2.0-4.2~7.0-1.4~2.0 times on potato, 1.4~1.6-4.6~8.3-3.5~4.2 times on Chinese cabbage, and 1.2~1.3-4.2~7.2-3.0~3.61 times on radish than the rates of NPK fertilizers based on soil testing for each crop.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.210-218
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• 2018

Background: Soil respiration (Rs) is a major factor of the absorption and accumulation of carbon through photosynthesis in the ecosystem carbon cycle. This directly affects the amount of net ecosystem productivity, which affects the stability and sustainability of the ecosystem. Understanding the characteristics of Rs is indispensable to scientifically understand the carbon cycle of ecosystems. It is very important to study Rs characteristics through analysis of environmental factors closely related to Rs. Rs is affected by various environmental factors, such as temperature, precipitation, soil moisture, litter supply, organic matter content, dominant plant species, and soil disturbance. This study was conducted to analyze the effects of micro-topographical differences on Rs in forest vegetation by measuring the Rs on the ridge and southern slope sites of the broadly established Quercus mongolica forest in the central Korean area. Method: Rs, Ts, and soil moisture data were collected at the southern slope and ridge of the Q. mongolica forest in the Mt. Jeombong area in order to investigate the effects of topographical differences on Rs. Rs was collected by the closed chamber method, and data collection was performed from May 2011 to October 2013, except Winter seasons from November to April or May. For collecting the raw data of Rs in the field, acrylic collars were placed at the ridge and southern slope of the forest. The accumulated surface litter and the soil organic matter content (SOMC) were measured to a 5 cm depth. Based on these data, the Rs characteristics of the slope and ridge were analyzed. Results: Rs showed a distinct seasonal variation pattern in both the ridge and southern slope sites. In addition, Rs showed a distinct seasonal variation with high and low Ts changes. The average Rs measurements for the two sites, except for the Winter periods that were not measured, were $550.1\;mg\;CO_2m^{-2}h^{-1}$ at the ridge site and $289.4\;mg\;CO_2m^{-2}h^{-1}$ at the southern slope, a difference of 52.6%. There was no significant difference in the Rs difference between slopes except for the first half of 2013, and both sites showed a tendency to increase exponentially as Ts increased. In addition, although the correlation is low, the difference in Rs between sites tended to increase as Ts increased. SMC showed a large fluctuation at the southern slope site relative to the ridge site, as while it was very low in 2013, it was high in 2011 and 2012. The accumulated litter of the soil surface and the SOMC at the depth range of 0~5 cm were $874g\;m^{-2}$ and 23.3% at the ridge site, and $396g\;m^{-2}$ and 19.9% at the southern slope site. Conclusions: In this study, Rs was measured for the ridge and southern slope sites, which have two different results where the surface litter layer is disturbed by strong winds. The southern slope site shows that the litter layer formed in autumn due to strong winds almost disappeared, and while in the ridge site, it became thick due to the transfer of litter from the southern slope site. The mean Rs was about two times higher in the ridge site compared to that in the southern slope site. The Rs difference seems to be due to the difference in the amount of litter accumulated on the soil surface. As a result, the litter layer supplied to the soil surface is disturbed due to the micro-topographical difference, as the slope and the change of the community structure due to the plant season cause heterogeneity of the litter layer development, which in turn affects SMC and Rs. Therefore, it is necessary to introduce and understand these micro-topographical features and mechanisms when quantifying and analyzing the Rs of an ecosystem.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.33-44
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• 2019

This study was initiated to find possibility of substitute of gibberellin acid and to prevent negative girdling effect such as slow growth of 'Niitaka' (Pyrus pyrifolia Nakai) trees, a major pear cultivar, at harvest and at 60-, 90-, and 120-d after storage. Seasonal wiring with 3.0-mm-diameter were applied on the main branch at 70, 80, 90, 110, and 130 days after full bloom (DAF) to compare the fruit quality and storability. Fruit weight and sugar contents were the greatly increased by the wiring treatment at 110 DAF, with the lowest values observed for the wiring at 70 DAF. All the wiring treatments reduced fruit acidity but did not affect fruit firmness. a-value on fruit skin was the highest for wiring at 110 DAF and 130 DAF, advancing fruit ripening. The lowest fruit weight loss was occurred at wiring at 110 DAF. a-value on fruit skin was the highest for wiring at 90 DAF and 110 DAF. Wiring at 80 DAF the most increased floral bud diameter, resulting in the lowest L:D ratio of 1.74 observed. As for the mineral nutrients concentrations of floral buds, the concentration of K (0.63%) and Mg (0.31%) were the highest after 80 DAF wiring treatment, whereas Ca and P concentrations did not differ among treatment plots. The leaf K concentrations was the highest in the 130-day wiring treatment (0.76%) and in the control plot (0.78%), whereas there was no significant difference in the concentrations of either Ca or P among treatment plots. Short periods of wiring increased foliar Mg concentrations. In floral buds, carbohydrates showed a tendency for accumulating at a lower concentrations (7.75%) after 70 DAF wiring treatment, which was a relatively short treatment period. On the other hand, the carbohydrate concentrations in leaves showed a tendency for accumulating at lower concentrations after 130 DAF wiring treatment (2.51%), which is a long treatment period, and in the control plot (2.43%). Wiring increased the size and sugar content of fruits, and influenced fruit storability. For the wiring treatment period was delayed, the carbohydrate concentration in flower buds showed curvilinear correlation and the negative correlation with the carbohydrate in leaf tissue.

• Journal of agriculture & life science
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.57-67
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• 2017

We conducted this study to investigate vegetation structure and soil conditions of six Viburnum erosum Thunb.(V. erosum) populations which showed high dominance. A total of 68 woody plants were observed to distribute: 13 in tree layer; 38 in subtree layer; and 48 in shrub layer. Based on the Mean Importance Value(MIV), the dominant tree species in the V. erosum populations were as follows in order of: Acer pseudosieboldianum(Pax) Kom., Callicarpa japonica Thunb., Indigofera kirilowii Maxim. ex Palib., Lindera obtusiloba Blume, Prunus sargentii Rehder, Quercus variabilis Blume, Rhododendron mucronulatum Turcz. and Vaccinium oldhamii Miq. In paticular, the species observed in all of the study sites were Quercus serrata Murray and Styrax japonicus Siebold & Zucc. It was found that the presence of V. erosum was positively correlated with that of Albizia julibrissin Durazz. and Symplocos chinensis f. pilosa (Nakai) Ohwi, while negatively correlated with that of Platycarya strobilacea Siebold & Zucc. According to the result, means of species diversity(H'), maxim species diversity(H' max), evenness(J') and dominance(1-J') were measured at 0.887, 1.102, 0.803, and 0.196, respectively. The soil conditions properties of pH value, organic matter content, total nitrogen content, and the amount of available phosphorous indices in the study sites were 4.3, 10.6%, 0.34% and $0.68mg{\cdot}kg^{-1}$, respectively. Meanwhile, the total amount of exchangeable cations of $Ca^{2+}$, $K^+$, and $Mg^{2+}$ were $16.84cmol_c{\cdot}kg^{-1}$, $6.41cmol_c{\cdot}kg^{-1}$, and $4.26cmol_c{\cdot}kg^{-1}$, respectively. Overall, Viburnum erosum Thunb. populations tend to grow in the strongly acid soil, which has great abundance of soil organic matters, a lot of exchangeable cations, and has higher amount available phosphorous than that of nitrogen.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.385-393
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• 2022

The contamination level of inorganic arsenic, a human carcinogen, was investigated in 87 grains and 66 processed grain foods. Two inorganic arsenic species arsenite (As(III)) and arsenate (As(V)) and four organic arsenic monomethylarsonic acid, dimethylarsinic acid, arsenobetaine, arsenocholine were analyzed using HPLC-ICP/MS with high separation and sensitivity and ICP/MS was used to quantify total arsenic. Inorganic arsenic was detected in all grains. And the total arsenic in grains consists of about 70-85% inorganic arsenic and about 10-20% DMA. The concentration of inorganic arsenic was high in rice and black rice cultivated in paddy soil with irrigated water, while the miscellaneous grain in field was low. Mean concentration of inorganic arsenic in rice germ, brown rice and polished rice was 0.160 mg/kg, 0.135 mg/kg, 0.083 mg/kg, respectively, indicating that rice bran contains more arsenic. In processed grain foods, inorganic arsenic concentration varied according to the kind of ingredients and content, and the detection amount was high in processed food with brown rice and germ. The arsenic content of all samples did not exceed each standard, but the intake frequency is high and it is considered that continuous monitoring is necessary for food safety.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.268-275
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• 2023

This study was conducted to confirm the utilization of Pleurospermum camtschaticum root extract as an organic agricultural material. Antioxidant activity of P. camtschaticum root extract, closely related to antibacterial activity, increased in a dose-dependent manner. In mycelial growth inhibitory activity, 100% P. camtschaticum root extract supressed over 70% for Colletotrichum coccodes and over 68% for Colletotrichum dematium. In the pepper fruit anthracnose development test, the size of the lesion decreased in a dose-dependent manner, which showed the same tendency as the previous results in inhibitory activity on mycelial growth. In the pepper seed germination and red pepper growth promotion test of P. camtschaticum root extract, oposite results was confirmed. The lower the concentration, the more the seed germination and growth promotion effects were shown. The phenol content of pepper leaves was also measured after pepper growth promotion test have been completed. The phenol content related to antibacterial activity increased in all treated groups compared to the untreated group. Therefore, the results of this study showed the possibility of development as an organic material.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.57 no.6
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• pp.421-435
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• 2024

In April 2023, a wildfire broke out in Gangneung located in the east coast region due to the influence of the Yanggang-local wind. In this study, GIS-based RUSLE(Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation) and SEMMA (Soil Erosion Model for Mountain Areas) were used to evaluate the erosion rate due to vegetation recovery in a small watershed of the Gangneung WUI(Wildland-Urban Interface) fire. The small watershed of WUI fire has a low altitude range of 10-30 m and the average slope of 10.0±7.4° which corresponds to a gentle slope. The soil texture was loamy sand with a high organic content and the deep soil depth. As herbaceous layer regenerated profusely in the gully after the wildfire, the NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) reached a maximum of 0.55. Simulation results of erosion rates showed that RUSLE ranged from 0.07-94.9 t/ha/storm and SEMMA ranged from 0.24-83.6 t/ha/storm. RUSLE overestimated the average erosion rate by 1.19-1.48 times compared to SEMMA. The erosion rates were estimated to be high in the middle slope where burned pine trees were widely distributed and the slope was steep and to be relatively low in the hollow below the gully where herbaceous layer recovers rapidly. SEMMA showed a rapid increase in erosion sensitivity under at certain vegetation covers with NDVI below 0.25 (Ic = 0.35) on post-fire hillslopes. Gentle slopes with high organic content and rapid recovery of natural vegetation had relatively low erosion rate compared to steep slopes. As subsequent infrastructure and human damages due to sediment disaster by heavy rain is anticipated in WUI fire areas, the research results may be used as basic data for targeted management and decision making on the implementation of emergency treatment after the wildfire.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.332-337
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• 2013

BACKGROUND: Newly reclaimed land has poor soil environment for crop growth since it is high in salt concentration but low in organic content compared with ordinary soil. It is known that whole-crop-barley can grow better in the soil of relatively high salt concentration than other crops but, the growth is poor at the concentration if higher than certain amount and it is a difficulty to secure productivity. Hence, the level of soil salt concentration suitable for the production of bulky feed in newly reclaimed land has been investigated. METHODS AND RESULTS: At Saemanguem reclaimed land, the land for the soil salt concentration electrical conductivity (EC) 0.8, 3.1, 6.5, 11.0 dS/m was selected; and chemical fertilizer $N-P_2O_5-K_2O$ (150-100-100kg/ha) was tested; and forage barley 220kg/ha were sown. The soil salt concentration during the cultivation period decreased in the order of harvest season>earing season>sowing season>wintering season, and the salt concentration in harvest season is 1.4-4.2 times higher than that of the sowing season. The higher the salt concentration, the poorer the over ground growth due to poor rooting; especially at EC 11.0 ds/m there was emergence but, it blighted after wintering. The Yield from the soil salt concentration 3.1dS/m and 6.5 dS/m was 68% and 35% from that of the soil salt concentration 0.8 dS/m (8.8 MT/ha) respectively. The proline content in early life stage was more than that of the harvest season, and it increased with salt concentration. The higher salt concentration, the more $Na_2O$ and MgO content in harvest season; but the higher the salt concentration, the less the content of N, $P_2O_5$, $K_2O$ and CaO. CONCLUSION(S): When the soil salt concentration becomes higher than 3.1 dS/m, the yield becomes poor because there is serious growth inhibition of forage barley both in root part and above aerial part that results in unbalanced absorption of nutrients. Therefore, it is recommended that the salt concentration should be lowered below 3.1 dS/m by underground drainage facilities or irrigating water for the stable production of whole-crop-barley.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.18 no.12
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• pp.1727-1734
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• 2005

The fermentation characteristics and mono- and di-saccharides compositions during the early stage of ensiling were studied with a temperate grass, Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) and a tropical grass, guineagrass (Panicum maximum Jacq.). The laboratory silos were kept in the room set at 25$^{\circ}C$, and then were opened on 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 5 and 7 days (14 days in Italian ryegrass) after ensiling, respectively. The Italian ryegrass silage showed a fast and large pH decrease caused by a fast and large production of lactic acid during the first 5 days of ensiling and succeeded to achieve lactic acid type fermentation; high lactic acid/acetic acid and lactic acid content at the end of ensiling (14 days), low values of pH (3.74), acetic acid, ethanol and ammonia-N/total nitrogen, none or only small amounts of Butyric acid, valeric acid and propionic acid. The guineagrass silage showed a slow decrease in pH and a slow increase in lactic acid content during the full ensiling period, causing a high final pH value, low contents of lactic acid, acetic acid, total volatile fatty acids and total organic acids. In Italian ryegrass silage, mono- and di-saccharides compositions decreased largely within the initial 0.5 day (12 h) of ensiling. Sucrose disappeared rapidly within the initial 0.5 day of ensiling, but fructose and glucose contents showed an initial rise by the activity of enzymes in plant tissues, and then decreased gradually. On the other hand, the contents of monoand di-saccharides in guineagrass showed the largest decreases due mainly to plant respiration within the initial 0.5 day of ensiling, and no initial rises in fructose and glucose contents during the early stage of ensiling because of the absence of fructans which are hydrolyzed into fructose and glucose in temperate grasses. In both silages, the rate of reduction in mono- and di-saccharides compositions within the initial 5 days of ensiling was ranked in the order of glucose>fructose>sucrose, suggesting that glucose and fructose might be more favorably utilized than sucrose by microorganisms and glucose is the first fermentation substrate. It was concluded that the silage made from Italian ryegrass with high moisture content had a good fermentation quality owing to the dominance of lactic acid bacteria and active lactic acid fermentation during the initial stage of ensiling. These results can be explained by rapid plant sap liberation and the high activity of plant enzyme hydrolyzed fructans into fructose and glucose within the initial 2 days of ensiling, which stimulate the homofermentative lactic acid bacteria growth. In ensiling a temperate grass, the physical characteristics may ensure the rapid onset of fermentation phase, which results from the smaller losses of water-soluble carbohydrates during the initial stage of ensiling and providing sufficient water-soluble carbohydrates for lactic acid bacteria. The silage made from guineagrass with intermediate dry matter and high initial mono- and di-saccharides content was stable silage. This could be explained by the higher incorporation of air during the very early stage of ensiling and the restriction of cell breakdown and juice release due to the properties of a tropical grass with coarse porosity and stemmy structures. These physical characteristics delayed the onset of lactic acid bacteria fermentation phase by extending the phases of respiration and aerobic microorganisms activity, causing the higher loss of water-soluble carbohydrates and the shortage of lactic acid bacteria fermentation substrates.