• Journal of The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.61 no.4
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• pp.33-42
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• 2019

In this study, the channel and floodplain widths are indirectly measured for three different watersheds using satellite images to reflect the shape of Korean channels in the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model. For measuring the channel and floodplain widths, multiple satellite images were referred to ensure the widest width of certain points. In the single channel, the widths at the multiple points were measured. Based on the measured data, the regression equations were derived to estimate the channel and floodplain widths according to watershed areas. Applying these developed equations, this study evaluated the effect of the change of channel and floodplain widths on the SWAT simulation by comparing to the measured streamflow data. The developed equations estimated larger channel width and smaller floodplain compared with those calculated in the current SWAT model. As shown in the results, there was no considerable changes in the predicted streamflow using the current and developed equations. However, the flow velocity and channel depth calculated from the developed equations were smaller than those of the current equations. The differences were caused by the effect of different channel geometries used for calculating the hydraulic characteristics. The channel geometries also affected the water quality simulation in channels because the hydraulic characteristics calculated by the channel geometries are directly related to the water quality simulation. Therefore, application of the river cross-sectional regression equation reflecting the domestic stream shape is necessary for accurate water quantity / quality and water ecosystem simulation using hydrological model.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.139-144
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• 2019

BACKGROUND: Epigeic arthropods participate in ecological functions as predators, decomposers and herbivores. The purpose of this study was to investigate the responses of some dominant arthropods in rice fields to different forms of agricultural land management. METHODS AND RESULTS: The abundance of microarthropods was compared between rice fields and uplands in the non-growing season. Collembola, Oribatida and Mesostigmata were more abundant in the upland fields than in the paddy fields. The community composition and diversity of epigeic arthropods were compared between fallow and rice fields. The total abundance and species richness of spiders and ground beetles were not significantly different in the two types of agricultural fields. The abundance of Arctosa kwangreungensis was greater in fallow fields than in cultivated fields. The community structure of arthropods was compared between paddy fields with and without barley. The cropping system altered the community composition of spiders but not their biodiversity. Barley cultivation increased the abundance of ground beetles but decreased that of spiders. We suggest that this contrast was partly due to the availability of plants that provided shelter and food for ground beetles. CONCLUSION: These results show that soil use intensity and cropping system alter the community composition of epigeic spiders and ground beetles. This could result in ecosystem-level alterations with respect to the control of pests and weeds. Our results also suggest that biodiversity of ground-dwelling arthropods may not increase during short fallow periods.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.855-861
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• 2011

Short-term effects of current velocity and turbid water on the benthic diatom community and water quality were examined in artificial channel ($20{\times}200{\times}10cm$) with two different experiments. The first and second experiments were consisted of different current velocities such as 1 L/min., and 1, 3, and 6 L/min., respectively. The concentration of turbid water is prepared with loess and fixed at 10 and 20 times of the turbidity of control inflow (10 NTU, LTW), respectively. At experiment 1 (EXP-1), introduction of turbid water increased dissolved oxygen, electric conductivity, pH and turbidity, but there were no differences between low- (100 NTU, MTW) and high-turbid water (200 NTU, HTW). However, experiment 2 (EXP-2) did not change any environmental parameters except dissolved total and inorganic nitrogen like EXP-1. MTW in EXP-1 strongly stimulated the growth of benthic diatom, while both MTW (150 NTU) and HTW (300 NTU) in EXP-2 did not increase or decrease the diatom abundance. Over the study, the dominant species was four, Aulacoseira ambigua, Cyclotella stelligera, Aulacoseira granulata and Achnanthes minutissima. In EXP-1, two highest species in abundance, A. ambigua and A. granulata were highly grown in MTW, while Achnanthes minutissima high in HTW adversely. These results indicate that the introduction of turbid water can play an important role in the shift of water quality and benthic diatom community in stream ecosystem, especially inflow of soil water in low current velocity.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.118-133
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• 2023

Background: Free-living amoebae (FLA) are widely distributed in freshwater, seawater, soil, and extreme environments, and play a critical role as feeders on diverse preys in the ecosystem. Also, some FLA can become opportunistic pathogens in animals including humans. The taxa Amoebozoa and Heterolobosea are important amoeboid groups associated with human pathogens. However, the identification and habitat of amoebae belonging to Amoebozoa and Heterolobosea remain poorly reported in the Republic of Korea. This study highlights the first record for identification and source of four amoebae including putative pathogens in the Republic of Korea. Results: In the present study, four previously reported FLA were isolated from freshwaters in Sangju Gonggeomji Reservoir (strain GO001), one of the largest reservoirs during the Joseon Dynasty period, and along the Nakdong River, the largest river in the Republic of Korea (strains NR5-2, NR12-1, and NR14-1) for the first time. Microscopic observations and 18S rDNA phylogenetic trees revealed the four isolated strains to be Acanthamoeba polyphaga (strains NR5-2 and NR12-1), Tetramitus waccamawensis (strain GO001), and Naegleria australiensis (strain NR14-1). Strains NR5-2 and NR12-1 might be the same species and belonged to the morphological Group 2 and the T4 genotype of Acanthamoeba. Strain GO001 formed a clade with T. waccamawensis in 18S rDNA phylogeny, and showed morphological characteristics similar to previously recorded strains, although the species' flagellate form was not observed. Strain NR14-1 had the typical morphology of Naegleria and formed a strongly supported clade with previously recorded strains of N. australiensis in phylogenetic analysis of 18S rDNA sequences. Conclusions: On the bases of morphological and molecular analyses, four strains of FLA were newly observed and classified in the Republic of Korea. Three strains belonging to the two species (A. polyphaga and N. australiensis) isolated from the Nakdong River have the potential to act as opportunistic pathogens that can cause fatal diseases (i.e. granulomatous amoebic encephalitis, Acanthamoeba Keratitis, and meningoencephalitis) in animals including humans. The Nakdong River in the Republic of Korea may provide a habitat for potentially pathogenic amoebae, but additional research is required to confirm the true pathogenicity of these FLA now known in the Republic of Korea.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.56 no.12
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• pp.855-869
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• 2023

Low Impact Development (LID) technology has been attracting attention as a countermeasure to solve frequent flood damage in urban areas. LID involves recovery of the natural circulation system based on infiltration and storage capacity at the site of rainfall runoff, to protect the aquatic ecosystem from the effects of urbanization. Bioretention as an element of LID technology reduces outflow through storage and infiltration of storm water runoff, and minimizes the effects of non-point pollutants. Although LIDs are being studied extensively, the amount of quantitative research on small watersheds with bioretention has been inadequate. In this study, a bioretention model was constructed in a small watershed using Korea-Low Impact Development Model (K-LIDM), which was conducted quantitative hydrologic analysis. We anticipate that the results of the analysis will be used as reference data for future bioretention research related to watershed characteristics, vegetation type, and soil condition.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.57 no.3
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• pp.189-196
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• 2014

In Korea, over 4,700 animal carcass disposal sites were installed until 2011 due to the outbreak of foot and mouth disease. Due to the putrefaction of buried animals, the leachate containing veterinary antibiotics may release into surrounding environments. Antibiotic residues in the environment cause the formation of antibiotic resistance bacteria threatening human and ecosystem health. This study reports the concentrations of five antibiotics, including tetracycline (TC), chlortetracycline (CTC), oxytetracycline (OTC), sulfamethazine (SMZ), and sulfamethoxazole (SMX), in soils from animal carcass disposal site and adjacent agricultural field. Concentrations of antibiotics at animal carcass disposal sites (TC: $144.26-350.73{\mu}g/kg$, SMZ: $17.72-44.94{\mu}g/kg$) were higher than those at agricultural field (TC: $134.16-320.73{\mu}g/kg$, SMZ: $6.48-8.85{\mu}g/kg$) whereas the concentrations of CTC, OTC, and SMX were below detection limit in both sites. Results showed that the antibiotics in animal carcass site might leach to the soil and possibly contaminating the groundwater. Future studies will focus on the transfer of antibiotics residues into food crops.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.16-24
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• 2007

An investigation on the polluted sediments in the Lake Sihwa and the benthos that inhabited on the sediments was conducted. Cost effective remediation alternatives were derived form the results of the investigation. The sediment samples taken from four sampling points out of thirteen showed relatively high heavy metal (particularly copper) concentrations which exceeded the Effects Range Low (ERL) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, USA. The four sampling points were located in front of industrial complexes. Although the heavy metals appeared to have affected the growth of the benthos, the concentration of it did not exceed the criteria of dredging that were developed by Netherlands or the State of Washington, USA. However, contamination by organic matters and sulfur compounds was severe, which exceeded the criteria of dredging that were established in Japan. The sediments taken from the four sampling points which were contaminated with heavy metals showed higher organic matter content in general. The organic matters in the sediments depleted oxygen in summer, which appeared to be fatal to the benthos. A comprehensive analysis on the sediments, benthos, and other environmental impact from the contaminated sediments drew a conclusion that the benthonic environment of the Lake Sihwa needed a stepwise remediation, giving a particular emphasis on the clean up of the sediments upstram of the Lake which could cause odor problems to the nearby residential area.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.100-113
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• 2007

In Korea, there has been no revegetation applicable standard for slopes formed by road construction work up to now, so revegetation work has been done using mostly foreign varieties in the manner of early revegetation. However, foreign varieties have some shortcomings; for example, they tend to be dried to death after construction work. Besides, due to the rift in the supporting soil, these revegetated varieties are often displaced from the slopes. Thus, the Ministry of Construction & Transportation on July, 2005 established revegetation standard on the slopes suited for the natural eco-system of Korea and organized positively recommending directions for using self-sewn plants growing near the slopes in overall consideration of soil, weather, regional conditions. The locations specified in this direction are the slopes at the road construction jobsite like the expressway, highways, and local roads. In addition, the Ministry's standard and directions stipulated that damaged slopes's natural environment and eco-system due to various road construction work should be restored, and thus a feeling of stability and pleasantness should be provided to road users as well. Also, the Ministry tried to select seed plants and revegetation measures suited for surrounding environment to put the environment-friendly slope revegetation measures into practice through the test revegetation work in order to prevent illegal construction practices and to improve the quality of revegetation. According to the direction, revegetation districts aimed at the slopes are divided into three ones in consideration of weather environment, regional environment, and forest environment as follows : national territory's core ecological green-land based district centering on the Taebaek Mountains; coastal ecosystem district including islands off the coast; inland eco-system district. The combination of revegetation plants according to environment revegetation districts, should be executed by dividing into herb-oriented type, woody plant colony type, and bio-species versatility restoration type, and the selection of seeding plants should be done in the presence of a supervisor and through test construction results and technology counseling from a specialist in natural eco-system restoration and revegetation measure seed combination standard according to environment revegetation districts. This direction will be executed in the manner of monitoring until the yea 2008 and 2009 it will be finalized and enforced on December, 2009.

• The Korean Journal of Ecology
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.281-287
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• 2003

We present the first analysis of moor vegetation on the Moojechi of Ulsan including syntaxonomy and syndynamics. We classified plant communities according to the Braun-Blanquet approach. In order to better understand ecological alteration processes and changing species compositions along successional gradients we also examined synecological differences using Principal Coordinate Analysis(PCoA) in terms of moisture gradient, species richness, and community structure. Classification resulted in one association and five plant communities occupying distinct moor habitats: Hypericum laxum-Eleocharis acicularis for. longiseta community, Drosera rotundifolia-Eleocharis congesta community, Platanthero-Molinietum japonicae ass. nova hoc loco, Molinia japonica-Alnus japonica community, Miscanthus sinensis-Pinus densiflora community, and Convallaria keiskei-Quercus serrata community. Due to synecological correspondences and floristic similarities in supraregional perspective, Platanthero-Molinietum can be assigned to existing higher syntaxonomic units of Molinion and Molinietalia in Braun-Blanquet system, established in Japan. We propose to extend their range and designate the new class Molinietea japonicae representative to the intermediate moor (Zwischenmoor) vegetation in Northeast Asia. PCoA resulted in four types showing a sequencess of succession: Needle spike-rush type, moor-grass type (incl. alder forest type), eulalia type, and oak forest type. A combination of edaphic conditions (soil eutrphication and soil moisture) and hydrologic patterns of moor ecosystem related to topography, occurring as result of external geophysical forces, controls inter alia spatial patterns and floristic compositions of moor plant communities.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.117-128
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• 2019

Background: Cliffs are a major plant habitat around the coastal area, but in contrast to sand dunes and salt marshes, they have been little investigated in Korea. There are simple descriptions of cliff vegetation in studies on island vegetation, but there is no published paper, which addressed sea cliff vegetation synthetically. Furthermore, the coastal area where this study was carried out was designated as a conservation reserve. Even though, this area is exposed to intense recreational use such as trekking in these days. This study aims to clarify spatial distribution and structure of vegetation along the environmental gradient on coastal cliff and plateau in the Janggi peninsula (Homigot) located on southeastern Korea. Further, this study has also another objective to prepare a restoration plan to protect this conservation reserve from intense human disturbance. Results: Landscape elements were arranged in the order of sea cliff risen directly on the sea, seashore, coastal cliff, and plateau covered with relatively deep soil in a coastal area of the Janggi peninsula (Homigot), southeastern Korea. Vegetation was sampled at 59 plots arranged from the sea cliff through the seashore and coastal cliff to plateau. The sea cliff, seashore, and coastal cliff, which compose the coastal landscape, were dominated by the seashore spatulate aster (Aster spathulifolius Maxim.) community, dwarf sand sedge (Carex pumila Thunb.) community, and seashore spatulate aster (Aster spathulifolius Maxim.) community. On the plateau corresponding to the ridge of the coastal cliff, black pine (Pinus thunbergii Parl.) community, golden rain tree (Koelreuteria paniculata Laxmann) community, east Asian hackberry (Celtis sinensis Pers.) community, sawleaf zelkova (Zelkova serrata Makino) community, and Korean oak (Quercus dentata Thunb.) community were established in the mentioned order along distance from the sea. Stand ordination showed a vegetation sequence from the seashore through the cliff to the plateau, consistent in its overall pattern among sites. This was dominated by topography. There is evidence for the importance also of salinity, drought and of soil depth. Conclusion: The lack of scientific interest in cliffs to date is in striking contrast to the commonness of cliffs around the whole national territory and to the attraction cliffs have had for humans throughout history. Cliffs provide a unique habitat, rarely investigated from an ecological viewpoint. Cliffs may represent an invaluable type of ecosystem, consisting of some of the least disturbed habitats on earth and contributing more to the biodiversity of a region than their surface coverage would indicate. Although this coastal area where this study was carried out was designated as a conservation reserve, this area is in danger of severe disturbance due to excessive recreational use. We recommended a restoration plan to protect this area from such a disturbance.