• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.203-209
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• 1991

Collection, evaluation and preservation of tropical forage grasses, napier grass breeding, tissue culture of pangola grass and alfalfa selection were conducted in Taiwan. The results showed that some species such as pangola grass (Digitaria decumbens) with good performance and wide adaptability were selected and released. Forage yield and quality of napier grass have been improved and have good results in animal performance. Embryogenic callus cultures from young inflorescences and stem segments of pangola grass could provide an alternative method for rapid propagation and improvement. Three better varieties of alfalfa were selected. They maintain satisfactory stands for two or three years on well-drained sand loam and loam soil, and used only as annual crop in flat area and acid soil. However, more studies in forage breeding for acid soil arc required to maximise the forage quality and animal production. Thus, animal fed with forages of high quality and a few grains supplement will be the future achivement in livestock industry.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2003.09a
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• pp.489-492
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• 2003

This study is objected to identify the annual variation of shallow groundwater quality in the study area, Hwabong-Jangam, Iljuk-Meon, Kyunggi-Do. The previous study in 2002 shown a wide-spread contamination of shallow groundwater by nitrate mainly originated from wastes of livestock facilities. In the year 2003, groundwater quality of the area has worsened due to the agricultural activities including the application of organic fertilizer and agro-chemicals to improve soil quality. In addition, a leaking septic tank, identified in the previous study, is still expanding its influence on the nearby wells.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.533-545
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• 2015

Spatial and seasonal variations in hydrogeochemical characteristics and the factors affecting the deterioration in quality of shallow portable groundwater in an agricultural area are examined. The aquifer consists of (from the surface to depth) agricultural soil, weathered soil, weathered rock, and bedrock. The geochemical signatures of the shallow groundwater are mostly affected by the NO₃⁻ and Cl⁻ contaminants that show a gradual downward increase in concentration from the upper area, due to the irregular distribution of contamination sources. The concentrations of the major cations do not varied with the elapsed time and the NO₃⁻ and Cl⁻ ions, when compared with concentrations in background groundwater, increase gradually with the distance from the upper area. This result suggests that the water quality in shallow groundwater deteriorates due to contaminant sources at the surface. The contaminations of the major contaminants in groundwater show a positive linear relationship with electrical conductivity, indicating the deterioration in water quality is related to the effects of the contaminants. The relationships between contaminant concentrations, as inferred from the ternary plots, show the contaminant concentrations in organic fertilizer are positively related to concentrations of NO₃⁻, Cl⁻, and SO₄²⁻ ions in the shallow portable groundwaters, which means the fertilizer is the main contaminant source. The results also show that the deterioration in shallow groundwater quality is caused mainly by NO₃⁻ and Cl⁻ derived from organic fertilizer with additional SO₄²⁻ contaminant from livestock wastes. Even though the concentrations of the contaminants within the shallow groundwaters and the contaminant sources are largely variable, it is useful to consider the ratio of contaminant concentrations and the relationship between contaminants in groundwater samples and in the contaminant source when analyzing deterioration in water quality.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.31 no.6 s.119
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• pp.463-473
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• 2006

Automated sensing of soil macronutrients would allow more efficient mapping of soil nutrient spatial variability for variable-rate nutrient management. The capabilities of ion-selective electrodes for sensing macronutrients in soil extracts can be affected by the presence of other ions in the soil itself as well as by high concentrations of ions in soil extractants. Adoption of automated, on-the-go sensing of soil nutrients would be enhanced if a single extracting solution could be used for the concurrent extraction of multiple soil macronutrients. This paper reports on the ability of the Kelowna extractant to extract macronutrients (N, P, and K) from US Corn Belt soils and whether previously developed PVC-based nitrate and potassium ion-selective electrodes could determine the nitrate and potassium concentrations in soil extracts obtained using the Kelowna extractant. The extraction efficiencies of nitrate-N and phosphorus obtained with the Kelowna solution for seven US Corn Belt soils were comparable to those obtained with IM KCI and Mehlich III solutions when measured with automated ion and ICP analyzers, respectively. However, the potassium levels extracted with the Kelowna extractant were, on average, 42% less than those obtained with the Mehlich III solution. Nevertheless, it was expected that Kelowna could extract proportional amounts of potassium ion due to a strong linear relationship ($r^2$ = 0.96). Use of the PVC-based nitrate and potassium ion-selective electrodes proved to be feasible in measuring nitrate-N and potassium ions in Kelowna - soil extracts with almost 1 : 1 relationships and high coefficients of determination ($r^2$ > 0.9) between the levels of nitrate-N and potassium obtained with the ion-selective electrodes and standard analytical instruments.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.393-400
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• 2017

This study was investigated on pH, heavy metals, oils and solvents in 34 surface soil samples and the samples are collected at two times for 17 farmland sites around 7 industrial areas in Northern Gyeonggi Province. As a result of pH for soil contamination monitoring network, the range of pH showed 4.4~8.4 and average was 6.3. The range of pH for Agricultural land around industrial area was 6.7~7.5 and average indicated 7.1 that mostly showed neutral condition in this area. he average concentrations of Cu, Pb, Ni, As and $Cr^{6+}$ are lower than Korea soil contamination worrisome levels at region 1 and the mean levels of farmland from the soil quality monitoring network. The average concentrations of Zn, Cd and Hg didn't exceed the soil contamination worrisome levels at region 1 but slightly higher than the mean levels of farmland from the soil quality monitoring network. The heavy metal levels of all samples are within Korea soil contamination worrisome levels at region 1. The results showed that the detected heavy metal concentrations ranged from N.D. to ~32.7% of Korea soil contamination worrisome levels at region 1. BTEX, TPH, TCE and PCE were not detected in all samples and thus the farmland around the industrial areas were free from oils and solvents contamination.

• Magazine of the Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.42 no.5
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• pp.59-69
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• 2000

Sludge is generated in the process of water and wastewater treatment, and it has been causing various environmental problems. From this point of view, recycling of sludge appears to be the best way. The firing technology in pottery industry is applied to the sludge treatment , and the final product is called artificial soil. The effect of mixed artificial soil with upland soil was investigated through the crop growth experiment and the physical & chemical characteristics of the mixed soils were analyses. After the growth experiment , mixed soil plots contained more CEC, OM, TN, TP than upland soil plots. This result shows that the artificial soil produced form sludge can be mixed with upland soil, and crop can be increased. From the growth analysis, growth of soybean and corn in the mixed soil plots was better than that in the original upland soil plots. Heavy metals contents in the mixed soil plots were within the quality standard. This is a promising result since in most cases heavy metals are the most concern in the application of sludge product to farmland.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.567-575
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• 2018

The soil physical quality is a core factor in achieving two of sustainable agriculture's goals: productivity and environment. The purpose of this study was to assess changes in soil physical properties for nearly a decade through periodic monitoring of three cultivation types: upland, orchard, and paddy. Field surveys and lab analysis were conducted to determine the soils physical properties after every 4 years; upland (2009, 2013, and 2017), orchard (2010 and 2014), and paddy (2011 and 2015). In each year soil samples from 162-338 sites were collected. The bulk density of upland subsoil decreased from $1.53Mg\;m^{-3}$ to $1.50Mg\;m^{-3}$ while the plowing depth and subsoil organic matter increased from 13.7 cm to 19.5 cm and from $12.6g\;kg^{-1}$ to $18.3g\;kg^{-1}$ respectively during the period 2009-2017. Plowing depth for orchard increased from 16.7 cm to 18.9 cm. However, organic matter content decreased from $15.9g\;kg^{-1}$ to $15.4g\;kg^{-1}$ during the 2010-2014 period. For paddy, plowing depth and subsoil organic matter decreased from 17.5 cm to 16.7 cm and from $17.5g\;kg^{-1}$ to $15.8g\;kg^{-1}$ respectively. The subsoil bulk density increased from $1.47Mg\;m^{-3}$ to $1.52Mg\;m^{-3}$ from 2011-2015. Excess ratio for soil physical standards increased from 16% to 22% in orchard, 56% to 62% in paddy, and decreased from 41% to 29% in upland. The overall soil physical quality had been ameliorated for upland, but degraded for paddy. Improved tillage practices and application of appropriate organic matter is necessary to enhance the quality of soils, especially in the paddy field.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.158-166
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• 2022

BACKGROUND: Kiwifruit is a fruit tree with relatively small cultivation area in Korea and researches on its soil and physiology are very limited compared to those on cultivar development. Therefore, there are limited information for farmers to cope with the reduction in productivity due to various physiological disorders and premature aging. This study was conducted to investigate the soil and leaf chemical properties, and fruit characteristics, which will be used as basic data for stable kiwifruit orchard soil management. METHODS AND RESULTS: The soil and leaf chemical properties, and fruit characteristics were investigated for two years in 16 kiwifruit orchards growing 'Hayward' (Actinidia deliciosa) in Jeollanam-do and Gyeongsangnam-do. Soil and leaf samples were collected in July and fruit quality was investigated by harvesting fruits about 170 days after full bloom. The average soil chemical properties of kiwi orchards were generally higher than the recommended level, except for pH, and especially, the exchangeable potassium reached about 300% of the recommended level. The proportions of orchards that exceeded the recommended level of soil chemical properties were 63, 31, 100, 69, 94, 88 and 69% for pH, EC, organic content, available phosphate, and exchangeable potassium, calcium and magnesium, respectively. Thirty-three percent of orchards had more than 100 mg/kg of nitrate nitrogen in soil. Available phosphate in soil showed a significantly positive correlation with leaf nitrogen, phosphoric acid and calcium content, but showed a significantly negative correlation with leaf potassium content. The magnesium content in the leaves was significantly correlated with soil pH. The highest fruit weight was observed in about 25 g/kg of leaf nitrogen content which could be attained when plants were grown on the soil containing about 100 mg/kg of nitrate nitrogen content. The average soluble solids content among 16 orchards was 9.58 °Brix at harvest and 13.9 °Brix after ripening, which increased about 45%, and the average fruit weight was about 110 g. CONCLUSION(S): For fruit quality, fruit soluble solids (sugar compounds) content was significantly correlated with leaf potassium content, fruit hardiness with leaf total nitrate, calcium and magnesium, and fruit titratable acidity with leaf magnesium; however, leaf calcium and magnesium negatively affect the soluble solids contents in fruits.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.326-329
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• 2007

Quantifying soil organic carbon (SOC) has long been considered to improve our understanding of soil productivity, soil carbon dynamics, and soil quality. And also SOC could contribute as a major soil management factor for prescribing fertilizers and controlling of soil erosion and runoff. Reducing tillage intensity has been recommended to sequester SOC into soil. On the other hand, determination of traditional SOC could barely identify the tillage practices effect. Physical soil fractionation has been reported to improve interpretation of soil tillage practices impact on SOC dynamics. However, most of these researches were focused onupland soils and few researches were conducted on paddy soils. Therefore, the objective of this research was to evaluate paddy soil tillage impact on SOC by physical soil fractionation. Soils were sampled in conventional-tillage (CT), partial-tillage (PT), no-tillage (NT), and shallow-tillage (ST)plots at the National Institute of Crop Science research farm. Samples were obtained at the three sampling depth with 7.5-cm increment from the surface and were sieved with 0.25- and 0.053-mm screen. Soil organic carbon was determined by wet combustion method. Significant difference of SOC contentwas found among sampling soil depth and soil particle size. SOC content tended to increase at the ST plot with increasing size of soil particle fraction. We conclude that quantifying soil organic carbon by physical soil particle fractionation could improve understanding of SOC dynamics by soil tillage practices.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.727-733
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• 2009

This study was performed to investigate the physical characteristics like compressive strength, permeability, porosity and the water quality removal characteristics of permeable concrete pavement filled with microbial-soil sheet to remove SS, organic matter and nutrients in artificial rainfall. As a result, it can show the removal efficiency is SS 90~95%, COD 85~93%, BOD 80~83%, T-N 61~75%, T-P 71~78% on WAPS I(W1) and WAPS II(W2). Therefore, permeable concrete pavement filled with microbial-soil sheet shows higher removal efficiency(SS 10%, organic matter and nutrients 30%) than a conventional porous concrete(W3). By filling microbial-soil sheet to permeable concrete pavement, we confirm that the function and efficiency are improved significantly and that a naturally-friendly facility can be developed and applied to treat non-point sources.