• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.347-376
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• 2021

Investigating and evaluating regionally distributed plant resources provide fundamental information (inventory) to conserve plant diversity in target areas. Nevertheless, the examination of inventory to collect information in areas with little interest has been insufficient. In this study, the vicinity of Mt. Baegamsan(1,004m) was investigated for plant resources in the central and southern part of the Korean peninsula, which has received low interest. Nine surveys identified a total of 638 taxa consisting of 108 families, 339 genera, 572 species, 12 subspecies, 49 varieties, and 5 forms. One taxon was designated to be the endangered wild plant by the Ministry of Environment, and a total of 29 taxa were designated to be endemic species in Korea. Floristic target species identified by the surveys included 1 taxon for grade V, 13 taxa for grade IV, 36 taxa for grade III, 29s taxa for grade II, and 34 taxa for grade I. A total of 38 taxa were identified to be naturalized plants, and 3 of them were designated as invasive alien plants by the Ministry of Environment. There was a difference in plant distribution between western and eastern areas of Mt. Baegamsan. The endangered and valuable plants for conservation were mainly identified from Mt. Baegamsan peak area, the ridge, and the western area. Considering the plant distribution, the Mt. Baegamsan region, located on Nakdong-jungmaek, was estimated to be dispersal routes for plant expansion and retreat.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.111 no.1
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• pp.81-99
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• 2022

The Baekdudaegan, spanning around 701 km from Hyangrobong to Cheonwangbong of Mt. Jirisan in South Korea, is rich in biodiversity and known as the main ecological axis of the Korean Peninsula. The Neuljae-Yuksimnyeong section of Marugeum in the southern part of the Baekdudaegan, particularly Mt. Deogyusan, is an area in which various types of vegetation appear depending on the environmental characteristics. The aims of this study were to investigate the current vegetation status at the Neuljae-Yuksimnyeong section of the Baekdudaegan and to provide basic data to aid systematic conservation and management through future classification of forest vegetation types. A vegetation survey was conducted using 637 plots from May to October 2019. Vegetation-type analysis showed that the vegetation units could be classified as a Quercus mongolica community group divided into seven communities: the Abies koreana community, Sanguisorba hakusanensis community, Persicaria hydropiper community, Quercus variabilis community, Quercus dentata community, Cornus controversa community, and Quercus mongolica community. The A. koreana community was subdivided into the Dryopteris expansa group and Picea jezoensis group. The Q. variabilis community was also subdivided into the Q. dentata group and Q. variabilis typical group. We concluded that special management plans for distinctive forest vegetation, including subalpine vegetation, grass or herb vegetation, and agricultural vegetation, should be prepared urgently to aid ecosystem preservation and enhancement.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.194-208
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• 2021

The Hwanggang Dam in North Korea is located upstream of the Imjin River which is a shared river in the border area. It is known to have a reservoir capacity of 350 million cubic meters and releases a discharge primarily for generating hydroelectric power and partly for transferring to the Yesung River basin. Due to the supply of water from the Hwanggang Dam to another basin, the flow of the Imjin River has decreased, which has a negative impact on the water supply, river maintenance flow, water quality, and ecological environment in Korea. However, due to the special national security issue of the South and North Korea border region, the hydrological data is not shared, and the operation method of the Hwanggang Dam is unknown, so there is a risk of damage to the southern part of the downstream area. In this study, the monthly diversion as the long-term runoff concept was derived through the calibrated hydrological model based on optical remotely sensed Images and water balance analysis. As a result of the water balance analysis from January 2019 to September 2021, the average diversion of the Hwanggang Dam was 29.2m³/s, which is equivalent to 922 million tons per year and 45.6% of the annual inflow of 2.02 million tons into the Hwanggang Dam.

• Korean Journal of Mineralogy and Petrology
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.219-226
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• 2021

We examined component analysis and lead isotope ratio analysis to find out the relationship between the excavation and the production site of 25 bronze weapons from prehistoric ages. All 25 bronze weapons are ternary alloys of copper-tin-lead and lead is artificially added. The lead isotope ratios of 25 bronze weapons show that bronze are made by raw materials in the southern regions of the Korean Peninsula, including northern China. The raw materials of narrow-shaped bronze dagger are supplied in zone 1-3 and northern China. In addition, provenance of lead for bronze halberd and pearhead are the rest of the region except for zone 1 and zone 4. Silver are enriched in most samples and zinc and cobalt are deficient. Arsenic and antimony detected only specific samples and can be used as critical parameter for provenance study. Lead isotopes and trace elements of archaeological bronzes will provide conservation scientist with useful tool to study the provenance of raw materials

• Journal of Appropriate Technology
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.94-102
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• 2020

Renewable energy (RE) is essential to comprise sustainable societies, especially, in rural villages of developing countries. Furthermore, application of off-grid RE systems to health care can improve the quality of life. In this research, a RE-based vaccination supply management system was constructed to enlarge the cold-chain in developing countries for the safe storage and delivery of vaccines. The system was comprised of the construction of RE plants and development of vaccine carriers. RE plants were constructed and connected to health posts in local villages. The cooling mechanism of vaccine carriers was improved and monitoring devices were installed. The effect of the system on vaccine cold-chain was evaluated from the field test and topographical analysis in the southern village of Nepal. RE plants were normally operated for the vaccine refrigerator in the health post. The modified vaccine carriers had a longer operation time and better temperature control via monitoring and RE-based recharging functionality. The topographical analysis estimated that the system can cover larger region. The system prototype showed great potential regarding the possibility of a sustainable and enlarged cold-chain. Thus, RE-based vaccine supply management is expected to facilitate vaccine availability while minimizing waste in the supply chain.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.56 no.2
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• pp.151-163
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• 2023

This study explored the 2022 drought over the Nakdong River watershed. Here, we developed a bivariate regional frequency analysis method to evaluate the risk of hydrological drought. Currently, natural streamflow data are generally limited to accurately estimating the drought frequency. Under this circumstance, the existing at site frequency analysis can be problematic in estimating the drought risk. On the other hand, a regional frequency analysis could provide a more reliable estimation of the joint return periods of drought variables by pooling available streamflow data over the entire watershed. More specifically, the Copula-based regional frequency analysis model was proposed to effectively take into account the tail dependencies between drought variables. The results confirmed that the regional frequency analysis model showed better performance in model fit by comparing the goodness-of-fit measures with the at-site frequency analysis model. We find that the estimated joint return period of the 2022 drought in the Nakdong River basin is about eight years. In the case of the Nam river Dam, the joint return period was approximately 20 years, which can be regarded as a relatively severe drought over the last three decades.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.28 no.3C
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• pp.187-196
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• 2008

An earthquake of magnitude 5.0 occurred at Ssang-gye-sa, a Buddhist temple in Jirisan, located near the southern border of the Korean peninsula on 4 July 1936. It resulted in severe damage of several buildings and structures in Ssang-gye-sa. Particularly, the top component of a five-story stone pagoda in the temple was tipped over and fell down during the earthquake. This earthquake damage case would be usefully applied to estimating the intensity of ground motion in the Korean peninsula, a moderate seismicity region, where strong motion has never been recorded with the exception of historic seismic events. In order to estimate the local site effects and the corresponding ground motion at Ssang-gye-sa site, intensive site investigations including borehole drilling and in-situ seismic tests such as crosshole and SASW tests were performed in the temple area. Based on the site characteristics, site-specific seismic response analyses using various input motions were conducted for a representative Ssang-gye-sa site by means of both one-dimensional equivalent-linear and nonlinear methods with six input rock outcrop acceleration levels ranging from 0.044g to 0.220g. The resultant site-specific seismic responses indicated the amplified ground motions in the short-period range near the site period of Ssang-gye-sa. Furthermore, the intensity on rock outcrop of the 1936 Jirisan earthquake was estimated by making a comparison between the site responses analysis results in this study and the full-scaled seismic test of pagoda model in the prior study.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.318-326
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• 2023

The floristic target species (FTS) has been widely used as a important tool for environmental assessment in Korea. Here the floristic district is a key criterion for the selection and evaluation of FTS. The aim of this study is to clarify the intellectual meaning of the floristic district i.e. a sort of phytogeographical subunit. We reviewed 7 main literatures related to the floristic district. Nakai's 1919 Ulleungdo flora survey report was first to mention a region and/or province in terms of general geographical divisions. In 1977, the floristic district map of the Korea vascular plants was first described by Oh. In 1978, Lee & Yim proposed a new floristic district map dividing the central and southern regions, and the district boundaries have been adjusted by many other researchers. In the end, the floristic district map modified slightly from Lee & Yim's map was nationally recognized in 2018. However, the boundaries of floristic districts were inconsistent, both in their setting and adjustment, as well as the indicator species of the district. No basis for this inconsistency could be confirmed. We concluded that all district maps depend on arbitrary lines drawn a priori, and finally proposed the following two ecological strategies to ensure the effectiveness and practicality of the FTS as a scientific means for environmental impact assessment and national flora evaluation: (i) designing to achieve the flora list and the floristic district based on nativeness of plant distribution, (ii) constructing a habitat-based floral monitoring system.

• Bangmulgwan gwa yeongu (The National Museum of Korea Journal)
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• v.1
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• pp.198-233
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• 2024

On April 28, 2021, the bereaved family of the late Samsung Group chairman Lee Kun-Hee made a gift of 9,797 items (in 21,693 pieces) from his estate to the National Museum of Korea. Among the donated cultural heritage are 535 mirrors (in 555 pieces), which constitute the largest proportion of the metal art in the donation. This article discusses a group of mirrors from the donated collection dating to the Western Han and Samhan periods - a total of twenty-three mirrors (twenty-two from the Western Han Dynasty and one from the Samhan Period) - that are presumed to have been found together. However, there is no known case of such a large number of Western Han mirrors being discovered together, raising doubts about whether this group should be considered to have been buried all together. Furthermore, the presence of a Samhan mirror among the group suggests that this one at least must have been found together with a Western Han mirror. Additionally, considering that early Samhan mirrors have been found in the southeastern part of the Korean Peninsula, particularly in the region occupied by Jinhan Confederacy (in present-day Gyeongsangbuk-do Province), it is likely that these mirrors were also excavated somewhere in Jinhan. Also, -18 is a repurposed imitation of a jade eye cover. No similar examples have been found in Korea, China, or Japan, but there are instances of bronze mirrors being used as substitutes for jade burial ornaments that have been identified in China. The repurposing and use of Western Han mirrors as circular ornaments have been observed only in Jinhan in the southern part of the Korean Peninsula, indicating that this item was likely used in Jinhan as well. Further research and discoveries are anticipated in the future.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.20-31
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• 2024

This study was conducted to investigate the changes in the structure of benthic communities resulting from aquaculture activities and to assess the benthic health status of surface sediment in Gangjin Bay, a region known for concentrated shellfish aquaculture on the southern coast of Korea. Survey stations were divided into longline culture, bottom culture, and non-cultivation areas. The spatiotemporal distribution of physiochemical factors such as the grain size, water temperature, salinity, and total organic carbon in Gangjin Bay showed no significant differences between sampling stations. However, the species number, density, and diversity were relatively lower at the sampling stations in the bottom culture areas than at the other stations throughout the entire survey period. Cluster analysis and principal coordinates analysis also clearly distinguished the benthic communities in the bottom culture areas from those in the other sampling areas. At the sampling stations in the longline culture and non-cultivation areas, Scolectoma longifolia and Sigambra tentaculata, which are indicator species of organically enriched areas, appeared as dominant species. However, excluding some stations influenced by physical factors such as the water depth and current speed, the occupancy rate was not high. The health assessment results, conducted using the fisheries environment assessment method, revealed good conditions with Grades 1 and 2 across the entire area. However, an examination of the spatiotemporal changes in benthic communities and the benthic health index indicated that the benthic environment in the bottom culture areas was affected by physical disturbances.