• Journal of Climate Change Research
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.401-414
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• 2017

Vegetation and landscape characteristics at the three highest summits of Republic of Korea, i.e. Seoraksan, Jirisan and Hallasan, are analyzed on the basis of species composition, physiognomy, vegetation distribution and structure of alpine plants, along with landform, geology, soil and habitat conditions. Dominant high mountain plants at three alpine and subalpine belts contain deciduous broadleaved shrub, Rhododendron mucronulatum var. ciliatum (31.6%), and evergreen coniferous small tree, Pinus pumila (26.3%) at Seoraksan, deciduous broadleaved tree, Betula ermanii (35.3%), evergreen coniferous tree, Picea jezoensis (23.5%) at Jirisan, and evergreen coniferous tree, Abies koreana (22.6%), deciduous broadleaved shrub, Rhododendron mucronulatum var. ciliatum, and Juniperus chinensis var. sargentii (19.4%) at Hallasan, respectively. Presence of diverse landscapes at the peak of Seoraksan, such as shrubland, grassland, dry land along with rocky areas, and open land may be the result of hostile local climate and geology. High proportion of grassland and wetland at the top of Jirisan may related to gneiss-based gentle topography and well developed soil deposits, which are beneficial to keep the moisture content high. Occurrence of grassland, shrubland, dry land, conifer vegetation, and rocky area at the summit of Hallasan may due to higher elevation, unique local climate, as well as volcanic origin geology and soil substrates. Presences of diverse boreal plant species with various physiognomy at alpine and subalpine belts, and wide range of landscapes, including rocky, grassland, shrubland, wetland, and conifer woodland, provide decisive clues to understand the natural history of Korea, and can be employed as an relevant environmental indicator of biodiversity and ecosystem stability.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.17-23
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• 2021

Background: Montane wetlands are unique wetland ecosystems with distinct physicochemical characteristics, and Molinia japonica often makes dominant communities in montane wetlands in South Korea. In order to figure out the environmental characteristics of M. japonica habitats and the major factors for the growth of M. japonica, field surveys were conducted in five wetlands from September to October 2019. Also, soil was collected at every quadrats installed in surveyed wetlands to analyze the physicochemical features. Results: The relative coverage of M. japonica was higher in low latitude wetlands than in high latitude. Redundancy analysis showed that soil water content had the strongest effect on the growth of M. japonica (F = 23.0, p < 0.001). Soil water content, loss on ignition, and relative light intensity showed a high correlation with the density (R = 0.568, 0.550, 0.547, respectively, p < 0.01) and the coverage of M. japonica (R = 0.495, 0.385, 0.514, respectively, p < 0.01). Soil water content, loss on ignition, and pH were highly correlated with each other. Conclusions: Molinia japonica lives in acidic wetlands at high altitude in temperate zone of low latitude, with peat layer placed on the floor. Also, M. japonica prefers open spaces to secure enough light for photosynthesis. High shoot production of M. japonica resulted in adding new peat material in every year, and this layer enforces the environmental characteristics of M. japonica habitats. This study may provide insights for further understanding of the method how wetlands maintain acidic condition by itself in montane wetlands in temperate zone.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.47 no.6
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• pp.37-44
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• 2019

This study was conducted to identify the distribution characteristics of small village wetlands in Geumsan County, an inland mountain zone, and comparing with Seocheon County, a coastal plain area with different ecological environment characteristics. Using Arc-GIS (v10.1) the village wetland code was extracted to derive the possible location of the village wetland, and the final distribution of the village was obtained by performing indoor judging work based on satellite images, aerial photographs, topographical maps, Korea Land Information System (KLIS), land use level, land cover degree (division), and land use status by local surveying and indoor analyzing. Although Geumsan County (576.66km2) is more than 60% larger than Seocheon County (358.04km2), 607 villages in Geumsan County and 570 villages in Seocheon County are capable of making similar levels of 106.5% of wetlands, but only a fraction of those in Seocheon County were found to be 67.6%. The density of the village wetlands was much lower than that of Seocheon County, a coastal plain area, because there were many mountainous areas in Geumsan County, and most of the wetlands temporarily created for water supply were removed during the analysis phase of the Jeongsa Image, so the actual wetlands of the village were judged to be only two-thirds different from those of Seocheon County.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.1-16
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• 2006

The purpose of this study is to develop design model of ecological park as stormwater storage facilities. The results are as follows : First, the design model of ecological park as stormwater storage facilities consider ecological and landscape characteristics such as high efficiency of land use, function as disaster prevention, ecological water purification, formation of habitat for flora and fauna. Second, this study demonstrates two types of plane structure and eight types of designed section. They can be combined and designed depending on conditions of each site. The facilities of stormwater storage conduct disaster prevention system and ecological park. Retention pond in stormwater storage facilities for ecological park also should be made for ecological restoration in the site. Third, the ecological park provide the basis for ecological network from in-site to out-site. Therefore its conservation and restoration plan consider the ecosystems of the site. Fourth, the most important factor for maintenance and management for retention pond is keeping water quality. Sustainable Structured wetland Biotop system is suggested for ecological water purification system in the retention pond which is one of the constructed wetland system using multi-celled aquatic plant and pond. This system can also provide habitat for animals and plants, water friendly park for men, and beautiful landscape.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.76-86
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• 2000

The purpose of this study is to fiure out the floral changes during three years after construction of the Youido Ecology Park. Yearly change of plant species composition, distributed at the research field, had been investigated for three years since 1996. To compare and investigate the changes of the establishment of the Ecology Park, we have analyzed the distribution characteristics of plant species, exotic naturalized species, and so on. The results obtained through this investigation are as follows; 1) Total numbers of plant species were 106, 170, 175, and 148, in the year of 1996, 1998 1999, and 2000, respectively. While the most of cultivated species before th establishment were decreased, the naturalized species such Phargmites communis Trin, and Artemisia selengensis Turcz. etc, were increased. 2) Forty three species of exotic naturalized species were investigated and were increased at the early stage of the establishment, but showed decreasing trend recently. 3) Sixty five species of introduced and planted species were investigated. Most of them were occurred at the first year after the establishment, but since 1999, there has been a significant decrease. 4) Sixty seven species among total 235 were verified as the wetland-adapted plants. The ratio to the total numbers were low, but the occupied area of a few species was expanded. Therefore, it indicates that monitoring on the physical environments of the Youido Ecology Park was urgently required.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.343-352
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• 2015

The landscape setting of a habitat strongly influences the distribution, abundance, and species composition of waterfowl. Thus, habitat assessment is very important to understand the habitat characteristics that sustain waterfowl assemblages. In this study, we hypothesized that the excessive use of artificial materials when new wetlands are constructed negatively influences wintering waterfowl. To test this hypothesis, we measured environmental factors, assessed habitat, and investigated waterfowl at 13 artificial wetlands in the Nakdong River Basin. There were greater numbers of waterfowl species and individuals in artificial wetlands with high habitat assessment scores. In contrast, environmental factors did not affect waterfowl distribution. In particular, features of natural habitats, such as macrophytes and sandbars, and the surrounding land-use patterns were important factors for sustaining waterfowl assemblages in each created wetland. Our results show that promoting naturalness in wetlands and surrounding areas would increase the species diversity and abundance of waterfowl. Further, complex habitats, such as wetlands and some terrestrial habitats, support both aquatic and terrestrial species because mixed habitats feature a larger array of food sources than more limited habitats do.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.159-166
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• 2011

The use of land cover was sharply changed during 1975~2007 in the Kyungan watershed $(561.12 km^2)$. The changes occurred over an area of more than $227.65 km^2$ during the overall period at changing rates of 1.04% per year for water area, 1.79% per year for residential area, 2.99% per year for bare area, 3.03% per year for wetland area, 3.04% per year for grass area, 0.87% per year for forest and 2.32% per year for agriculture area. Water, residential, bare and wetland areas increased, while grass, forest and agriculture areas decreased during the last 32 years. BOD concentrations of representative sites for each sub-watershed continuously increased until the early 2000s as residential area increased with the highest discharged load, but decreased after the mid 2000s except upper Kyungan watershed. Such decline appears to be associated with the planning of Total Maximum Daily Load management for Gwangju city and expansion of waste water treatment plant. It is necessary to control land use/cover changes of the upper watershed and to prepare appropriate watershed management system for improvement in river environment including water quality, stream flow and bio-diversity.

• Proceedings of the National Institute of Ecology of the Republic of Korea
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.55-59
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• 2024

The remarkable economic growth achieved in the modern era has revitalized various industries, including pet trade. More than 2,000 species of non-native species have been introduced to South Korea and approximately 7.7 tonnes of alien turtles are imported annually. Turtles belonging to the family Kinosternidae. They are mostly small and popular pets, although they are designated as Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) species. In the present study, we present the first two species of musk turtles found in the wild in South Korea. On April 5, 2023 and July 8, 2023, an eastern musk turtle (Sternotherus odoratus) and a razorbacked musk turtle (Sternotherus carinatus) were captured in Ilsandong-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do and Jung-gu, Daejeon, respectively. The carapace length was 88.6 mm for S. odoratus and 105.68 mm for S. carinatus. They were identified based on their morphological characteristics and mtDNA cytochrome b gene. These turtles were found in waterfront areas with over 1.4 million annual visitors. Both sites were found to have threatened amphibians and reptiles. There is an urgent need to continue monitoring and conducting risk assessments for the protection of endemic species in Korea.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.35-45
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• 2012

In order to characterize the habitat trait and vegetation structure of M. chejuense(Ophioglssaceae), endangered plant in Korea, we set 12 permanent quadrats in Jocheon-Sunhyul Gotzawal Wetland Region of Jeju Island, and surveyed the temporal pools, vegetation structure and counted the population size of the endemic rare plant. M. chejuense distributed in the vernal pools with a variety of shape, area of 150-$400m^2$, depth of 0.4-2.0m and slope of 3-$10^{\circ}$, at altitude of 88-165m in lowland area in Gotjawal Wetland Region, Jeju Island. The soil has a thin layer and high water content all the seasons. The population appeared with a density range of 1-423/pool in the boundary area of the wetlands under higher tree coverages(80-100%) in the deciduous forest communities. Vegetation wsa classified into five plant communities such as Ulmus parvifolia community, Cudrania tricuspidata community, Rosa multiflora community, Ardisia japonica community, Ophiopogon japonicus community. These results means that M. chejuense potentially has a shortage to evergreen plant succession, litter accumulation and water drainage, thus it is need to sustainable wetland environmental condition in the deciduous forest community for its sounded conservation.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.421-429
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• 2012

This study was aimed to analyze the water quality characteristics of the Hwapocheon Stream and to be utilized in the further related research. Water in the upper stream became a dammed pool due to the existence of 14 weirs, and pollutants such as both sewage and irrigation water were introduced into the mainstream passing through farming settlements and agricultural land. For these reasons, filamentous cyanobacteria (Oscillatoria sp.) bloomed at the bottom of the dammed pool. Also in the midstream and downstream, tributaries with high pollutant concentrations [e.g., Comocheon (T3) and Yongdeokcheon (T8)] were inflowed, and had a negative impact on water quality of the mainstream, especially nitrogen and phosphorus. In the Hwapocheon Stream, dissolved oxygen (DO) decreased, and suspended solid (SS) increased toward the downstream. The result showed that hydraulic retention time, SS, COD, and concentration of $NH_4{^+}$ were important water quality factors of the Hwapocheon Stream. The high concentration of benthic organic matter and rich in attached algae in the core of Hwapo-wetland were expected to give impact on the water quality of the mainstream. In the spatial manner, water quality showed increasing trend in the weir zone, and it was constant or decreased trend in wetland. In the seasonal manner, the nutrient concentrations were high in the winter dry season, however, the organic matter concentrations were high in spring and summer. Generally, the concentrations of phytoplankton value were $40{\mu}g\;chl-{\alpha}/L$ or less in all reaches except for the high concentrations in the weir and wetland area in June.