• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.21-31
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• 2007

Estuarine wetland, where freshwater meets saltwater, is a transitional ecosystem that is valuable ecologically for a variety of reasons, such as feeding and breeding sites for birds, fish, and wildlife. However, research on the spatial distribution and temporal dynamics of estuarine wetlands in Korea is rare. As a fundamental basis for wetland conservation, this study quantified the wetlands in three major estuaries, and evaluated the temporal dynamics of the wetlands since the 1910s. In particular, this study classified the wetland types into mud flat, sand, and emergent-plant types, and estimated the change of each wetland type, using topographic maps produced in the 1910s, 1970s, and 2000s. The wetlands in both the Han and Youngsan River estuaries have declined since the 1910s, but the rate of wetland decline was relatively low before the 1970s, compared to that since the 1970s. The impact of human activities, such as the Youngsan Watershed Comprehensive Development Project and the construction of estuary barrages, has disrupted the estuary cycles and destroyed huge amounts of wetland in the Youngsan estuary. By contrast, estuarine wetlands have been preserved in the small Gahwa estuary, and provide a variety of habitats for plants and wildlife. A special management strategy for wetlands should be established as soon as possible.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.151-155
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• 2003

The resources conservation system is comprehended, making Taean-haean National Park a research material by applying the fact of landowning, designating an LOP and Korea and Japan's Natural Park Act. Following conclusions were obtained in this study; Most of land areas of the National Park are privately owned; Only a few have been designated as Natural Reservation, a core reserved area on LOP, and a sandy beach, a sand dune, a sand spit, a tidal flat, a wetland, etc are distributed in the natural environment area so they were exposed to development; As seen in most of coastal type of National Parks, 13 commercial beaches are established. The annual rush to the beaches appears in July and August; Sand dune areas that have to be managed in terms of conservation, are turned into beaches. Moreover, the collective facilities areas are randomly developed. So they fail to function originally; The current Natural Park Act has no systematic devices for conservation of the natural resources on the seashore or offshore.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.193-199
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• 2012

We performed qualitative and quantitative surveys on the distribution of seaweed species and dominant species with their standing crop and temporal variations in Hauido tidal flats in order to understand the role of seaweeds in a coastal wetland ecological system that may be used for conservation and management of coastal wetland ecological system. A total of 9 species were found at 7 stations of the study area; 4 species of Chlorophyta (Ulva compressa, U. prolifera, U. pertusa and Ulothrix flacca), 3 species of Phaeophyta (Ectocarpus arctus, Scytosiphon lomentaria and Myelophycus simplex) and 2 species of Rhodophyta (Gracilaria verrucosa and Caulacanthus okamurae). Major dominant species were U. compressa, U. prolifera and U. pertusa (Chlorophyta), Scytosiphon lomentaria (Phaeophyta) and Gracilaria verrucosa (Rhodophyta). Standing crops of U. compressa and U. prolifera were $2.94{\sim}45.25g{\cdot}dw{\cdot}m^{-2}$ and $6.19{\sim}91.9g{\cdot}dw{\cdot}m^{-2}$, respectively, in spring. Seaweed habitat was characterized by textural differences that the percentage of coarse particles and organic material were a little higher in seaweed flourishing areas than in seaweed barren areas.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.291-298
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• 2013

In order to investigate the topography and exposure duration of the Siheung tidal flat, tidal ranges and DEM constructed by remote sensing techniques were analyzed. A cross-sectional diagram of the intertidal area reveals that it is relatively flat in the upper zone and then abruptly plunges into the bottom of the main channel where elevations increase in an upstream direction. The waterline during the Highest Low Water (HLW) is drawn back to the bottom of the channel at the middle part of the tidal flat and is formed along the slant of the channel during the Lowest High Water (LHW). The intertidal zone is located between -410 cm and 510 cm in terms of elevation and its total area is $0.65km^2$. An area between the Highest High Water (HHW) and Lowest High Water (LHW), occupying about 80% of the total area, occupies $0.52km^2$ of total area and accounts for 56% of the exposure duration. The boundary of wetland protection area in the Siheung tidal flat did not exactly coincide with the intertidal regime and differs by more than 15%. This study, which precisely analyzed the tidal flat area, tidal environment, and topography, would be useful in making a conservation plan and in learning how to use a wetland protection area in a sustainable manner.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.133-137
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• 2003

The Yellow River delta is an important region where coastal and newly formed wetlands distribute in north China. Based on satellite remote sensing images and GIS techniques, this paper tends to delineate the dynamic changes of newly formed wetland in the Yellow River mouth from 1986.5 to 1996.10. Our results show that the newly formed wetland increased by 24.9 $\textrm{km}^2$ per year. Before 1990. 1 and it decreased by 2.40 $\textrm{km}^2$ per year after that. The northern and southwestern parts of the Yellow River mouth are main positions of decrease and the southern and the estuary parts are main positions of increase. The advancing rate of river mouth extending into the Bo Sea is decreasing obviously. The reason for that is the decreasing of water and sediments in the Yellow River, which caused by the increasing use of water and soil conservation on upper reach.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.377-389
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• 2010

Understanding the factors relevant to endangerment and the patterns of habitat locations in relation to protected areas is critically important for the conservation of rare species. Although 64 plant species have recently been listed as endangered species in Korea, this information has, until now, not been available, making appropriate management and conservation strategies impossible to devise. Thus, we collected information on potentially threatening factors, as well as information on the locations in which these species were observed. The potentially threatening factors were classified into seven categories. National parks, provincial parks, ecosystem conservation areas, and wetland conservation areas were defined as protected conservation areas. Korean digital elevation model data, along with the maps of all protected areas were combined with the maps of endangered plant species, and analyzed via Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Excluding the category of "small population", endangered plant species in Korea were associated more frequently with extrinsic factors than intrinsic factors. Considering land surface only, all conservation areas in Korea totaled 4.9% of the land, far lower than International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN)'s 10% coverage target. At the species level, 69% of the endangered plant species were detected in conservation areas, mostly in national parks. However, this result demonstrates that 31% of endangered species inhabit areas outside the conservation zones. Furthermore, at the habitat level, a large proportion of endangered species were found to reside in unprotected areas, revealing "gaps" in protected land. In the face of rapid environmental changes such as population increases, urbanization, and climate changes, converting these gap areas to endangered species' habitats, or at least including them in habitat networks, will help to perpetuate the existence of endangered species.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.103-111
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• 2010

Wetlands perform various functions of vital socio-ecological significance playing fundamental role in moderating monsoon tidal floods and coastal protection and generate goods and products such as fish and forest resources. The depletion of mangroves is a cause of serious environmental and economic concern to many developing countries. Problems of sustainability of mangrove ecosystems are not only technical but also socio-economic. Functions played by mangrove wetlands are of fundamental importance for society. The present study aims to identify the challenges of the mangrove wetlands of Southeast coast of Chittagong, their uses and socio-economic influence on local people, and the value of ecosystem services, and to suggest how to conserve this ecosystem in a more equitable way.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.111-120
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• 2023

In Korea, wetland policies are currently being pursued through long-term plans such as nationwide wetland surveys and wetland conservation basic plans. However, most policies focus on understanding the status of wetlands, such as their area, distribution, and biodiversity, and there is a lack of awareness regarding the need to conserve and manage wetland ecosystems as a single organism. Therefore, this study aims to identify potential riverine wetland sites that can be ecologically connected by considering functional aspects such as floodplain, biodiversity, habitat provision, and tourism resources. This study attempted to select a candidate site that could potentially provide ecological connectivity with three wetlands in the Nakdonggang River water system : Upo Wetland, Hwapocheon Wetland, and Junam Reservoir. 63 wetlands and 7 candidate sites located in 15 subwatersheds of the Nakdonggang River were analyzed, and the most suitable candidate site for ecological connectivity was selected based on the calculated scores. A suitability analysis was conducted using 9 evaluation factors to evaluate candidate sites, and the scoring method, using quantile, was applied to these factors. As a result, Upo2(Hopo) was selected as the most suitable site for ecological connectivity, receiving the highest score 36. Therefore, it is believed that Upo2(Hopo) can serve as a floodplain, habitat, biodiversity enhancer, and tourism resource while being the most suitable for ecological connectivity.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2010

Small wetlands in an upland matrix can support diverse vegetation composition that increase both local and regional species richness. In this study we characterize the full range of wetland vegetation in an upland forest landscape at Dumyeong-ri, Gijang-gun, Busan. This wetland index can be calculated with species data, or with community type data as performed. Classified community types were used to describe vegetation at three wetlands and adjacent areas. The communities contained 28 species of vascular plants and 28 species were identified four plant community types. The Pinus densiflora type was dominated by Pinus densiflora and contained only four species. None of the plots had high proportion of standing water. The Carpinus laxiflora type had high obligate upland species (OU) and facultative upland species (FU). The Rhododendron mucronulatum type grew in over half of the plots included Pinus densiflora and Alnus japonica. Some species bother swampy areas adjacent to site C. The Miscanthus sacchariflorus type consisted of seasonal wetlands. The three sites contained nine species with the strongest indicator species being Miscanthus sinensis var. purpurascens, Miscanthus sinensis, Echinochloa crus-galli, and Sagittaria aginashi. This type had the highest proportions of obligate wetland species. Plant species richness averaged 5.069. Shannon-Weaver index of diversity also varied among the community types (F=22.7, df=4, 115), with the types FU having significantly higher value (2.746) than the others (1.057 for type FW and 1.600 for type OU). Regional plans including all of the diverse types of wetland vegetation in upland forests will contribute substantially to the conservation of plant diversity.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.295-304
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• 2017

The Ramsar protected area in Ungok wetland, which has been designated since 2011, was described by syntaxonomy and synchorology. Phytocoenon was identified and named by a traditional method of the $Z{\ddot{u}}rich$-Montpellier School and Code of Phytosociological Nomenclature. Habitat-based vegetation classification has identified into twelve syntaxa consisting of 88 taxa in seven vegetation types: Juncus effusus var. decipiens-Salix koreensis community, Caricis-Salicetum subfragilis, Galium spurium var. echinospermon-Phragmites japonica community, Phragmitetum australis, Scirpetum fluviatilis, Leersia japonica-Typha angustifolia community, Juncus diastrophanthus-Juncus effusus var. decipiens community, Leersicetum japonicae, Nymphoido indicae-Trapetum japonicae (typicum, marsiletosum quadrifoliae subass. nova hoc loco, variante Euryale ferox), Nelumbo nucifera community, Utricularia tenuicaulis community, Potamogetonetum crispi. Actual vegetation map was made by using topographical map of scale 1 : 5,000. Habitat-based management on the Ungok wetland vegetation was required, in which there are composed of two major areas such as the back-swamp vegetation and the limnetic vegetation zone.