• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.39-47
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• 2010

Annually, the scale of agricultural areas in Korea were being reduced as the lands were converted to other land uses. While the rate of productivity were either being maintained or increased, the pollution load from these areas were still greater in magnitude. Although the levels of pollutant concentration released in the agricultural watersheds were minimal, the combined quantities mostly from diffuse sources were high. As a consequence, the Ministry of Environment (MOE) in Korea adopted the use of free water surface (FWS) flow constructed wetlands to reduce the pollutant loadings emitted from agricultural watersheds for the improvement of water quality and protection of aquatic ecosystems. In this study, a constructed wetland treating stream water in an agricultural watershed was monitored since April 2009 subsequent to its completion in December 2008. Satisfactory performance was achieved for TSS, BOD and TP with 26%, 28% and 39% pollutant removal rates, respectively. In addition, the effluent water quality was improved and achieved compliance the national water quality criteria. Results of this study can be useful to establish design parameters and employ proper removal techniques of similar natural treatment systems for future implementation in the country.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.136-143
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• 2015

Gotjawal areas have the unique ecosystem and we need to approach as the inhabit of animals to conserve Gotjawal. This study was conducted in Hangyeong-myeon Cheongsu-ri located in the western part of Jeju Island belonging to Hangyeong Andeok Gotjawal Zone and Jocheon-eup Seonheul-ri located in the eastern part of Jeju Island belonging to Jocheon Hamdeok Gotjawal Zone. Survey on advent of the birds was done twice a month from February 2013 to December 2014. A total of 66 species and 4,140 individuals in two Gotjawals were observed during the survey period. In Seonheul Gotjawal area, 53 species and 1,907 individuals were observed while it was 49 species and 2,233 individuals in Cheongsu Gotjawal area. The number of species between two Gotjawal areas was not significantly different, but the number of individuals between two Gotjawal areas was significantly different. Thirty-six species were found in both Gotjawal areas as common species and the index of similarity was 0.7. A total of 23 species were classified as the residents, 15 species as the winter visitors, 16 species as the passage migrants, 11 species as the summer visitors, and 2 species as the vagrant. Twelve species as legally protected birds including the natural monument and the endangered species were found and 8 species were found in Seonheul Gotjawal area while it was 10 species in Cheongsu Gotjawal area. The species that directly using a wetland or food resources related to water were 12 in the Seonheul and 6 species were observed in the Cheongsu Gotjawal area, but there is no significant difference between two Gotjawal areas. However, the number of individuals in Seonheul Gotjawal area was significantly higher than in that of in Cheongsu Gotjawal area. We need to research the wetlands and micro climatic condition existing in Gotjawal forests to find the cause of difference of two areas and this difference must be considered as an important indicator for the protection of Gotjawal forests.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.71-81
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• 2019

This study aims to provide basic data for the decision-making process in selecting sites for wetland restoration projects. To this end, the current list of demaged wetlands was identified based on the findings from the nationwide monitoring project in 2016 targeted at wetlands in inland areas. Then, to determine the necessity of restoration for these demaged sites, the cause of demage was investigated, and their conservation value was examined from an ecological and legal perspective. The 2016 monitoring project identified a total of 20 demaged wetlands, of which one site was deemed to have high conservation value through analysis of its ecological and legal values and on-site reviews. The results of this study are expected to support policymakers' decision-making in selecting wetlands for restoration projects since it identifies priority sites among demaged wetlands that require immediate restoration efforts. It should also be pointed out that wetlands in South Korea cannot benefit from legal protection despite their high conservation value unless they have a designated status as protected areas.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.28 no.12
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• pp.1123-1131
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• 2019

In this study, we investigated the spatial range, distribution pattern, temporal appearance, sex ratio, seasonal pattern, and size of the population of Leptalina unicolor locally inhabiting the wetland protection area in the Jaeyaksan Mountain. We found that the butterfly was distributed across four areas at 750 m above sea level and in an area of 96,000 ㎡. in the southeastern slope of the mountain. The discontinuous distribution of the butterflies in the meadow. According to our survey conducted from 2012 to 2014, L. unicolor occurred in May (spring) and July (summer) each year, with the male population more than three times higher than that of the female population. The population size estimated using the mark and recapture method on the back of the hind wing in the two years was as follows: 877±502 and 1243±800 individuals in the spring and summer of 2012, respectively, and 783±429 and 506±365 individuals in the spring and summer of 2014, respectively, suggesting no specific seasonal pattern. The findings of this study are expected to be useful for the conservation of the populations and habitats of L. unicolor, which are currently distributed locally due to a decrease in population size.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.38 no.5_1
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• pp.447-460
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• 2022

It is well known that satellite synthetic aperture radar interferometry (InSAR) has been widely used for the observation of surface displacement owing to earthquakes, volcanoes, and subsidence very precisely. In wetlands where vegetation exists on the surface of the water, it is possible to create a water level change map with high spatial resolution over a wide area using the InSAR technique. Currently, a number of imaging radar satellites are in operation, and most of them support a ScanSAR mode observation to gather information over a large area at once. The Cienaga Grande de Santa Marta (CGSM) wetland, located in northern Colombia, is a vast wetland developed along the Caribbean coast. The CGSM wetlands face serious environmental threats from human activities such as reclamation for agricultural uses and residential purposes as well as natural causes such as sea level rise owing to climate change. Various restoration and protection plans have been conducted to conserve these invaluable environments in recognition of the ecological importance of the CGSM wetlands. Monitoring of water level changes in wetland is very important resources to understand the hydrologic characteristics and the in-situ water level gauge stations are usually utilized to measure the water level. Although it can provide very good temporal resolution of water level information, it is limited to fully understand flow pattern owing to its very coarse spatial resolution. In this study, we evaluate the L-band ALOS-2 PALSAR-2 ScanSAR mode to observe the water level change over the wide wetland area using the radar interferometric technique. In order to assess the quality of the interferometric product in the aspect of spatial resolution and coherence, we also utilized ALOS-2 PALSAR-2 stripmap high-resolution mode observations.

• Journal of Environmental Policy
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.57-89
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• 2007

The Korean government has put mamy efforts into the protection of ecological values of coastal and marine ecosystems since the mid 1990s, recognizing ecological values and economic contributions of coastal and marine ecosystems. Rapid increase of coastal and marine protected areas in terms of number and size implies the innovative change of national policy regarding ecosystem protection. As of the end of 2006, the total number and size of the protected areas account for 425 and $10,666.8km^2$ respectively. Despite of this achievement, the current policy regime on the protected areas has not been quite successful dealing with in managerial issues. The ambiguity and the lacking objectivity of designation criteria have, been causes of pending issues such as conflict outbreaks, 'paper parks', duplicated designation, etc. This paper aims at improving current designation criteria based on AHP(Analytic Hierarchy Process). The suggestion of the study covers both the new designation criteria and the weighing factor on each criterion considering different ecological and socio-economic characteristics of 'wetland protected area' and 'marine protected area'.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.31-40
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• 2000

The flora, vegetation structure and physico-chemical characteristics of surface sediment were investigated in Paksil-nup wetland of Hapcheon-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do, Korea in 1990~1998. Ranges of the surface sediment characteristics such as pH, conductivity, organic matter, total nitrogen, available phosphorus, exchangeable K, exchangeable Ca, exchangeable Mg, and exchangeable Na were 4.36~4.34, $19.0{\sim}1260.0\;{\mu}mho\;cm^{-1}$, 0.01~6.35%, 0.001~0.14%, 0.01~0.31 mg/l00g, 1.01~13.98 ppm, 16.75~143.80 ppm, 0.93~14.85 ppm and 0.21~3.86 ppm, respectively. Percentages of the particle size such as sand, silt, and clay were 13.0~93.3%, 5.4~71.7%, and 0.5~37.5%, respectively. The flora of the study area was composed of 72 families, 182 genera, 223 species, 36 varieties and 2 form or total 261 kinds, and those were 45 kinds of vascular hydrophytes and 216 kinds of vascular hygrophytes. The life form of vascular hydrophytes was classified as 27 kinds (60%) of emergent plants, 8 kinds (18%) of submerged plants, 6 kinds (13%) of free-floating plants and 4 kinds (9%) of floating-leaved plants, respectively. The importance value of Salix nipponica was highest as 123.78 in the shrub and tree layers, and that of Trapa japonica was highest as 16.69 in the herb layer. The vegetation type was divided into two groups according to the association analysis. The vegetation of the littoral zone was classified into 7 associations according to the cluster analysis based on the coverage data. These results showed significant differences with those of stand ordination by correspondence analysis based on the species composition and by PCA based on the sediment properties. Factors affecting the distribution of the vascular hydrophytes and hygrophytes were the gradient of particle size, altitude, and water depth.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.29-44
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• 1999

Vegetation structure and distribution of the vascular hydrophytes and hygrophytes, and the growth pattern, standing crop and amounts of nutrient uptake by Salix species were investigated in the upper stream wetlands of the Namgang-Dam, Chinju-city, Gyeongsangnam-do, Korea from April to November in 1997. The flora was composed of 43 hydrophytes and 241 hygrophytes, or total 284 vascular plants. The life forms of the hydrophytes were classified as 27 kinds of emergent plants, 4 floating-leaved plants, 3 free-floating plants, and 9 submersed plants. In the herb layer, the dominant species was Persicaria hyciropiper, and the ranges of the species diversity indices (H'), equitabilities, (J') and community similarity indices (CCs) were 1.59~1.89, 0.87~0.96, and 0.35~0.83, respectively. In the shrub and subtree layers, 17 kinds of Salix species were supposed to the pioneer plants at the early stage of the succession. The number of branches per main stem of Salix species was 5.0. The DBH class-frequency histograms of Salix species were the reverse J type, and the natural regeneration of the Salix community was expected. Basal area of Salix species per square meter was $24.87cm^2$. Volume of Salix species per square meter was $12,008cm^3$ and total phytomass of the Salix species was estimated as 12,894 ton. Biomass distribution of Salix species in the stem, the branch and twig, and the leaf was 64.1%, 28.1%, and 7.8%, respectively. The amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus absorbed by Salix species were 68,022 and 19,823 kg. It was recommended that application and conservation of the wetland and other counterplans are indispensable to reduce the adverse effects of water pollution and to preserve the wetland ecosystem.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.249-260
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• 2022

This mini review examines the habitat connectivity and effectiveness of Korean Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the Yellow Sea Large Marine Ecosystem (YSLME) region. We first reemphasize that the Korean region of the YSLME is a single ecosystem (ecoregion) given the biophysical distribution patterns. The MPAs within the YSLME contribute about 50% to the total MPAs in Korea, accounting for about 10% of the territorial sea waters of Korea and 20% of the waters of YSLME on the Korean side. By area, national parks account for nearly 45% of the MPAs, followed by the wetland protected areas at 25%, with other types of MPA comprising the remaining 30%. Large MPA (> 100 km²) is the dominant type of MPA, accounting for 90% of the total area. We find that MPAs in the region are connected physically and perhaps also genetically. However, the level of protection was found to be low, and a no-take zone is rarely implemented. In addition, interrupted freshwater discharge caused by river-mouth dams poses a major hindrance to the physical connectivity of the MPAs. Restoration of the river-mouth dams and strengthened regulation on MPAs, with further expansion of MPAs in line with the current development of post-2020 global biodiversity frameworks, should be priorities for better management of marine resources. The newly revised law incorporating the concept of "Marine Ecosystem Axis Management" would reinforce the processes, and their effectiveness together with overall management of MPAs in Korea should be evaluated by designing appropriate measurement tools.

• Journal of Korean Society of Rural Planning
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.13-24
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• 2014

The pond wetlands in agricultural landscape are important natural resources that carry out the function of bio-diversity conservation. However, recently, those have been gradually embedded as their utility value were disappeared. And, the assessment methods used for pond wetlands are insufficient. Therefore, this study was conducted to examine the conservation value of pond wetlands by using the modified RAM, and present the improvement of assesment methods. The study sites, a total of 32 pond of 4 types by land use, were selected on the basis of Ramsar Convention. Through the analysis of precedent studies, the weighted 8 functions were adjusted. According to the assessment results, pond wetlands made the largest contribution to Fishery and Herpetile Habitat function. In addition, it also made large contribution to Floral Diversity, Wildlife Habitat, and Water Quality Protection function. On the other hand, it made a small contribution to Aesthetics and Recreation, Runoff Attenuation, Shoreline /Stream Bank Protection, and Flood/Storm Water Storage function due to the characteristics of small-scale pond wetlands. In the assessment of 8 functions, house type showed the worst assessment result, and mountain type showed the best assessment result. It is thought that those are due to land use type in terms of vicinity. 10 items among 52 of the modified RAM showed the same assessment results in all land use types. Accordingly, it is required to be deleted and modified the assessment method. On the other hand, it is required to add age, interference, and water use to the assessment method. It is thought that these results can be utilized for the development and modification of assessment methods focused on pond wetlands in rural area.