• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.33 no.8
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• pp.553-563
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• 2011

This study investigated the effects of elevated $CO_2$ and nitrogen addition on the anaerobic decomposition mediated by microorganisms to determine the microbial metabolic pathways in the degradation of organic matters of the sediments. There were statistically significant differences(P < 0.05) in the rates between denitrification and methanogenesis upon increased $CO_2$ concentration, nitrogen addition, in the presence of plants. Based on the assumption that anaerobic degradation of organic matter mainly occurs through denitrification, iron reduction, and methanogenesis, methanogenesis is the dominant pathways in the decomposition of organic matter under the condition of elevated $CO_2$ and nitrogen addition. In addition, the altered environment increased anaerobic carbon decomposition. Therefore, it can be concluded that freshwater wetland sediments have positive effects on the global warming by the increased methanogenesiss as well as increased anaerobic carbon decomposition.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.33 no.4 s.111
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• pp.108-118
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• 2005

While the recent lift of restrictions in greenbelt areas is expected to generate a number of development plans, there are efforts to create various development plans into spatial plans that consider the natural and ecological conditions of development sites. However, these development plans consider Degree of Green Naturality or Degree of Ecology only when designating areas for conservation within development sites. It is true that they don't fully reflect the value of green areas and wetlands as habitats and natural resources. Therefore, this study built an conservation value assessment model that is applicable to sites where development is planned in Korea by reviewing prior case examples md studies and applied the developed model to a case study area. The site where the conservation value assessment model was applied to is an area around Yongsan-ri and Suha-ri, Doam-myon, Pyeongchang-gun, Gangwon province where quality natural resources are located in and wend the site. This is a site for the development of Alpensia Resort where a resort including facilities for the Winter Olympics is planned to be introduced. In order to assess the conservation value of the site for Alpensia Resort, a total of eight items including area, distribution of communities, habitation of species with conservation value, functions of habitats, connectivity of habitats, vegetation layers of forests, age of forests, and ratio of non-native plants were studied through literature review and field surveys. The assessment was made by dividing the site into 95 habitats that are perceived by aerial photographs and each habitat unit was assessed on the eight items in a 3-point scale. Each unit habitat assessed in a 3-point scale was segmented into primary, secondary or tertiary areas based on the conservation value. Habitats assessed as primary were designated as priority (absolute) conservation areas and those assessed as secondary and tertiary were set as secondary conservation areas and tertiary conservation areas, respectively. As a result, each area represented 26.9%, 20% and 3% of total site area. Based on this result, habitat management plans were developed to conserve primary conservation areas, improve secondary conservation areas and restore tertiary conservation areas. In addition, a development plan was developed to create habitats in areas where new habitats are requested in order to build an eco-network in the site and a plan to create eco-corridors was proposed. In developing a land use plan for the site, a development plan that considers conservation areas first should be set up based on the outcome of conservation value assessment. This can be linked to the development of an environment-friendly land use plan as well as easing the establishment of a green area and eco-network. This study will facilitate the implementation of the 'conservation before development' principle, which can prevent reckless development, by assessing conservation value in setting up development plans.

• Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.274-284
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• 2013

This study presents a survey on the bryophytes in Dongbaek-dongsan located at Seonheul Gotjawal on the north-eastern face of Mt. Halla in Jeju Island, Korea. A total of 85 taxa belonging to the Bryophyta (22 families 44 genera 62 species), Marchantiophyta (12 families 16 genera 23 species) were found. Among them, 3 moss species, Diphyscium perminutum Takaki, Racomitrium japonicum Dozy & Molk., and Isopterygium minutirameum (M$\ddot{u}$. Hal.) A. Jaeger. were new additions to the bryophyte flora of Korea. The liverwort index was 27.0%. Predominant life-form was weft. The rates for the bryophytes dominating in mesic to hygric sites were higher than for the bryophytes mainly observed in xeric habitats. We considered that the composition and distribution of species are affected by the different environmental factors according to the evergreen broad-leaved forests, wetlands and exposed spaces. Moreover, the rocks were the substrate type that play a major role in providing the micro-habitats for bryophytes in this area. Particularly, the bryophytes of swamps in this area were very unique and various for its limited space and showed plant communities with mosaic spatial pattern, along with vascular plants. We suggest more detailed and comprehensive studies on the swamps where endemic fern Mankyua chejuense B. -Y. Sun, M. H. Kim & C. H. Kim inhabits to provide valuable information for the conservation and restoration of the species and habitats.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.25 no.12
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• pp.1633-1641
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• 2016

Leptalina unicolor is a hesperiid butterfly with a restricted distribution in Korea, Japan, China, and Russia. Recently, the number of individuals is rapidly decreased in their natural habitat. This skipper has been classified as an endangered species in the 'Red Data Book', and according to an IUCN report, is under threat of extinction. Therefore, the conservation and restoration of this species both locally and globally are urgently needed. A population of L. unicolor was found in an unknown habitat in Jaeyaksan, Miryang, Gyeongsangnam-do, Korea in 2011, and these individuals were used in the present study. Here, the life cycle, characteristics of each instar larva and breeding information were determined by breeding L. unicolor in the laboratory from 2012 to 2015. The results indicated that L. unicolor occurs twice a year and over-winter as a fifth instar larva. A spring-form female individual laid $17.25{\pm}5.52eggs$, and summer form laid $29.00{\pm}5.86eggs$; it takes $53.79{\pm}0.73days$ for L. unicolor to develop from eggs to adults. After spawning, the eggs developed in $6.16{\pm}0.18days$, and larvae developed in $33.71{\pm}0.58days$; the pre-pupal stage to emergence required $14.22{\pm}0.31days$. Based on these results, we presented effective breeding information for the restoration and proliferation of the species. Several candidate plants species have been reported in the literature as a food source for L. unicolor, but we found that the preferred diet this butterfly was Miscanthus sinensis. The larvae could move easily when their preferred diet was planted in ${\geq}80%$ the cage floor area Year-round breeding was achieved by placing overwintering individuals in low temperatures in autumn. To our knowledge, this is the first study to the biology of L. unicolor in Korea, and the results of this study could be used as preliminary information for the conservation and restoration of this species in its natural habitat.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.105-116
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• 2021

Background: The creation of the National Institute of Ecology began as a national alternative project to preserve mudflats instead of constructing the industrial complexes by reclamation, and achieve regional development. On the other hand, at the national level, the research institute for ecology was needed to cope with the worsening conditions for maintaining biodiversity due to accelerated climate change such as global warming and increased demand for development. In order to meet these needs, the National Institute of Ecology has the following objectives: (1) carries out studies for ecosystem change due to climate change and biodiversity conservation, (2) performs ecological education to the public through exhibition of various ecosystem models, and (3) promotes regional development through the ecological industry. Furthermore, to achieve these objectives, the National Institute of Ecology thoroughly followed the basic principles of ecology, especially restoration ecology, in the process of its construction. We introduce the principles and cases of ecological restoration applied in the process. Results: We minimized the impact on the ecosystem in order to harmonize with the surrounding environment in all the processes of construction. We pursued passive restoration following the principle of ecological restoration as a process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem degraded for all the space except in land where artificial facilities were introduced. Reference information was applied thoroughly in the process of active restoration to create biome around the world, Korean peninsula forests, and wetland ecosystems. In order to realize true restoration, we pursued the ecological restoration in a landscape level as the follows. We moved the local road 6 and high-voltage power lines to underground to ensure ecological connectivity within the National Institute of Ecology campus. To enhance ecological diversity, we introduced perch poles and islands as well as floating leaved, emerged, wetland, and riparian plants in wetlands and mantle communities around the forests of the Korean Peninsula in the terrestrial ecosystem. Furthermore, in order to make the public aware of the importance of the intact nature, the low-lying landscape elements, which have disappeared due to excessive land use in most areas of Korea, was created by imitating demilitarized zone (DMZ) landscape that has these landscape elements. Conclusions: The National Institute of Ecology was created in an eco-friendly way by thoroughly reflecting the principles of ecology to suit its status and thus the impact on the existing ecosystem was minimized. This concept was also designed to be reflected in the process of operation. The results have become real, and a result of analysis on carbon budget analysis is approaching the carbon neutrality.

• The Korean Journal of Quaternary Research
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.41-51
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• 2024

The Sincheon wetland shows a remarkable diversity of fluvial landforms, such as river islands, anastomosing channels, braided channels, and sand-gravel bars, which contribute to its rich ecological habitat. The wetland area is characterized by a ecological diversity of herbaceous and woody plants. Significant changes in land cover within the wetlands were observed from 2008 to 2020. Notably, there was a rapid decrease in agricultural area from 18% to 0.04%, while the vegetation area expanded from 45% to 54%. Concurrently, the water area also experienced a notable increase from 34% to 41%. The surface sediment composition in the studied area displays sandy loam characteristics and exhibits acidic soil properties. Sediment acidity tends to increase downstream and in the central part of channels. Variations in acidity are also observed at nearby collection sites due to the tributaries and local discharge. The presence of dense vegetation in river islands and bars has led to a significant transformation of sediments into soil, with this change being more pronounced downstream, particularly near the weirs. The installation of a weir in Sincheon wetland is believed to have a significant impact on altering flow velocities between upstream and downstream sections, as well as influencing erosion and sediment deposition patterns. However, given the formation of landforms in response to weirs, effective administration and management are essential to address potential risks of catastrophic environmental disruptions, such as the removal of weirs and/or the maintenance of river channels.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.97-107
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• 2015

Wetlands constitute a transitional zone between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and have unique characteristics such as frequent inundation, inflow of nutrients from terrestrial ecosystems, presence of plants adapted to grow in water, and soil that is occasionally oxygen deficient due to saturation. These characteristics and the presence of vegetation determine physical and chemical properties that affect decomposition rates of organic matter (OM). Decomposition of OM is associated with activities of various extracellular enzymes (EE) produced by bacteria and fungi. Extracellular enzymes convert macromolecules to simple compounds such as labile organic carbon (C), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and sulfur (S) that can be easily taken up by microbes and plants. Therefore, the enzymatic approach is helpful to understand the decomposition rates of OM and nutrient cycling in wetland soils. This paper reviews the physical and biogeochemical factors that regulate extracellular enzyme activities (EEa) in wetland soils, including those of ${\beta}$-glucosidase, ${\beta}$-N-acetylglucosaminidase, phosphatase, arylsulfatase, and phenol oxidase that decompose organic matter and release C, N, P, and S nutrients for microbial and plant growths. Effects of pH, water table, and particle size of OM on EEa were not significantly different among sites, whereas the influence of temperature on EEa varied depending on microbial acclimation to extreme temperatures. Addition of C, N, or P affected EEa differently depending on the nutrient state, C:N ratio, limiting factors, and types of enzymes of wetland soils. Substrate quality influenced EEa more significantly than did other factors. Also, drainage of wetland and increased temperature due to global climate change can stimulate phenol oxidase activity, and anthropogenic N deposition can enhance the hydrolytic EEa; these effects increase OM decomposition rates and emissions of $CO_2$ and $CH_4$ from wetland systems. The researches on the relationship between microbial structures and EE functions, and environmental factors controlling EEa can be helpful to manipulate wetland ecosystems for treating pollutants and to monitor wetland ecosystem services.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.178-188
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• 2002

Constructed wetlands typically cost less to build and operate, and require less energy than standard mechanical treatment technology but they have similar performance to centralized wastewater treatment plants. Therefore, they were constructed especially many in rural areas, where are small villages but not industries. Plantless column tests were performed to investigate the possibility on using zeolite as a filter medium of constructed wetland for the wastewater treatment. Removal efficiency was $COD_{Cr}$ 94.63% T-P 41.41% and $NH_4^+-N$ 99.75% at hydraulic load 314 $L/m^2{\cdot}d$ and filtering height 100 cm filled with a zeolite mixture. This zeolite mixture consisted of 1 : 1 by volume of zeolites in the diameter range of 0.5 to 1 mm and 1 to 3 mm. Accordingly, hydraulic load 314 $L/m^2{\cdot}d$ was considered as optimal. Three zeolite mixtures were used to determine the optimal mixing ratio by volume of a zeolite (A) in the diameter range of 0.5 to 1 mm to a zeolite (B) in the diameter range of 1 to 3 mm 1 : 3, 1 : 1 and only B in A to B by volume were tested at hydraulic load 314 $L/m^2{\cdot}d$ and filtering height 100 cm $COD_{Cr}$ removal efficiency was more than 89% at mixing ratios of 1 : 3 and 1 : 1 in A to B. That of T-P ranged 56.42 to 58.72% and, that of T-N and $NH_4^+-N$ was 87% and 99% regardless of mixing ratios of two zeolites. Removal efficiency was lower at the column filled with only B. Removal efficiency was better at Inter medium filled with mixing ratio 1 : 1 in A to B than with the other mixing ratios. Thus, it was found that the mixture of mixing ratio 1 : 1 in A to B was appropriate far Inter medium of constructed wetland Removal efficiency was higher in down-flow than in up-flow, and all contaminants were removed most in 20 cm filter height near feeding area.