In South Korea, the conflict between development and conservation policy still exist among government ministries, and conventional development plan often has priority over conservation policy. Establishment of sustainable development and comprehensive management policy employing the results of ecosystem service studies are highly warranted, but researchers in South Korea are still limited and often misuse the concept of ecosystem services. Thus, we aimed to introduce the concept of Ecosystem Service (ES) and related terminologies such as Social-Ecological Systems (SESs), ecosystem function, trade-off, and human well-being in this paper. Additionally, this article reviewed and arranged key approaches in ES studies as follows: 1) field works, 2) mapping ecosystem services, 3) valuing ES, 4) quantifying trade-offs between ES and 5) understanding SESs. Based on those results, we suggest that field works for basic information have the first priority to be conducted among ES studies. Once basic information is sufficiently accumulated, researchers can perform applied ES research with accuracy. Finally, results of ES studies conducted by five approaches allow decision makers to consider both natural system and society simultaneously, and hence the results can be utilized for sustainable development and conservation policy based on ecosystem-based management.

The life cycle of butterflies is closely related to the growth of food plants and, through a prolonged coevolutionary process, has undergone an ecological adaptation. So, it is important that control the egg-laying number and place to secure enough food plant by female adult to guarantee the survival of the larvae. To study whether oviposition control of the Luehdorfia puziloi takes into greater consideration food plant leaf biomass or leaf abundance, correlation among the egg cluster size, the leaf size, and the number of leaves around egg clusters was investigated. According to the results, the egg clusters size exhibited positive correlation with the leaf size of food plants on which eggs had been laid but did not do so with the number of surrounding leaves. In addition, the number of egg clusters laid exhibited positive correlation with the number of surrounding food plant leaves but not with the leaf size on which eggs had been laid. Consequently, for the Luehdorfia puziloi, the females' recognition of the leaf size seems to be the most important factor in the egg cluster size, and the number of egg clusters had positive correlation with food plant density per unit area.

Cicuta virosa is an endangered species in Korea, which is a southern marginal area. To conserve and restore habitats of this plant, we investigated water and soil environmental characteristics and vegetation at four habitats during the growing season. The C. virosa habitats differed in community structure, water and substrate properties, and water regime. Although the total distribution ranges of the water and soil environments for C. virosa were wide and overlapped with the optimal environmental range of distribution of accompanying species, the optimal water level range for C. virosa was defined as $7{\pm}3.5$ cm. Water level was adjusted by substrate structure such as a mound of P. japonica and a floating mat comprised of accompanying species. A floating mat was an aid to maintain an optimal and stable water level in deep or fluctuating water and to prevent strong competition with prolific macrophytes. The GS sampling site, which had floating mats, could be a good model for C. virosa conservation in a warm temperate region, whereas the PC sampling sites, which experienced a water shortage in spring, provided a clue about the decline in C. virosa population size.

Annual ring formation is considered a source of information to investigate the effects of environmental changes caused by temperature, air pollution, and acid rain on tree growth. A comparative investigation of annual ring growth of Cryptomeria japonica in relation to environmental changes was conducted at two sites in southern Korea (Haenam and Jangseong). Three wood disks from each site were collected from stems at breast height and annual ring growth was analyzed. Annual ring area at two sites increased over time (p > 0.05). Tree ring growth rate in Jangseong was higher than that in Haenam. Annual ring area increment in Jangseong was more strongly correlated with environmental variables than that in Haenam; annual ring growth increased with increasing temperature (p < 0.01) and a positive effect of $NO_2$ concentration on annual ring area (p < 0.05) could be attributed to nitrogen deposition in Jangseong. The correlation of annual ring growth increased with decreasing $SO_2$ and $CO_2$ concentrations (p < 0.01) in Jangseong. Variation in annual growth rings in Jangseong could be associated with temperature changes and N deposition. In Haenam, annual ring growth was correlated with $SO_2$ concentration (p < 0.01), and there was a negative relationship between precipitation pH and annual ring area (p < 0.01) which may reflect changes in nutrient cycles due to the acid rain. Therefore, the combined effects of increased $CO_2$, N deposition, and temperature on tree ring growth in Jangseong may be linked to soil acidification in this forest ecosystem. The interactions between air pollution ($SO_2$) and precipitation pH in Haenam may affect tree growth and may change nutrient cycles in this site. These results suggested that annual tree ring growth in Jangseong was more correlated with environmental variables than that in Haenam. However, the further growth of C. japonica forest at two sites is at risk from the long-term effects of acid deposition from fossil fuel combustion.

The expression of transgenic traits in genetically modified crops is sometimes associated with decreases in crop performance or fitness. These decreases in performance or fitness of transgenic plants in unfavourable conditions may provide valuable information about the ecological consequences of transgene escape. In a glasshouse trial, we tested the cost associated with resistance to herbicides by comparing the growth, yield, and competitive ability of transgenic rice with its parental non-transgenic line. This new line was developed for constitutive overexpression of protoporphyrinogen oxidase (PPO) to increase resistance to herbicides. We evaluated nine agronomic traits of transgenic and non-transgenic rice grown in a replacement series design over four densities. Competitive ability was also assessed between transgenic and non-transgenic plants by analyzing their relative yields based on biomass and seed weight data. Our results indicated that non-transgenic plants showed greater performance than did the transgenic plants when those genotypes were grown in mixtures. The non-transgenic rice plants exhibited superior competitive ability at certain combinations of planting densities and genotype proportions. These results suggest that PPO-herbicide resistance incurs some costs in plant performance and competitive ability.

The entire land of Southern Iran faces problems arising out of various types of land degradation of which vegetation degradation forms one of the major types. The present work introduces a model developed for assessing the current status of hazard of vegetation degradation using Geographic Information System (GIS). This kind of assessment differs from those assessments based on vulnerability or potential hazard assessments. The Sadra watershed which covers the upper reaches of Marharlu basin, Fars Province, has been chosen for a hazard assessment of this type of degradation. The different kinds of data for indicators of current status of vegetation degradation were gathered from collecting of field data and also records of the governmental offices of Iran. Taking into consideration three indicators of current status of vegetation degradation the model identifies areas with different hazard classes. By fixing the thresholds of severity classes of the three indicators including per cent of vegetation cover, biomass production and ratio of actual biomass to potential biomass production, a hazard map for each indicator was first prepared in GIS. The final hazard map of current status of vegetation degradation was prepared by intersecting three hazards in the GIS. Results show areas under severe hazard class have been found to be widespread (89 %) while areas under moderate and very severe hazard classes have been found less extensive in the Sadra watershed. The preparation of hazard maps based on the GIS analysis of these indicators will be helpful for prioritizing the areas to initiate remedial measures.

This study compared the antimicrobial activity and total phenolic content of three Pinus plants (Pinus densiflora, P. thunbergii, P. rigida) for the first time. The antimicrobial activity of the water fraction of methanol extract of fresh leaves was stronger than that of fallen leaves at any concentrations. The water fraction of crude methanol extract from fresh leaves of P. thunbergii showed a higher growth inhibitory activity against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria than that of P. densiflora and P. rigida. The results from the disc diffusion method followed by measurements of minimal inhibition concentration (MIC) indicate that Bacillus subtilis was the most sensitive microorganism with the lowest MIC value. The highest total phenolic content was found in fresh leaves of P. rigida and P. thunbergii. The assay showed that the fresh leaves of the three Pinus plants contained higher total phenolic content than fallen leaves of the three plants. The antimicrobial activity was related with the total phenolic content.

The concentration of airborne pollen is related to meteorological parameters. The main purpose of this study was to determine the correlation between airborne pollen and meteorological parameters in Ulsan based on sampling from 2010 to 2011. The primary factors of interest were differences in the pollen scattering start date, end date, and peak date, and the fluctuations in pollen concentration. The meteorological parameters that affected the start and peak dates of the pollen season were as follows. For Pinus and Alnus, the dates were correlated with sunshine and an increase in temperature, whereas for Quercus, the dates were correlated with increasing temperature. During the pollen season, Alnus peaked when the temperature was highest and Pinus peaked when the relative humidity was lowest. The concentration of airborne pollen was correlated with meteorological parameters during the sampling period as follows: Pinus, Alnus, and Humulus pollen concentrations were positively correlated with increasing temperature and negatively correlated with rainfall and relative humidity; Humulus pollen concentration was positively correlated with sunshine; and Quercus and Humulus pollen concentrations were positively correlated with wind speed.

The object of this study was to evaluate lotic ecosystem health using multiple eco-metric approaches such as water chemistry diagnosis, physical habitat health evaluations, and biological integrity modeling at 100 streams of four major watersheds. For the study, eight chemical water quality parameters such as nutrients (N, P) and organic material were measured and 11-metric models of Qualitative Habitat Evaluation Index (QHEI) and multiple eco-metric health assessment model (MEHA) were applied to the four major watershed. Nutrient analysis of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in all watersheds indicated a eutrophic state depending on the locations of sampling streams. Physical habitat health, based on the QHEI model, averaged 114 (range: 56 - 194), judging as a "good condition" by the criteria of Plafkin et al. (1989). In addition, primary (H1 - H4), secondary (H5 - H7), and tertiary habitat metric variables (H8 - H11) were analyzed in relation to the physical habitat degradations. The plots of tolerant species ($P_{TS}$) and sensitive species ($P_{SS}$) to water quality showed that the proportions of $P_{TS}$ had positive linear functions with nutrients, and that the $P_{SS}$ had inverse linear relations with the chemical variables. The model of eco-metric health assessment showed that mean MEHA was 20.4, indicating a fair condition. Overall, our data suggest that water chemistry, based on nutrients and organic matter, directly modified the trophic structures in relation to food chain in the aquatic ecosystems, and then these directly influenced the compositions of tolerance/sensitive species, resulting in degradations of overall ecological health.

Bioassessment is the use of biosurvey data, most commonly for benthic macroinvertebrates and fish, to obtain information about the health of waters in a region. In rivers, bioassessment results are used to evaluate biological condition and trends, to establish relationships between stressors and impairments, and to guide and evaluate management actions.

Diatoms have become an integral part of the UK's freshwater monitoring strategy over the past two decades, mostly in response to increasingly stringent European Union (EU) legislation. The use of diatoms is based on strong correlations between diatom assemblages and environmental variables, and from knowledge of the "expected" (= "reference") state of each river. The nationwide overview of the ecological health of rivers this gives allows those stretches of rivers which fail to meet EU criteria to be identified. This, in turn, allows appropriate remediation measures to be planned. Because diatom assemblages vary in space and time, even within a single water body, effective use of diatoms requires a consistent approach in order to minimise uncertainty. This includes the use of methods which comply with European Standards, a training and accreditation scheme for analysts, and a suite of quality assurance methods. Those aspects of uncertainty that cannot be readily controlled have been quantified and all estimates of ecological status are accompanied by the appropriate "confidence of class" and "risk of misclassification". This, in turn, helps planners prioritise those locations which are most likely to benefit from remediation.

Many countries have adopted a single, well-described approach to the use of phototrophs for monitoring river water quality, which involves the use of indices related to diatom composition at a site. Increasingly these indices have focussed on assessing ambient phosphate concentration. However, there is a wide range of other methods which can provide additional information to make up for any weaknesses in the standard method. Some of these methods are reviewed briefly here. They can be useful, for instance, when considering temporal and spatial variability in phosphate concentration at a particular site and providing much more insight on heavy metal or pesticide pollution than revealed by routine water analysis.

To quantitatively analyze the effects of burning, we conducted a vegetation survey in the grasslands in Kirigamine, central Japan. We classified each species into stages of succession based on the life-history traits of the species and defined the score of the species in each stand based on the classification. We weighted the scores with a v-value, the product of coverage and height in the quadrat, and summed them to calculate the index of dynamic status. With these indices, we were able to quantitatively compare the stands in the study area and discern minute differences between the stands with different lengths of restoration periods since the disturbance of burning. These indices correlated with the v-value of trees, suggesting that the disturbance of burning seemed to affect the trees in the stand. We then calculated the growth of the tree species Pinus densiflora to evaluate its contribution to the index of dynamic status.

The current status of Korean jewel beetle, Chrysochroa coreana is reported from the data collected in the five-year field survey (2008-2012). Despite the previous assumption of its endangered status, the beetle was recently found in the southwestern part of Korea frequently. However the local population was suffering from the inadequate management of its host plants, Celtis sinensis Persson. This study reports the restoration possibility of the beetle by the adequate management of its host plants.