• Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.97-104
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• 2017

For the restoration of lateral connectivity between channel and floodplain, it is important to find the former floodplain and to characterize its land use in streams which were channelized by the levee construction for the flood protection. The aim of this study is to map the former floodplains and to assess its land use pattern in the Cheongmi-cheon Stream, Korea. The former floodplains were explored by being overlapped on a digital elevation model (DEM), digital topographic map and design flood level using a geographical information system (GIS) in the Cheongmi-cheon Stream basin. The land use of the identified former floodplains was classified by land-use map. The total number of the former floodplains was 104 and their total area was $11.9km^2$ in the Cheongmi-cheon Stream. The land use pattern of the former floodplains was mostly farmland (87.1%). The former floodplains were usually surrounded by mountain forest in the downstream of the Cheongmi-cheon Stream. These former floodplains are probably suitable for restoration of lateral connectivity because of lower ratio of urban area but higher ratio of farmland. The results of delineation and land use analysis of the former floodplain can be used as a baseline data for planning stream restoration in the Cheongmi-cheon Stream.

• Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.154-162
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• 2019

Lateral connectivity between the channel and the floodplains has been damaged by the levee construction and channelization in most streams of South Korea. The purpose of this study was to develop a technique for easily and remotely assessing lateral connectivity using GIS in the streams and to evaluate the effectiveness of the assessment method by applying it to Cheongmi-cheon Stream, a representative stream in the central Korean Peninsula. The metrics of the lateral connectivity assessment are composed of (1) existence of remaining wetlands and (2) land use property as a habitat quality of the former floodplain outside the levee and (3) existence of levee barrier, (4) connectivity to the stream and (5) connectivity to the upland natural habitats as a connectivity from the channel through floodplain to the upland forest. According to the result of applying the assessment method to Cheongmi-cheon Stream, the lateral connectivity was severely damaged due to the levee construction and land use change in the former floodplain. The GIS-based assessment of the lateral connectivity developed in this study is expected to be used as a useful tool for identifying limitations of current connectivity in various attempts to restore lateral connectivity in riparian ecosystems.