• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.35 no.4 s.100
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• pp.273-284
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• 2002

During January 1998-October 1999, the impact of free-floating plants (FFP) on limnology of the wetland ecosystem was evaluated through the investigation of physicochemical characteristics of the Woopo Wetland along with in situ manipulation experiments of aquatic plants. Flooding events occurred in the wetland during the summer period (Jun.-Aug.) and water levels rose to 2-3 m due to precipitation from the catchment and inflow from the main channel of the Nakdong River. Physicochemical parameters and plankton dynamics in the wetland during the summer were greatly influenced by floods and growth of free-floating plants. Dissolved oxygen (Jun.-Sept., 4.5${\pm}$2.5 mg/1; Oct.-May, 8,1 ${\pm}$4.0 mg/1) and pH (Jun.-Sept., 6.9${\pm}$0.4; Oct.-May,7.4${\pm}$0.8) levels were significantly lower during the summer than any other seasons. Three types of enclosure experiments (100 L, treatments with floating plants, screened and opened) were conducted under the presence and absence of sediment for 15 days in the 1999 summer. The treatments with sediment had higher levels of nutrient concentrations than those of the others. Among the treatments with sediment, nutrient concentrations in the treatments with free-floating plants were higher than the others. Zooplankton communities in each treatment showed a similar variation, although the scale of zooplankton densities differed. Rotifer community dominated the zooplankton at the initial phase of the experiment, but decreased drastically along with an increase of cladoceran and copepod communities. In conclusion, low levels of dissolved oxygen and pH in the Woopo Wetland during the summer seemed to be caused by a proliferation of free-floating plants and active decomposition process at the bottom of the sediment.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.4-25
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• 2011

This study was performed in 2010 to examine the flora and vegetation structure and chemical characteristics of soil in the growing community of Abeliophyllum distichum, located in the Byeonsanbando National Park. This Abeliophyllum distichum community has more individual numbers in Cheongrim-ni and Jungkye-ri, Byeonsan-myeon, and Buan-gun area, which is designated as a Natural Monument (No. 370), and also where the habitat conditions for Abeliophyllum distichum is more favorable. The authors recorded 100 taxa with 45 families, 82 genus, 93 species, 4 varieties, and 3 forms. Among them, species such as Abeliophyllum distichum (critically endangered), Asarum maculatum (near threatened) and Chionanthus retusa (near threatened), which are categorized as rare plants, were recorded. According to the list of Korean endemic plants, 4 taxa, particularly Philadelphus schrenckii, Abeliophyllum distichum, Weigela subsessilis, and Lonicera subsessili, were recorded. The community of Abeliophyllum distichum is located in the northwest slope of Baekcheon watershed and the community is comprised of healthy soil. The community structure was classified into three: the Castanea crenata community, Zelkova serrata community, and Quercus serrata community. The Castanea crenata community is composed of the Cornus walteri, Platycarya strobilacea, Zelkova serrata, Rhamnella frangulioides, arranged in terms of importance percentage. The Zelkova serrata community is composed of Celtis sinensis, Quercus aliena, Styrax japonica, and Acer pseudo-sieboldianum, also according to importance percentage. As for the Quercus serrata community, it is composed of Quercus variabilis, Castanea crenata, and Prunus sargentii, also arranged in terms of importance percentage. The importance percentage of Abeliophyllum distichum is 6.6% in the Castanea crenata community, 5.6% in the Zelkova serrata community and 5.1% in the Quercus serrata community. Moreover, in order of chemical characteristics of soil pH, electrical conductivity, available phosphoric, organic matter, and exchangeable cation (K, Ca, Mg) are analyzed. The No. 3 site was relatively higher than other districts of the same chemical characteristics of soil.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.135-153
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• 2021

The demilitarized zone (DMZ) is a border barrier with 248 kilometers in length and about 4 kilometers in width crossing east to west to divide the Korean Peninsula about in half. The boundary at 2 kilometers to the south is called the southern limit line. The DMZ has formed a unique ecosystem through a natural ecological succession after the Armistice Agreement and has high conservation value. However, the use of facilities for the military operation and the unchecked weeding often damage the areas in the vicinities of the southern limit line's iron-railing. This study aimed to prepare basic data for the restoration of damaged barren vegetation. As a result of classifying vegetation communities based on indicator species, 10 communities were identified as follows: Duchesnea indica Community, Hosta longipes Community, Sedum kamtschaticum-Sedum sarmentosum Community, Potentilla anemonefolia Community, Potentilla fragarioides var. major Community, Prunella vulgaris var. lilacina Community, Dendranthema zawadskii var. latilobum-Carex lanceolata Community, Dendranthema zawadskii Community, Plantago asiatica-Trifolium repens Community, and Ixeris stolonifera-Kummerowia striata Community. Highly adaptable species can characterize vegetation in barren areas to environment disturbances because artificial disturbances such as soil erosion, soil compaction, topography change, and forest fires caused by military activities frequently occur in the barren areas within the southern limit line. Most of the dominant species in the communities are composed of plants that are commonly found in the roads, roadsides, bare soil, damaged areas, and grasslands throughout South Korea. Currently, the vegetation in barren areas in the vicinities of the DMZ is in the early ecological succession form that develops from bare soil to herbaceous vegetation. Since dominant species distributed in barren land can grow naturally without special maintenance and management, the data can be useful for future restoration material development or species selection.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.108-118
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• 2021

The purpose of this study was to provide baseline ecological data for the conservation of the Manchurian trout habitat through the investigation of the growth status of Brachymystax lenok tsinlingensis, and Pearson's correlation analysis (PCA) between the B. lenok tsinlingensis population and the use of the land around Gyebangcheon stream. Sampling was conducted twice in July, September, and October 2018. During the July and September surveys, 882 individuals belonging to 13 species from six families were collected. The dominant species was Rhynchocypris kumgangensis and the subdominant species was Zacco koreanus. The total number of B. lenok tsinlingensis collected was 99. The results of the length-weight relationship in the B. lenok tsinlingensis population were analyzed with a regression coefficient b value of 3.1272 and a condition factor (k) value of 0.0006. Therefore, the growth condition of B. lenok tsinlingensis was regarded as fairly good. The QHEI(Qualitative habitat evaluation index) value in the B. lenok tsinlingensis habitat was 119.5(±0.5)-153.5(±0.5), indicating optimal-suboptimal conditions. As a result of the HIS (Habitat suitability index) analysis, it was confirmed that the optimal habitat for B. lenok tsinlingensis was 0.45-0.55m and >1 m in water depth, 0.55-0.65 m s^-1 in water velocity, and boulder in the substrate. The ratio of the land use in this study site was analyzed as 66.26-96.31% for forest and grassland areas, 0.00-23.79% for agricultural areas, 0.00-4.19% for urbanized areas, and 3.69-8.87% for others. Correlation analysis of the number of B. lenok tsinlingensis and various factors revealed statistically significant correlations between QHEI and forest and grassland areas, agricultural areas, and urbanized areas.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.64-73
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• 2021

The purpose of this study is to present a method to assess the landscape aesthetic value of Bukhansan National Park using geotagged images that have been shared on social media sites. The method presented in this study consisted mainly of collecting geotagged image data, identifying landscape images, and analyzing the cumulative visibility by applying a target probability index. Ramblr is an application that supports outdoor activities with many users in Korea, from which a total of 110,954 geotagged images for Bukhansan National Park were collected and used to assess the landscape aesthetics. The collected geotagged images were interpreted using the Google Vision API, and were subsequently were divided into 11 landscape image types and 9 non-landscape image types through cluster analysis. As a result of analyzing the landscape types of Bukhansan National Park based on the extracted landscape images, landscape types related to topographical characteristics, such as peaks and mountain ranges, accounted for the largest portion, and forest landscapes, foliage landscapes, and waterscapes were also commonly found as major landscape types. In the derived landscape aesthetic value map, the higher the elevation and slope, the higher the overall landscape aesthetic value, according to the proportion and characteristics of these major landscape types. However, high landscape aesthetic values were also confirmed in some areas of lowlands with gentle slopes. In addition, the Bukhansan area was evaluated to have higher landscape aesthetics than the Dobongsan area. Despite the high elevation and slope, the Dobongsan area had a relatively low landscape aesthetic value. This shows that the aesthetic value of the landscape is strongly related not only to the physical environment but also to the recreational activities of visitors who are viewing the scenery. In this way, the landscape aesthetics assessment using the cumulative visibility of geotagged images is expected to be useful for planning and managing the landscape of Bukhansan National Park in the future, through allowing the geographical understanding of the landscape values based on people's perceptions and the identification of the regional deviations.

• Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.85-96
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• 2023

The study involved the categorization of domestic lakes located in South Korea into three groups based on their salinity levels: upstream reservoirs with salinity less than 0.3 psu, estuarine reservoirs with salinity ranging from 0.3 to 2 psu, and brackish lagoons with salinity exceeding 2 psu. Subsequently, the research assessed variations in the concentrations of total nitrogen (T-N) and total phosphorus (T-P) in the sediment of these lakes using statistical analysis, specifically one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Additionally, a laboratory core incubation test was conducted to investigate the benthic nutrient fluxes in Songji lagoon (salinity: 11.80 psu), Ganwol reservoir (salinity: 0.73 psu), and Janggun reservoir (salinity: 0.08 psu) under both aerobic and anoxic conditions. The findings revealed statistically significant differences in the concentrations of T-N and T-P among sediments in the lakes with varying salinity levels (p<0.05). Further post-hoc analysis confirmed significant distinctions in T-N between upstream reservoirs and estuarine reservoirs (p<0.001), as well as between upstream reservoirs and brackish lagoons (p<0.01). For T-P, a significant difference was observed between upstream reservoirs and brackish lagoons (p<0.01). Regarding benthic nutrient fluxes, Ganwol Lake exhibited the highest diffusive flux of NH₄⁺-N, primarily due to its physical characteristics and the inhibition of nitrification resulting from its relatively high salinity. The flux of NO₃^--N was lower at higher salinity levels under aerobic conditions but increased under anoxic conditions, attributed to the impact of salinity on nitrification and denitrification. Additionally, the flux of PO₄^3--P was highest in Songji Lake, followed by Ganwol Lake and Janggun Reservoir, indicating that salinity promotes the diffusive flux of phosphate through anion adsorption competition. It's important to consider the influence of salinity on microbial communities, growth rates, oxidation-reduction processes, and nutrient binding forms when studying benthic diffusive nutrient fluxes from lake sediments.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.148-156
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• 2022

Ecological occupation in irrigation ponds is a well-acknowledged fact that is essential for biodiversity conservation in agricultural ecosystems. However, there are few studies on the ecological functions and relationship between a paddy field and irrigation using macroinvertebrates in an environmentally friendly paddy field. The objective of this study is to identify the community and distribution characteristics of macroinvertebrates in an agricultural paddy field and irrigation pond ecosystems, and to provide basic data on the ecological function of an environmentally friendly paddy field. Macroinvertebrate sampling was conducted from May to September in an agricultural paddy field and irrigation pond in an environment-friendly paddy field in Boryeong city. We conducted a study to identify the distribution characteristics using macroinvertebrate species analysis, such as Functional Feeding Groups (FFGs), Habitat Oriented Groups (HOGs), rarefaction curve, and a two-way dendrogram. A total of 37 species of macroinvertebrates in 28 families, 13 orders were collected study during the period of the investigation. Dominant taxa of macroinvertebrates included Coleoptera, Hemiptera, and Odonata. In terms of FFGs, predators and gathering collectors accounted for approximately 70%, in relation to HOGs, and climbers and swimmers occupied more than 50% from both the paddy field and irrigation pond. With respect to the rarefaction curve, the irrigation pond (July) was high as E (S, 141)=18 species, while the paddy field (May) was comparatively low as E (S, 141)=9 species. In conclusion, our results revealed that macroinvertebrates, such as Notonecta triguttata, Peltodytes intermedius, Appasus major, Laccotrephes japonensis, Appasus japonicus, Sigara substriata, Enochrus simulans, and Sternolophus rufipes, were used as a habitat and spawning ground in both paddy field and irrigation pond. The irrigation pond appears to be a very important spawning ground for macroinvertebrates.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2023

Skin sanitizers are effective in killing or removing pathogenic microbial contaminants from the skin of food handlers, and the progressive growth of consumer interest in personal hygiene tends to drive product diversification. This review covers the advances in the application of efficacy tests for hand sanitizers to suggest future perspectives to establish an assessment system that is optimized to each product type (gel, liquid, and wipes). Previous research on the in vivo simulative test of actual consumer use has adopted diverse experimental conditions regardless of the product type. This highlights the importance of establishing optimal test protocols specialized for the compositional characteristics of sanitizers through the comparative analysis of test methods. Although the operational conditions of the mechanical actions associated with wiping can affect the efficacy of the removal and/or the inactivation of target microorganisms from the skin's surface, currently there is a lack of standardized use patterns for the exposure of hand sanitizing wipes to skin. Thus, major determinants affecting the results from each step of the overall assessment procedures [pre-treatment - exposure of sanitizers - microbial recovery] should be identified to modify current protocols and develop novel test methods. The ex vivo test, designed to overcome the limited reproducibility of in vivo human trials, is also expected to replicate the environment for the contact of sanitizers targeting skin microorganisms. Recent progress in the area of skin microbiome research revealed distinct microbial characteristics and distribution patterns after the application of sanitizers on hands to establish the test methods with the perspectives on the antimicrobial effects at the community level. The future perspectives presented in this study on the improvement of efficacy test methods for hand sanitizers can also contribute to public health and food safety through the commercialization of effective sanitizer products.

• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.186-200
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• 2022

In order to understand the species composition and distribution characteristics of larval assemblages in the East Sea, Korea, larvae were collected at 13 stations every other month from February to December 2018. Fish larvae were identified through DNA barcoding along with morphological methods, and as the result, a total of 104 taxonomic groups appeared during the survey. Among these, Engraulis japonicus, which accounted for 76.2% of the total population, was the most dominant species, followed by Maurolicus japonicus, which accounted for 15.0%. In addition, Ammodytes personatus, Champsodon snyderi, Scomber japonicus and Echelus uropterus appeared more frequently than other taxa. The above six species accounted for 93.2% of the total catch. The number of taxa and the amount of larvae collected in the survey area were higher during the high water temperature periods (June to October) than during the low water temperature periods (February, April and December). Analysis of similarity (ANOSIM) showed a statistically significant difference in monthly larval assemblages. The results of the canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) show that the distributions of larval community were mainly affected by sea surface temperature during low water temperature periods, and various environmental factors such as salinity, dry weight of zooplankton, and the concentrations of nutrients during high water temperature periods.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.214-232
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• 2023

Stromatolite at the Daegu Catholic University, Gyeongsan was designated as a natural monument in December 2009 because it was very excellent in terms of rarity, accessibility, preservation and scale. From the time of designation, the necessity of confirming the lateral extension of the stromatolite beds with the excavation of the surrounding area, and preparing a preservation plan was raised. Accordingly, the Cultural Heritage Administration conducted an investigation of the scale, production pattern, and weathering state of stromatolites with an excavation from April to December 2022, and based on this, suggested natural heritage values and conservation and use plans. The excavation was carried out in a 1,186m² area surrounding the exposed hemispherical stromatolite (approximately 30m2). Stromatolites are continuously distributed over the entire excavation area, and hemispherical stromatolites predominate in the eastern region, and the distribution and size of hemispherical domes tend to decrease toward the west. These characteristics are interpreted as a result of long-term growth in large-scale lakes, where stratiform or small columnar domes continued to grow and connect with each other, finally forming large domes. Consequently, large and small domes were distributed on the bedding plane in clusters like coral reefs. The growth of plants and lichens, as well as small-scale faults and joints developed on the stromatolite bedding surface, is the main cause of accelerated weathering. However, preservation treatment with chemicals as with dinosaur footprints or dinosaur egg fossil sites is not suitable due to the characteristics of stromatolites, and preservation with the installation of closed protection facilities should be considered. This excavation confirmed that the distribution, size and value of stromatolites are much larger and higher than at the time of designation as a natural monument. Therefore, additional excavation of areas by experts that could not be excavated due to the discovery of buried cultural properties (stone chamber tombs) and reexamination of the expansion designation of natural monuments are required.