• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.47 no.spc
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• pp.74-82
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• 2014

A perennial plant species of Ranunculaceae, Pulsatilla tongkangensis is a very rare species only found in limestone vegetation of South Korea. It is not only rare but also has great value as a horticultural resource, thus resulting in serious problems of overexploitation and habitat disturbance. For the conservation of the rare species and its development as a resource, the study was conducted with the following three aims: first, to investigate any new geographical distribution of the species; second, to identify the site condition and vegetation structure of its habitat; and third, to compare the ecology of P. tongkangensis in other microhabitats such as rock, slope and ridge area. A new distribution was found in limestone vegetation at Danyang-gun, Chungcheongbuk-do. It was, therefore, confirmed that the distribution of P. tongkangensis exactly coincides with the area of distribution of limestone, indicating a possibility that the species might be a calcicole. 87% of the microhabitats found in rocks. Compared to P. tongkangensis, at ridges or slopes, number of P. tongkangensis plants were few in rocks. It is possibly due to the lack of microhabitats that could settle in rocky areas. Once established on rocks, however, plants grew large enough to flower with higher number of leaves and flowers per plant, resulting in higher flowering rate on rocky areas. Cracks in/between rocks are likely to be safe places for the plants with favorable light conditions, abundant fine particles to root down and reduced competition for resources. Yet, further research is necessary in terms of determining whether the species is indeed a calcicole, whether other limiting factors work in its establishment stage, and genetic diversity exists in the population.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.195-216
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• 2002

The flora of Ulleung island was summarized as 975 taxa with 122 families, 465 genus, 762 species, 5 sub-species, 178 varieties, 21 forms, and 9 hybrids. This extent of plant diversity of the island ecosystem was modified from the field surveys by the authors adding the number of 627 taxa; 109 families, 355 genus, 526 species, 2 sub-species, 89 varieties and 10 forms, and Considering the aspects of geographical distribution of the island, the flora showed much closer to the Korean penninsula than that of the Japanese Archipelago. An action plan including intensive conservation and management both for habitat and plant to conserve the island ecosystem should be prepared. The naturalized plants is expanding gradually due to the increase of the tourist. The Ulleung island ecosystem should be conserved as the Protected Area, which is enlarged habitat compared with the present legal conservation actions.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.145-155
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• 2011

We surveyed diversity, distribution and diversity change of mammalian species in forests of the Nature Environment Research Park (Survey Area I; reservoir and surrounding forests, II; human habitat and surrounding forests and III; mountain forests) in Gangwon Province from 2004 to 2008. During our study, endangered species like Peromys volans, Lutra lutra and Prionailurus bengalensis were present in the surveyed areas. Diversity of mammalian species tends to be a little higher in the Survey Area I and III than the Survey Area II. Annual species diversity was a little higher in 2006, and then there was a little reduction from 2007. However, there was higher reduction in the number of individuals from 2007. Therefore, our results indicate that specific measures are needed for preservation of mammalian habitats to maintain the species diversity and the number of mammalian individuals.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.355-370
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• 2020

We conducted a field survey to analyze the ecological structure and spatial distribution of microplankton (phytoplankton and ciliates) in relation to water masses at 21 stations on the surface and chlorophyll-a maximum layers (CML) in the Northern East China Sea (nECS; 32°-33°N; 124°00'-127°30'E) from August 3 to August 6, 2019. The results showed that the water masses were divided into Chinese Coastal Waters (CCW) and the Tsushima Warm Current (TWC). The CCW showed the environmental characteristics of high temperature and low salinity, and the TWC showed high temperature and high salinity. The characteristics of the phytoplankton community in the CCW showed various community structures related to the nutrients supplied from the large rivers of the Chinese continent. However, the TWC had simple community structures because it originated near the equator and moved northward. The standing crops of phytoplankton and ciliates were very high in the CCW but showed low at the TWC. In particular, from the higher standing crops of protozoa than plant plankton at the TWC, the energy flow at the lower tropic levels caused by the microbial loop that fed on heterotrophic bacteria played an important role in the production of resource organisms. In other words, the marine ecological structure of the nECS in summer could be estimated as a bottom-up system at the CCW and a top-down system at the TWC.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.111-120
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• 2023

In Korea, wetland policies are currently being pursued through long-term plans such as nationwide wetland surveys and wetland conservation basic plans. However, most policies focus on understanding the status of wetlands, such as their area, distribution, and biodiversity, and there is a lack of awareness regarding the need to conserve and manage wetland ecosystems as a single organism. Therefore, this study aims to identify potential riverine wetland sites that can be ecologically connected by considering functional aspects such as floodplain, biodiversity, habitat provision, and tourism resources. This study attempted to select a candidate site that could potentially provide ecological connectivity with three wetlands in the Nakdonggang River water system : Upo Wetland, Hwapocheon Wetland, and Junam Reservoir. 63 wetlands and 7 candidate sites located in 15 subwatersheds of the Nakdonggang River were analyzed, and the most suitable candidate site for ecological connectivity was selected based on the calculated scores. A suitability analysis was conducted using 9 evaluation factors to evaluate candidate sites, and the scoring method, using quantile, was applied to these factors. As a result, Upo2(Hopo) was selected as the most suitable site for ecological connectivity, receiving the highest score 36. Therefore, it is believed that Upo2(Hopo) can serve as a floodplain, habitat, biodiversity enhancer, and tourism resource while being the most suitable for ecological connectivity.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.204-219
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• 2021

This study was conducted to investigate and analyze the characteristics of the plant community structure of vegetation distributed on the western slope and ridge connecting Mt. Noja to Mt. Gara. This basic research was executed not only to restore and manage forest vegetation, but also to monitor the trend of change in the long term. As a result of classifying the communitise in 86 survey quadrats, the Pinus thunbergii-Platycarya strobilacea comm. and P. thunbergii-P. densiflora comm. were distributed around the lowlands. The Carpinus tschonoskii-Deciduous broad-leaved comm., Styrax japonicus-Deciduous broad-leaved comm., Acer pictum subsp. Mono-Deciduous broad-leaved comm., Deciduous broad-leaved comm., and Zelkova serrata comm. appeared in the valley and all stone areas. Quercus serrata comm., Q. serrata-S. japonicus comm., S. japonicus-Carpinus cordata comm., Euonymus oxyphyllus comm. were classified as being distributed on steep slopes with relatively high altitude. According to the succession trend of the forest, evergreen conifers will be transition to deciduous broad-leaved trees. However, deciduous broad-leaved arboreous forests, such as Carpinus tschonoskii, zelkova serrata, and Acer pictum subsp. Mono, were considered to maintain their current succession stage because not only the stratified structure was developed over about 50 years tree age, but also ecologically stabilized. As environmental factors, it was analyzed that altitude, pH, content of clay and silt, Mg⁺⁺, Ca⁺⁺, etc. directly or indirectly affect the distribution of plant communities.

• Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.189-205
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• 2014

Most local governments make an attempt to attract tourists through the large-scale development projects or regional festival events. But, its possibility of success is actually low, so they must take care of ecotourism industry which has higher efficiency in comparison with investing expense. Seocheon area couldn't be focused greatly in spite of the excellent ecological and cultural resources. However, there are lots of possibilities to be a new center of ecotourism because of newly opened National Institute of Ecology and National Marine Biology Resource Institute. Therefore, the purposes of this thesis are to analyze several eco-cultural property all over Seocheon, introduce ecotourism, a main function of ecosystem services, and develop the program satisfying 3 elements of ecotourism; natural environment, visitors and residents. In Seocheon located in where the sea meets the river, ecological property could be reorganized into 4 areas in relation to existing famous tourist attractions. As a measure to let visitors stay, we induced them to lodge in the region through the field work. To realize slow life, we designed it so that they can enjoy each landscape slowly. we also suggested the program which can guide visitors onto the vicinity of habitat for migratory birds at the mouth of Geumgang River and Seocheon foreshore nominated as Ramsar wetlands by focusing on National Institute of Ecology and National Marine Biology Resource Institute which will be the Mecca of ecology research. Through this research, there will be an opportunity to satisfy visitors of Seocheon and enrich local residents' lives.

• Journal of Environmental Policy
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.107-133
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• 2014

The eco-tourism has caused a variety of problems between use and conservation. The situation requires introduction of scientific management techniques, such as controlling the number of visitors to the destination and identifying appropriate carrying capacity. Getz, LAC, VIM and VERP have been developed for this purpose and they are the management model based on carrying capacity that have been explored for introduction and application in Korea. However, it is necessary to modify and supplement the management model to suit the purpose of ecotourism characteristics and the status of ecotourism in Korea. Therefore, we identified the problems of the existing management model and presented three improvements. strengthen the interdependent linkages between carrying capacity and the management goals; improve the tourism opportunity distribution model; improve the phased management. It will help many ecotourism sites to effectively manage the impacts of visitors in Korea with a minimum amount of effort and costs.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Traditional Landscape Architecture
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.87-97
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• 2017

Paulownia species has long been recognized in Korean traditional culture and the values of the species have been researched in various focuses. However, studies on distribution and ecological characteristics of the species are still needed. This study aimed to identify distribution trends and ecological characteristics of two Paulownia species in Busan metropolitan city using the MaxEnt model. The MaxEnt model was established based on the environmental factors such as positioning information of the Paulownia species, topography, climate and degree of anthropogenic disturbance potentiality (ADP), which was collected in the on-site research. The study verified that the accuracy of the model was appropriate as the AUC value of Paulownia coreana and P. tomentosa was 0.809, respectively. In terms of the distribution trends of the two Paulownia species in the research area depending on the distribution model, they were both mainly distributed in downtown where built-up area and bare ground were densely concentrated. The potential distribution area of the two species was identified as $137.4km^2$ for P. coreana and $135.0km^2$ for P. tomentosa. The distribution probability was high in Jung-gu, Dongrae-gu, Busanjin-gu and Yeonje-gu. As a result of the analysis on contribution of the environmental factors, it was turned out that the degree of anthropogenic disturbance potentiality (ADP) contributed to distribution of P. coreana and P. tomentosa by about 50%, and the contribution of the environmental factors had a positive correlation with the degree of ADP. The elevation had a negative correlation with both the two species, which was considered because the species must compete more with native species in natural habitats as the altitude above sea level rises. The research findings demonstrated numerically that the distribution of P.coreana and P. tomentosa depended on artificial activities, and indicated the relevance with the Korean traditional landscape. These findings are expected to provide meaningful information in using, preserving and restoring Paulownia species.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.528-543
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• 2004

The biogeographical approach on the species composition, distributional range, and life form of native Korean conifers suggests that the Korean Peninsula harbors 4 families 10 genera 30 species. Early-evolved conifers maintain high species diversity and broad distribution. During the glacial periods, the ranges of cold-tolerant conifers expanded, on the other hand, those of warmth-tolerant ones reduced. Presence of endemic subalpine conifers might be the result of long-term isolation of conifers on high mountains. Horizontal and vertical ranges of native Korean conifers are classified into alpine, subalpine, montane, coastal, insular and disjunctive types, and then subdivided into twelve sub-types. Typical life form of native Korean conifers is evergreen tree, blooms in spring, and fruits ripe in autumn or following autumn. Oval and elliptical seeds with wing might be beneficial for their dispersal. Further works on the migration, dispersal, genetics, ecology of native Korean conifers are required for the better understanding of the biogeography of conifers.