• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.149-162
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• 2012

Habitat loss and fragmentation are ongoing major anthropogenic impacts on landscapes, which can strongly affect ecosystems, populations and species. The studies on forest fragmentation have been progressed, but the studies on definition of forest fragmentation and their synthetic trend in South Korea still leaves much to be desired. Therefore we set the definition of forest fragmentation and reviewed the related papers. We can give a definition that forest fragmentation is not only a process of spatial landscape transformation, but also a process of ecosystem change by it. The trend of studies on forest fragmentation divided into two fields, landscape and ecosystem changes. Forest fragmentation caused by land change altered the composition and configuration of forest patches. Most studies related on that analyzed the change using landscape index. The effects of forest fragmentation on ecosystem subdivided into three fields : biodiversity, edge effects, and invasive species, but the studies in South Korea is short. The study on relations between forest fragmentation and ecosystem change is necessary to face the Convention on Biological Diversity in South Korea. In addition, the fundamental studies on biodiversity is important to mitigate against forest fragmentation.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.33 no.5_3
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• pp.835-854
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• 2017

Government regulations and policies are important means of restraining the indiscreet expansion of urban areas. According to the standards from those means, it is clear that the fluctuation of forest green proportion encroached by the increase of urban space is obvious. In this study, we interpreted the changes of urban areas as well as the green ones owing to the urban expansion by the decades from 1996, with focusing on the cities of Seoul and Daegu highly developed in South Korea. The purpose of this study is to analyze the spatial expansion and morphological characteristics of urban land cover using not only satellite imageries (1996, 2006, 2016). but also the urban expansion intensity index (UEII) and GUIDOS program. Ultimately, this study is to compare the changes in the rate of forests due to urban expansions annually analyzed based on areas of forest elevation, slope, and the area of single forest patch. In Seoul, the expansion begun from urban space to suburban areas was comparatively rapid, which led the forest fragmentation and the gradual decline of the single patch. However, when it comes to DEM (Digital elevation model) and slope above a certain standard, by the development regulations, there was little decrease in area by anthropogenic developments. The city of Daegu has increased at a slow speed since 1996 in urban and suburban areas, whereas green forests have greatly increased through green forest conservation campaigns. In this way, as to the government policies and regulations, the quantitative and morphological expansion of cities owing to development could be controlled and forest spaces could be preserved as well. Therefore, regulations and policies by the government should be appropriately utilized for sustainable cities.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.193-203
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• 2021

As endangered species are gradually increasing due to land development by humans, it is essential to secure sufficient protected areas (PAs) proactively. Therefore, this study checked priority conservation areas to select candidate PAs when considering the impact of land development. We determined the conservation priorities by analyzing four scenarios based on existing conservation areas and reflecting the development impact using MARXAN, the decision-making support software for the conservation plan. The development impact was derived using the developed area ratio, population density, road network system, and traffic volume. The conservation areas of endangered species were derived using the data of the appearance points of birds, mammals, and herptiles from the 3rd National Ecosystem Survey. These two factors were used as input data to map conservation priority areas with the machine learning-based optimization methodology. The result identified many non-PAs areas that were expected to play an important role conserving endangered species. When considering the land development impact, it was found that the areas with priority for conservation were fragmented. Even when both the development impact and existing PAs were considered, the priority was higher in areas from the current PAs because many road developments had already been completed around the current PAs. Therefore, it is necessary to consider areas other than the current PAs to protect endangered species and seek alternative measures to fragmented conservation priority areas.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.439-449
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• 2023

This study was conducted to verify the role of forest roads in the extinction of large forest fires in Korea. The study area was the forest fire-damaged area of Gangneung City, Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province, in April 2023, which is one of the areas with the highest road density among the major forest fires that have occurred so far. The scope of the forest fire damage area was confirmed through on-site survey, and the intensity of the fire was carried out through Sentinel-2 satellite imagery analysis. After that, the relationship between the damage range and intensity and the forest road was examined. About 59.6 km of roads were built within 50 m from the boundary of the forest fire damage area, which can easily access the entire 149.1 ha of forest fire damaged area. The road density is as high as 168.9 m/ha. All forests that were fragmented by roads were fragmented into 83 places, and all of these forests could be judged to have spread by spotting fire. As a result of analyzing the distribution of damage intensity by distance from the road to see the extent of damage according to the ease of access of fire extinguishing vehicles, it was confirmed that the proportion of areas with low-intensity damage has increased sharply even from 75 m or more away from the road. The results of analyzing the distribution of damage intensity by altitude to see the extent of damage according to the ease of access of fire extinguishing showed that the proportion of areas with low-intensity damage increased as the altitude increased, while the proportion of areas with damage of more than strong intensity decreased as the altitude increased. It was confirmed that there is no data that roads inside or adjacent to forests in the forest fire area of Gangneung City are effective in extinguishing forest fires. These results are contrary to the logic that increasing the road density in forests is effective in extinguishing forest fires. In the case of this fire area in Gangneung City, the road density is 43 times higher than the current road density in Korea claimed by the Korea Forest Service of 3.9 m/ha. This study suggests that roads can be a hindrance to extinguishing forest fires.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.432-441
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• 2016

In this study, we predicted species distributions in Mt. Inwang and Mt. An as preceding research to build ecological corridor by considering connectivity of habitats which have been fragmented in the city. We analyzed species distributions by using Maxent (Maximum Entropy Approach) model with species presence. We used 23 points of mammals and 15 points of Titmouse (Parus major, P. palustris, P. varius) as target species from appearance points of species examined. We build 4 geography factors, 4 vegetation factors, and 2 distance factors as model variables In case of mammals, factors that affected species distribution model was Digital Elevation Model(DEM, 34%) followed by Distance from edge forest to interior (24.8%) and Species of tree (10%). On the other hand, in case of Parus species, factors that affected species distribution model were DEM (39.6%) followed by distance from road (35.4%) and Density-class (8.2%). Therefore, birds and mammals prefer interior of mountain, and this area needs to be protected.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.307-315
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• 2022

In terms of habitat conservation, it is essential to develop a habitat assessment system that can evaluate not only the suitability of the current habitat, but also the health and stability of the habitat. This study aimed to develop a methodology of habitat quality assessment for endangered species by analyzing various existing habitat assessment methods. The habitat quality assessment consisted of selecting targeted species, planning of assessment, selecting targeted sites, assessing performance, calculating grade, and expert verification. Target sites were selected separately from core and potential habitats using a species distribution model or habitat suitability index. Habitat assessment factors were classified into ecological characteristic, landscape characteristic, and species-habitat characteristic. Ecological characteristic consisted of thirteen factors related to health of tree, vegetation, and soil. Landscape characteristic consisted of five factors related to fragment and connectivity of habitat. Species-habitat characteristic consisted of factors for evaluating habitat suitability depending on target species. Since meanings are different depending on characteristics, habitat quality assessment of this study could be used by classifying results for each characteristic according to various assessment purposes, such as designation of alternative habitats, assessment of restoration project, and protected area valuation for endangered species. Forest habitat quality assessment is expected to play an important role in conservation acts of endangered species in the future through continuous supplementation of this system in regard to quantitative assessment criteria and weighting for each factor with an influence.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.109-119
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• 2016

In South Korea the need of sustainably managing development on forest lands has required to develop a new approach to estimating environmental impacts on forest surrounding development sites in a scientific manner. As for forest-related development, two types of development were selected: golf courses and industrial complexes. Using Fragstats 4.2, the fragmentation effects and patterns of each type by forest area within project sites and buffer zones ranging from the outside of project sites up to 2,000 meters were analyzed. As a result, golf courses were strongly related to a group of fragmentation indexes: CA, NP, PD, TE, LSI, TCA, NDCA and CONNECT, whereas industrial complexes were associated with CA, NP, PD, TE, LSI and CONNECT. Among them, NP, LSI, TCA and NDCA of golf courses were considered as representative indexes reflecting the average impact ranges of each sub-group by forest area, and focussing on the size of core areas. In the case of industrial complexes, PD, TE and LSI were the representatives, vulnerable to the composition of given landscape. For two case studies, one for golf courses and the other for industrial complexes, they showed there existed a difference between the average of a group and the individual results. Therefore, to minimize the variations in impact range within a group, it is needed to analyze more individual cases. This study proved there was a distinction between project types in terms of the range of environmental impact. To effectively and comprehensively manage forest development, further research on analyzing other development types related to forests with more cases is needed.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.202-217
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• 2018

Urban land use changes by human activities affect spatial configuration of urban areas and their surrounding ecosystems. Although it is necessary to identify patterns of urban land use changes and to simulate future changes for sustainable urban management, simulation of land use changes is still challenging due to their uncertainty and complexity. Cellular automata model is widely used to simulate urban land use changes based on cell-based approaches. However, cell-based models can not reflect features of actual land use changes and tend to simulate fragmented patterns. To solve these problems, object-based cellular automata models are developed, which simulate land use changes by land patches. This study simulate future land use changes in Hanam city using an object-based cellular automata model. Figure of merit of the model is 24.1%, which assess accuracy of the simulation results. When a baseline scenario was applied, urban decreased by 16.4% while agriculture land increased by 9.0% and grass increased by 19.3% in a simulation result of 2038 years. In an urban development scenario, urban increased by 22.4% and agriculture land decreased by 26.1% while forest and grass did not have significant changes. In a natural conservation scenario, urban decreased by 29.5% and agriculture land decreased by 8.8% while each forest and grass increased by 6% and 42.8%. The model can be useful to simulate realistic urban land use change effectively, and then, applied as a decision support tool for spatial planning.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.296-307
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• 2016

Ecological restoration is an eco-technology, which heals the nature damaged by human activity by imitating organization and function of the integrate nature and thereby provide an inhabitable space for diverse organisms. Such an ecological restoration has to be carried out by applying restoration plan prepared based on the results of diagnostic evaluation discussed in the diversified respects. This study aims to prepare an ecological restoration plan of the damaged forest ecosystem in Mt. Moodeung National Park. To arrive at the goal, first of all, we diagnosed quality of forest landscape established in Mt. Moodeung National Park based on natural (topography, climate, and distribution of vegetation) and artificial (land use, linear landscape element) factors. In addition, we evaluated the integrity of each zone divided by linear landscape element quantitatively based on geometric property and land use intensity. As the result of analysis, topography of Mt. Moodeung National Park tended to be depended on weathering property of parent rock and vegetation zones were divided to three vegetation zones. Based on land use pattern, deciduous broad-leaved forest, evergreen needle-leaved forest, and mixed forest occupied about 90% of Mt. Moodeung National Park. Mean score of forest landscape quality was shown in $69.86{\pm}11.41$. As a result, forest landscape elements in Mt. Moodeung National Park were influenced greatly by human activity and the degree was depended on topographic condition. This study suggested the synthetic restoration plan to improve ecological quality of Mt. Moodeung National Park based on the results of diagnostic evaluation.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.101-119
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• 2020

Recently, as a plan to improve the particulate matter and thermal environment in the city, urban forests acting as wind ventilation corridor(wind ventilation forest) are promoted nationwide. This study analyzed the conditions for the creation of wind ventilation forest(vulnerable areas of the particulate matter and thermal environment, distribution of wind ventilation forest, characteristics of ventilation corridor) of in Pyeongtae-si, one of the target cities of wind ventilation forest project. Based on the results, the direction of developing on the wind ventilation forest in Pyeongtaek-si was suggested. As a result of deriving areas vulnerable to particulate matter and thermal environment, it was most vulnerable in urban areas in the eastern area of Pyeongtaek-si. Especially, emissions were high from industrial complexes and roads such as the Pyeongtaek-si thermal power plant, ports, and the national road no. 1. The wind ventilation forest in Pyeongtaek-si was distributed with small-scale windgenerating forests, wind-spreading forests, and wind-connection forests fragmented and disconnected. The characteristic of the overall wind ventilation corridor in Pyeongtaek-si is that the cold air generated from Mt.Mubong, etc., strongly flowed into Pyeongtaek-si and flowed in the northwest direction. Therefore, it is necessary to preserve and expand the wind-generating forests in Pyeongtaek-si in the long term, and it was important to create wind-spreading forests and wind-connection forests so that cold air could flow into the vulnerable area. In addition, in industrial complexes and roads where particulate matter is generated, planting techniques should be applied to prevent the spread of particulate matte to surrounding areas by creating wind-spreading forests considering the particulate matter blocking. This study can be used not only as the basis data for wind ventilation forest project in Pyeongtaek-si, but also as the basis data for urban forest creation and management.