• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.317-326
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• 2021

The present study was carried out with a view to understand the distribution and ecology of Clihton retropictus (Martens, 1879), a class II endangered wildlife designated and protected by the Ministry of Environment, Republic of Korea, and to suggest the effective conservation and management measures for this species and its habit. First, the distribution of Clihton retropictus was investigated nationwide, and environmental factors such as salinity and substratum were analyzed in consideration of the ecological characteristics of this species. In addition, the individual size, density, and movement of Clihton retropictus per each district surveyed were analyzed. Due to its nature of inhabiting in the brackish water zone, the analysis showed that the salinity of this species was 0.7 ~ 16.6‰ at low tide and 1.0 ~ 17.3% at high tide. It was learned from the analysis of substratum that its composition in each river under investigation was slightly different, but most of substratum had a higher composition ratio than gravel (pebble, 16 ~ 64 mm). On the other hand, the size of each individual was checked by measuring the length of its diameter, and there was almost no change in the individual when the inhabited range of Clihton retropictus was short. However, there was tendency that the longer the habitat range, the bigger the individual size. From surveying the population density by season, it was made clear that, during the summer (July to August) and fall (September to October), the density was relatively higher while the number of individuals decreased significantly during winter (November to December) when the water temperature was lowered. In an effort to effectively establish conservation and management measures, the moving distance was measured, and it became known that, during the surveys in summer and fall when the individuals were active, the individuals moved in more distances than during the winter survey. The results of this study are expected to be utilized as basic data for establishing effective management plans such as creation of habitats for Clihton retropictus, its migration projects and selection of migration destinations which get unavoidable due to development projects.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.102-113
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• 2019

Slack-tide sampling was carried out at 6 stations at high and low tide for a tidal cycle during spring tide of the early summer (June) and summer (July, August) of 2016 to determine the difference of water quality according to tide in Masan Bay, Korea. The mixing regime of all the water quality components investigated was well explained through the correlation with SAL. In the early summer and summer, TURB, DSi and NNN which mainly flow into the bay from the streams and SS, COD, AMN and $H_2S$ which mainly indicate the internal sink and source materials have a property of conservative mixing and non-conservative mixing, respectively. The conservative mixing showed a good linear relationship of the water quality between high and low tide, and the non-conservative mixing showed a variation of different pattern each other. Factor analysis performed on the concentration difference data sets between high and low tide helped in identifying the principal latent variables for them. In early summer, multiple effects (tidal action, natural influx and internal sinks and sources etc.) acted in combination for the differences to be distributed evenly in four factors (VF1~4), since there were few allochthonous inputs as a low-water season. On the contrary, in summer, the parameters showing large concentration difference at ST-1 affected by stream water were concentrated in one factor (VF1) and clearly distinguished from the parameters affected by the internal sinks and sources. In fact, there is no estuary (bay) that always maintains steady state flow conditions. The mixing regime of an estuary might be changed at any time due to the change of flushing time, and furthermore the change of end-member conditions due to the internal sinks and sources makes the occurrence of concentration difference inevitable. Therefore, when investigating the water quality of the estuary, it is necessary to take a sampling method considering the tide to obtain average water quality data.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.582-591
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• 2022

This study was conducted to eliminate Myocastor coypusMolina, 1782 (Nutria) from Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, South Korea. Habitat identification and eradication were carried out from September to November 2013, and a survey was carried out until June 2022 to check whether the eradication was successful. The habitat was identified with unmanned cameras, interviews, and literature surveys, and the capture was performed using the trapping method with food to attract nutria to the habitat area. The study area for the follow-up survey, which was set relatively wide considering nutria's home range, included wetlands and rivers within 4.0 km² of the habitat area (eradication area). As a result, nutria's habitat was confirmed only at Songdang Ranch, Songdang-ri, of Jeju Island, with traces of habitat (footprints, excrement, and burrows) confirmed in waterways and ponds within the pasture. Eight individuals were captured, including four females, three males, and one individual in too advanced a state of decay to identify the sex. The follow-up survey thoroughly investigated the habitat and its surroundings, focusing on three areas with permanent water, Seongeup Reservoir, Cheonmi Creek, and Molsuni Pond, but no signs of habitat were identified. Therefore, it is determined that nutria inhabiting Jeju Island has been completely eradicated. It is believed that the successful eradication of nutria in the Jeju Special Autonomous Region was possible due to a synergy between 1) the eradication of nutria at the beginning of the settlement phase through rapid capture after confirming the nutria habitat and 2) the delayed expansion period because of rare presence of wetlands, where water is constantly stagnant, on Jeju Island. These results imply that quickly identifying the ecological characteristics of the species and preventing disturbances before they or at the beginning of the ecological disturbance through control and eradication at the initial stage of settlement before the expansion stage is an effective measure to cope with the influx of alien species.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.10-19
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• 2000

Due to the urbanization, concentrated population, and limited land exploitation in the modern society, the environment surrounding that we live in is getting polluted more and more, and it has become hard even to let urban children experience the nature. This research was conducted to help people recognize the importance of our natural resources through the environmental education of elementary school and to use school's practical open-space for the Indigenous Plants education. The results of this study are as follows : First, the status of a plant utilization in our institutional education : There were 362 species totally of 124 species of Trees, 156 species of Herbs, 63 species of Crops, and 19 species of Hydrophytes which appear in the elementary school text book. Of all, the most frequently appearing species of tree were the Malus pumila var. dulcissima, Pinus densijlora, Citrus unshiu, Diospyros kaki. Second, the effect of plant education using the land around schools : The result of research on the open-space of the 19 elementary schools located in Mapo-gu showed that most of the species planted are the Juniperus chinensisrose, Hibiscus syriacus. Pelargonium inquinans in the order of size, and the plants appearing in text book were grown in the botanical garden organized in 7 schools. Especially most of the Indigenous Plants were being planted in botanical garden, and Pinus densijlora, Abeliophyllum distichum, Polygonatum var. plurijlorum, Liriope platyphylla and so on. Last, the result of this research on recognition of Environment, Planting education and Indigenous plants : It showed that educational necessity of students and teachers about environment and Indigenous Plants was more than 80%. The management of botanical garden was conducted by some teachers and managers. The results of this study suggested that we needed the reconstruction of curriculum, the efficient application of plant education for effectiveness of using school environment and monitoring continually and construction information sources for the better environment education in the elementary schools.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.454-462
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• 2012

This study was to research the effective use of green rooftop space, facilities and gardening, targeting members from community rehabilitation centers with disabilities. The three community rehabilitation centers studied were, Namyangju Center located in a rural area, Seoul Center located in a urban area and Siheung Center located in both a rural and urban area. We analyzed the difference in preference on the basis of each local community area. In fact, it indicated that 50% of each center knew about the green rooftop at their facilities and its use as a place for taking walks and conversation. It also showed that there was the high preference for priority objects such as a bench, pergola and trash can. Also the preference for natural visualizations like herbal or ornamental plants. The study showed a high preference to a small vegetable plot, hands on gardening and ecological wetland. It also indicated that there was a high preference for experience in nature programs on the rooftops (28.9 %) versus the rate of horticultural programs (27%). Therefore, it proves that the composition of a green rooftop at a community rehabilitation center should be differentiated so that the green rooftop can be a place not only for resting, but also great for a natural learning experience and gardening therapy for people with disabilities.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.89-99
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• 2006

The growth and biomass of reeds(Phragmites australis) growing in a subsurface treatment wetland system were investigated from April 2003 to October 2003. Nitrogen(N) and phosphorous(P) concentrations in above-ground(AG) and below-ground(BG) tissues of reeds were examined and the removal rate of N and P by reeds were analyzed. The system, 29 m in length, 9 m in width and 0.65 m in depth, was constructed in June 2001 on a floodplain in the down reach of the Kwangju Stream in Korea in order to purify polluted water of the stream. A bottom layer of 45 cm in depth was filled with crushed granites(15~30 mm in diameter) and a middle layer of 10 cm in depth was filled with pea pebbles(10 mm in diameter). An upper layer of 5 cm contained course sand. Reeds were transplanted on the surface of the system, which were dug out of natural wetlands, and their shoots were trimmed 40 cm in height. The height and density of the shoots averaged 237.7 cm and 244.0 shoot/$m^2$, respectively, when the reeds grew fully. The maximum biomass of AG and BG tissues were 1,964 and 1,577 g/$m^2$, respectively, and the AG : BG ratio of biomass was 1.26. Mean AG and BG dry weights were recorded as 1,355 and 748 g/$m^2$, respectively. The AG and BG tissue concentrations of N averaged 12.37 and 10.01 mg/g, respectively, and those of P 2.37 and 2.03 mg/g, respectively. Inflow to the system averaged 40 $m^3$/day. The concentrations of total nitrogen(T-N) in influent and effluent were 8.4 mg/L and 3.2 mg/L, respectively, and those of total phosphorous(T-P) were 0.73 and 0.38 mg/L, respectively. The total removal of T-N and T-P by the system during the investigation period averaged 140.2 and 9.7 g/$m^2$, respectively, and the total uptake of N and P by the reeds were calculated as 24.39 and 4.73 g/$m^2$, respectively. Average removals of about 17% of N and about 49% of P by reeds were recorded. The N and P concentrations in AG tissues were significantly different among the three zones of the system:near to inflow(St1), in the middle of system(St2), and near to outflow(St3). The N and P concentrations in BG tissues were also significantly different among St1, St2 and St3. N and P concentrations in AG and BG tissues of reeds growing in St1 were higher than those in St2 and St3. The height and density of shoots of reeds in St1 were larger than those in St2 and St3. Significant amounts of N and P in the influent were taken up by reeds in St1.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.365-380
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• 2017

Rapid changes in the flora of exotic species are ecological problems that cause the alteration of national and regional biota. The purpose of this study is to identify the reality of neophyte flora currently inhabiting in Korea. Having analyzed a total of 151 studies published up until 2016, we found the qualitative and quantitative gaps among the preceding studies due to the lack of rigorousness on the application of the spatial and temporal level of exotic species and academic terminology. In this study, the neophyte is defined as the flora introduced temporarily after the Enlightenment in Korea (late 19th century) and spatially in the Eastern Asiatic Province of the Takhtajan's floral region instead of a country boundary. A total of 326 taxa of 184 genera of 39 families were identified and analyzed for their distributional origin and habitat characteristics. Approximately 87% (285 taxa) was a component of the single-layered herb vegetation, and a total of 211 taxa originated from Europe and North America which are the same temperate biome as Korea. The wetland vegetation components were much fewer with 21 taxa, but they included a large number of invasive alien species that caused critical deterioration in the habitat structure and function of aquatic ecosystems. Ecological approaches to exotic species categories such as Ephemerophyten and Apophyten have emerged.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.83-94
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• 2006

The objective of this paper is to extract and analyze the sediment environment change information in the Sachencheon, Gangneung, Korea that was seriously damaged as a result of typhoon Rusa aftermath early in September, 2002 using multi-temporal remote sensing data. For the extraction of change information, an unsupervised approach based on the automatic determination of thresholding values was applied. As the change detection results, turbidity changes right after typhoon Rusa, the decrease of wetlands, the increase of dry sand and channel width and changes of relative level in the stream due to seasonal variation were observed. Sedimentation in the cultivated areas and restoration works also affected the change near the Sacheoncheon. In addition to the change detection analysis, several environmental thematic maps including microtopographic map, distributions of estimated amount of flood deposits and flood hazard landform classification map were generated by using remote sensing and field survey data. In conclusion, multi-temporal remote sensing data can be effectively used for natural hazard analysis and damage information extraction and specific data processing techniques for high-resolution remote sensing data should also be developed.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.23 no.8
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• pp.697-706
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• 2002

Authigenic siderite grains, ranging 100 to 250-${\mu}$m in diameter, are abundant in an about 8,600-year-old sediment layer in Namyang Bay, west coast of Korea. The siderites exhibit the aggregated spherulitic morphology with well-developed rhombs on the grain surfaces. They consist mostly of FeCO$_3$ (average, 65%) and MnCO$_3$ (average, 22%) with low Mg/Ca ratio (less than 0.4) in their bulk composition. A series of compositional ternary discrimination diagrams, together with high Mn and low Mg contents, show that only meteoric porewater was involved in siderite precipitation, assuming that depositional environment of host sediment is an organic-rich freshwater system. Considering a series of results such as radiocarbon age, authigenic Mn-rich siderite and lithological features, siderite-hosting sediment (unit Tl) is interpreted as freshwater swamp or bog deposition, infilling the topographic depressions that locally existed before the formation of mid-to-late Holocene tidal deposits. Center-to-margin compositional variation within individual grain is very systematic; Mn and Ca decrease towards the margin of a siderite grain, while Fe and Mg increase. It suggests that the spherulitic siderites were precipitated in this sedimentary layer in a series during the early diagenesis of MnOx-FeOx reduction under steady-state.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.282-289
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• 2014

BACKGROUND: Methane($CH_4$) is considered as the secondmost potent greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide ($CO_2$). Methanogenesis is an enzyme-mediated multi-step process by methanogens. In the penultimate step, methylated Co-M is reduced by methyl Co-M reductase (MCR) to $CH_4$ involving a nickel-containing cofactor F430. The activity of MCR enzyme is dependent on the F430 and therefore, the bioavailability of Ni to methanogens is expected to influence MCR activity and $CH_4$ production in soil. In this study, different doses of EDTA(Ethylene Diamine Tetraacetic Acid) were applied in flooded soils to evaluate their suppression effect on methane production by chelating Ni of methanogenesis cofactor. METHODS AND RESULTS: EDTA was selected as chelating agents and added into wetland and rice paddy soil at the rates of 0, 25, 50, 75, and $100mmol\;kg^{-1}$ before 4-weeks incubation test. During the incubation, cumulative $CH_4$ production patterns were characterized. At the end of the experiment, soil samples were removed from their jars to analyze total soil Ni and water-soluble Ni content and methanogen abundance. Methane production from 100 mmol application decreased by 55 and 78% in both soils compared to that from 0 mmol. With increasing application rate of EDTA in both soils, water-soluble Ni concentration significantly increased, but total soil Ni and methanogen activities showed negative relationship during incubation test. CONCLUSION: The decrease in methane production with EDTA application was caused by chelating Ni of coenzyme F430 and inhibiting methanogenesis by methyl coenzyme M reductase. Consequently, EDTA application decreased uptake of Ni into methanogen, subsequently inhibited methanogen activities and reduced methane production in flooded soils.