• Journal of Climate Change Research
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.391-396
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• 2016

This study was intended to analyze the average abatement cost (AAC) of forest carbon offset projects to suggest a basic credit price for government purchase of forest carbon credits. For this purpose, an a/reforestation project and a forest management project were designed with 30 years of project period. It is assumed to plant pine trees (Pinus densiflora) for the a/reforestation project, while it is assumed to replace rigida pine trees(Pinus rigida) with oak trees (Quercus acutissima) for the forest management project. For each project, the forest carbon stock was calculated and the revenue and the cost were analyzed with standardized management activities. Korea Forest Service has supported private forest owners the cost of management activities and the consulting fee for designing carbon offset project. Therefore, the AAC were analyzed for two cases : the one with subsidy for consulting fee (case 1) and the other with subsidy for both consulting fee and management costs (case 2). In addition, the sensitiveness of AAC was analyzed according to the 4 credit prices : ￦5,000, ￦10,000, ￦15,000 and ￦20,000. The result showed that the AAC analyzed for the case 1 was so high that net revenue would not be expected from all project types with any credit price. However the AAC analyzed for the case 2 was relatively lower than the AAC of case 1. Net revenue was expected from a/reforestation project with credit price over ￦10,000, while from forest management project with credit price over ￦15,000. Based on the AAC analyzed in this study, ￦15,000 was suggested as the basic price for government purchase of forest carbon credit.

• Journal of Climate Change Research
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.369-375
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• 2017

In this study, it was intended to compare the two methodologies for forest management project through extension of rotation age: Korean Forest Carbon Offset Standard (KFOS) and Verified Carbon Standard (VCS). The amount of carbon removals and offset credits based on the two methodologies and their trends were analyzed in this study. The major difference between two methodologies were found at the process of estimation of baseline carbon removals. For instance, average carbon stock during the project period was used for estimation of baseline carbon removals in KFOS, while average carbon stock change during the 100 years was used in VCS. Due to the different approach for estimation of baseline carbon removal, the estimated offset credits were also different according to the two methodologies. In this study, 15 project scenarios were considered for comparison of two methodologies : 5 major coniferous stands in Korea (Pinus densiflora in Gangwon region, Pinus densiflora in Central region, Pinus koraiensis, Larix leptolepis, Chamaecyparis obtusa) with 3 project periods (30, 35, 40 years). The results showed that estimated carbon offset credits based on the KFOS methodology were higher for all 15 scenarios compared to those based on the VCS methodology. The KFOS showed a steep decline in the annual offset credit as project period gets longer, thus it is not desirable for projects with longer period. VCS is more acceptable for longer projects with a small difference according to the project periods. The results also indicated that Pinus densiflora in Gangwon, Pinus koraiensis, and Larix leptolepis are more desirable species for forest management project through the extension of ration age.

• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.393-417
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• 2022

Using hourly SMP data from 2016 to 2020, this paper measures the weekly realized volatility and investigates the main force of its determinants. To this end, we extend the Bayesian variable selection by incorporating the regime-switching model which identifies important variables among a large number of predictors by regimes. We find that the increase in coal and nuclear generation, as well as solar power, reinforce the SMP volatility in both high volatility and low volatility regime. In contrast the increase in gas generation and gas price decrease SMP volatility when SMP volatility is high. These results suggest that the expansion of renewable energy according to 2050 Carbon Neutrality or energy transition policies increases SMP volatility but the increase in the gas generation or reduction of coal generation might offset its impact.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.41-48
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• 2023

This study was conducted to confirm the possibility of a new carbon stock in the Sejong National Arboretum, a major urban greenspace in Sejong-si. This study involved field and ground surveys of 1,336 trees, including 794 Pinus densiflora trees with a diameter at breast height (DBH) of above 5.5cm, which are the most planted in the Sejong National Arboretum, Chionanthus retusus 154 trees planted, Metasequoia glyptostroboides 216 trees, and Aesculus turbinata 172 trees as street trees. Measurements were performed from April to November. Based on the results of the survey, the carbon storage and annual carbon stock were calculated using the annual carbon stock estimation equation used in the forest carbon offset projects. As a result of comparing the carbon stock of the 12cm diameter class, which is the most distributed of four major trees, it was found in the order of C. retusus (0.0136tC/tree), P. densiflora (0.0126tC/tree), M. glyptostroboides (0.0092tC/tree), and A. turbinata (0.0076tC/tree). In addition, the field survey measurement data compared with terrestrial LiDAR measurement data for 20 trees showed a difference of 10.0cm in tree height and 1.7cm in diameter at breast height (p<0.05). In the future, additional carbon stock and annual uptake of other species planted in the arboretum are expected to promote the carbon uptake effect of the arboretum and contribute to the achievement of the national NDC. In the long term, it is also necessary to develop the carbon uptake factor of trees and shrubs mainly used to calculate the exact carbon uptake amount of trees mainly used in urban forests and gardens.

• Journal of Climate Change Research
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.257-265
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• 2015

For estimating a net removal of carbon dioxides from a forest carbon offset project, it is necessary to consider secondary emissions occurred from the use of machineries or vehicles. According to the forest carbon standard in Korea, a default rate (5%) could be applied for estimating secondary emissions of small projects, which provide annual net removals less than or equal to $600tCO_2$, while secondary emissions should be estimated for larger projects with field survey. In this study, we intended to develop a methodology for estimating the secondary emission of a forest carbon project. For this purpose, we analyzed the working process and the carbon emissions of the forest management activities for major tree species in Korea. Based on the developed methodology, we estimated the secondary carbon emission of a reforestation project. The result showed that the secondary carbon emission of a reforestation project was estimated between 0.42% and 1.19 % compared to net removals, that is to say that the current default rate in the forest carbon standard could give an overestimated secondary emission.

• Journal of Climate Change Research
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.137-142
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• 2016

To achieve large-scale carbon removals, a carbon offset project based on forest management was designed and its carbon stock change was estimated in this study. The project was designed for 874 hectares of forests in the Jin-An Leading Forest Management Zone. For estimating the carbon stock change of the project, the Korean Forest Carbon Standard and VCS (Verified Carbon Standard) methodologies were applied. Three types of management options were considered in the project : extension of rotation age, conversion to productive forests, and conversion to selective harvesting. The estimated carbon removals from the project designed in this study were $259,936tCO_2$ ($8,664tCO_2$ annually), which is 98% of estimated carbon removals from the entire 69 projects currently registered to the Forest Carbon Offset Registry in Korea. The results of this study showed that a large-scale carbon offset project based on forest management could have a huge potential to produce carbon offset credits.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.97-104
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• 2017

Greenspace enlargement through proper landscape planting is essential to creating a low carbon society. This study analyzed changes in stem diameter growth rates(DGR), ratios of below ground/above ground biomass(B/A), and carbon sequestration by age of major landscape tree species. Landscape trees for study were 11 species and 112 individuals planted in middle region of Korea. The DGR and B/A were analyzed based on data measured through a direct harvesting method including root digging. The carbon sequestration by tree age was estimated applying the derived regression models. The annual DGR at breast height of trees over 30 years averaged 0.72 cm/yr for deciduous species and 0.83 cm/yr for evergreen species. The B/A of the trees over 30 years averaged 0.23 for evergreen species and 0.40 for deciduous species, about 1.7 times higher than evergreen species. The B/A by age in this study did not correspond to the existing result that it decreased as tree ages became older. Of the study tree species, cumulative carbon sequestration over 25 years was greatest with Zelkova serrata(198.3 kg), followed by Prunus yedoensis(121.7 kg), Pinus koraiensis(117.5 kg), and Pinus densiflora (77.4 kg) in that order. The cumulative carbon sequestration by Z. serrata offset about 5% of carbon emissions per capita from household electricity use for the same period. The growth rates and carbon sequestration for landscape trees were much greater than those for forest trees even for the same species. Based on these results, landscape planting and management strategies were explored to improve carbon sequestration, including tree species selection, planting density, and growth ground improvement. This study breaks new ground in discovering changes in growth and carbon sequestration by age of landscape trees and is expected to be useful in establishing urban greenspaces towards a low carbon society.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.30-40
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• 2022

Wildfires, which occur sporadically and irregularly worldwide, are distinct natural disturbances in combustible vegetation areas, important parts of the global carbon cycle, and natural disasters that cause severe public emergencies. While many previous studies have investigated the variability and changes in wildfires globally based on fire emissions, burned areas, and fire weather indices, studies on East Asia are still limited. Here, we explore the characteristics of variability and changes in wildfire danger over East Asia by analyzing the fire weather index for the 40 years-1981-2020. The first empirical orthogonal function (EOF) mode of fire weather index variability represents an increasing trend in wildfire danger over most parts of East Asia over the last 40 years, accounting for 29% of the total variance. The major contributor is an increase in the surface temperature in East Asia associated with global warming and multidecadal ocean variations. The effect of temperature was slightly offset by the increase in soil moisture. The second EOF mode exhibits considerable interannual variability associated with the El Nino-Southern Oscillation, accounting for 17% of the total variance. The increase (decrease) in precipitation in East Asia during El Nino (La Nina) increases (decreases) soil moisture, which in turn reduces (increases) wildfire danger. This dominant soil moisture effect was slightly offset by the temperature increase (decrease) during El Nino (La Nina). Improving the understanding of variability and changes in wildfire danger will have important implications for reducing social, economic, and ecological losses associated with wildfire occurrences.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.36 no.6_1
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• pp.1449-1463
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• 2020

As recent global warming and climate changes become more serious, the importance of CO2 absorption by forests is increasing to cope with the greenhouse gas issues. According to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, it is required to calculate national CO2 absorptions at the local level in a more scientific and rigorous manner. This paper presents the gridded expansion of forest flux observations and mapping of daily CO2 absorption by the forests in Korea using numerical weather prediction data and satellite images. To consider the sensitive daily changes of plant photosynthesis, we built a machine learning model to retrieve the daily RACA (reference amount of CO2 absorption) by referring to the climax forest in Gwangneung and adopted the NIFoS (National Institute of Forest Science) lookup table for the CO2 absorption by forest type and age to produce the daily AACA (actual amount of CO2 absorption) raster data with the spatial variation of the forests in Korea. In the experiment for the 1,095 days between Jan 1, 2013 and Dec 31, 2015, our RACA retrieval model showed high accuracy with a correlation coefficient of 0.948. To achieve the tier 3 daily statistics for AACA, long-term and detailed forest surveying should be combined with the model in the future.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.204-216
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• 2024

Understanding the trade-off effect in ecosystem services and measuring the interrelationships between services are crucial for managing limited environmental resources. Accordingly, in this study, we identified the dominant trends and increases and decreases in ecosystem services derived from changes in land cover over about 30 years and tracked changes in the relationships between ecosystem services that occurred over time. Through it, we determined the relationship between land cover changes and ecosystem service changes, as well as the distinct characteristics of service changes in different areas. The research primarily utilized the InVEST model, an ecosystem service assessment model. After standardizing the evaluation results between 0 and 1, it went through principal component analysis, a dimensionality reduction technique, to observe the time-series changes and understand the relationships between the services. According to the research results, the area of urbanized regions dramatically increased between 1989 and 2019, while forests showed a significant increase between 2009 and 2019. Between 1989 and 2019, the national ecosystem service supply witnessed a 13.9% decrease in water supply, a 10.5% decrease in nitrogen retention, a 2.6% increase in phosphorus retention, a 0.9% decrease in carbon storage, a 1.2% increase in air purification, and a 3.4% decrease in habitat quality. Over the past 30 years, South Korea experienced an increase in urbanized areas, a decrease in agricultural land, and an increase in forests, resulting in a trade-off effect between phosphorus retention and habitat quality. This study concluded that South Korea's environment management policies contribute to improving ecosystem quality, which has declined due to urbanization, and maximizing ecosystem services. These findings can help policymakers establish and implement forestry policies focusing on sustainable environmental conservation and ecosystem service provision.