• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.24-36
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• 2021

Countries around the world, including the Republic of Korea, are participating in efforts to preserve biodiversity. Concerning species, in particular, studies that aim to find potential habitats and establish conservation plans by conducting habitat suitability analysis for specific species are actively ongoing. However, few studies on mid- to long-term changes in suitable habitat areas are based on accumulated information. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the time-series changes in the habitat suitable area and examine the otters' changing pattern (Lutra lutra) designated as Level 1 endangered wildlife in Gangwon-do. The time-series change analysis used the data on otter species' presence points from the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th national natural environment surveys conducted for about 20 years. Moreover, it utilized the land cover map consistent with the survey period to create environmental variables to reflect each survey period's habitat environment. The suitable habitat area analysis used the MaxEnt model that can run based only on the species presence information, and it has been proven to be reliable by previous studies. The study derived the habitat suitability map for otters in each survey period, and it showed a tendency that habitats were distributed around rivers. Comparing the response curves of the environmental variables derived from the modeling identified the characteristics of the habitat favored by otters. The examination of habitats' change by survey period showed that the habitats based on the 2nd National Natural Environment Survey had the widest distribution. The habitats of the 3rd and 4th surveys showed a tendency of decrease in area. Moreover, the study aggregated the analysis results of the three survey periods and analyzed and categorized the habitat's changing pattern. The type of change proposed different conservation plans, such as field surveys, monitoring, protected area establishment, and restoration plan. This study is significant because it produced a comprehensive analysis map that showed the time-series changes of the location and area of the otter habitat and proposed a conservation plan that is necessary according to the type of habitat change by region. We believe that the method proposed in this study and its results can be used as reference data for establishing a habitat conservation and management plan in the future.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.60-75
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• 2022

The Bayesian algorithm model is a model algorithm that calculates probabilities based on input data and is mainly used for complex disasters, water quality management, the ecological structure between living things or living-non-living factors. In this study, we analyzed the main factors affected Korean Estuary Trophic Diatom Index (KETDI) change based on the Bayesian network analysis using the diatom community and physicochemical factors in the domestic estuarine aquatic ecosystem. For Bayesian analysis, estuarine diatom habitat data and estuarine aquatic diatom health (2008~2019) data were used. Data were classified into habitat, physical, chemical, and biological factors. Each data was input to the Bayesian network model (GeNIE model) and performed estuary aquatic network analysis along with the nationwide and each coast. From 2008 to 2019, a total of 625 taxa of diatoms were identified, consisting of 2 orders, 5 suborders, 18 families, 141 genera, 595 species, 29 varieties, and 1 species. Nitzschia inconspicua had the highest cumulative cell density, followed by Nitzschia palea, Pseudostaurosira elliptica and Achnanthidium minutissimum. As a result of analyzing the ecological network of diatom health assessment in the estuary ecosystem using the Bayesian network model, the biological factor was the most sensitive factor influencing the health assessment score was. In contrast, the habitat and physicochemical factors had relatively low sensitivity. The most sensitive taxa of diatoms to the assessment of estuarine aquatic health were Nitzschia inconspicua, N. fonticola, Achnanthes convergens, and Pseudostaurosira elliptica. In addition, the ratio of industrial area and cattle shed near the habitat was sensitively linked to the health assessment. The major taxa sensitive to diatom health evaluation differed according to coast. Bayesian network analysis was useful to identify major variables including diatom taxa affecting aquatic health even in complex ecological structures such as estuary ecosystems. In addition, it is possible to identify the restoration target accurately when restoring the consequently damaged estuary aquatic ecosystem.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.624-635
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• 2019

Bird strike accidents, a collision between aircraft and birds, have been increasing annually due to an increasing number of aircraft operating each year to meet heavier demand for air traffic. As such, many airports have conducted studies to assess and manage bird strike risks effectively by identifying and ranking bird species that can damage aircraft based on the bird strike records. This study was intended to investigate the bird species that were likely to threaten aircraft and compare and discuss the risk of each species estimated by the single-matrix and multi-matrix risk assessment models based on the Integrated Flight Information Service (IFIS) data collected in Gimpo, Gimhae and Jeju Airports in South Korea from 2005 to 2013. We found that there was a difference in the assessment results between the two models. The single-matrix model estimated 2 species and 6 taxa in Gimpo and Gimhae Airports and 2 species and 5 taxa in Jeju Airport to have the risk score above "high," whereas the multi-matrix model estimated 3 species and 5 taxa in Gimpo Airport, 4 species and 5 taxa in Gimhae Airport, and 2 species and 3 taxa in Jeju Airport to have the risk score above "very high." Although both models estimated the similar high-risk species in Gimpo and Gimhae Airports, there was a significant difference in Jeju Airport. Gimpo and Gimhae Airports are near the estuary of a river, which is an excellent habitat for large and heavy waterbirds. On the other hand, Jeju Airport is near the coast and the city center, and small and light bird species are mostly observed. Since collisions with such species have little effect on aircraft fuselage, the impact of common variables between the two models was small, and the additional variables caused a significant difference between the estimation by the two models.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.229-237
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• 2015

This study aims to offer basic data to effectively preserve and manage pine forests using more precise pine forests' distribution status. In this regard, this study predicts the geographical distribution change of pine forests growing in South Korea, due to climate change, and evaluates the spatial distribution characteristics of pine forests by age. To this end, this study predicts the potential distribution change of pine forests by applying the MaxEnt model useful for species distribution change to the present and future climate change scenarios, and analyzes the effects of bioclimatic variables on the distribution area and change by age. Concerning the potential distribution regions of pine forests, the pine forests, aged 10 to 30 years in South Korea, relatively decreased more. As the area of the region suitable for pine forest by age was bigger, the decreased regions tend to become bigger, and the expanded regions tend to become smaller. Such phenomena is conjectured to be derived from changing of the interaction of pine forests by age from mutual promotional relations to competitive relations in the similar climate environment, while the regions suitable for pine forests' growth are mostly overlap regions. This study has found that precipitation affects more on the distribution of pine forests, compared to temperature change, and that pine trees' geographical distribution change is more affected by climate's extremities including precipitation of driest season and temperature of the coldest season than average climate characteristics. Especially, the effects of precipitation during the driest season on the distribution change of pine forests are irrelevant of pine forest's age class. Such results are expected to result in a reduction of the pine forest as the regions with the increase of moisture deficiency, where climate environment influencing growth and physiological responses related with drought is shaped, gradually increase according to future temperature rise. The findings in this study can be applied as a useful method for the prediction of geographical change according to climate change by using various biological resources information already accumulated. In addition, those findings are expected to be utilized as basic data for the establishment of climate change adaptation policies related to forest vegetation preservation in the natural ecosystem field.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.1-14
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• 2012

The purpose of this study is to derive a desirable riverfront construction plan to me for the activities of citizens through the evaluation and analysis of the urban riverfront space from the perspective of universal design. Therefore, previous studies were examined in order to induce evaluation tools that bhve been grafted from the universal design concept; in addition, a field survey was conducted in Shincheon, Daegu, which was selected as the study target, in order to induce problems and improvement directions from the perspective of universal design. The major results can be summarized as follows. (1) In the 'fairness' aspect, all the items such as installation of integrated functional signage, showing pictures, symbols, foreign language signs, and restroom entrances signage were determined to be 'All Unsuitable' for all sections; and therefore, it is necessary to improve the fairness of usage for everybody. (2) In the 'Functionality(Usability)' aspect, all items such as installation of bicycle paths beside access roads, installation of integrated functional signs, and night light signs were determined to be 'All Unsuitable' for all sections; therefore, it is necessary to improve the functionalities of these facilities. (3) In the 'Convenience' aspect, all items such as the installation of bicycle parking areas, continuous rest facilities, and back and ann support(handles) at resting facilities were determined to be 'All Unsuitable' for many sections; therefore, it is necessary to improve these facilities for the convenience of usage. (4) In the 'Information(Recognizability)' aspect, all items such as showing pictures, symbols, foreign languages and installation of night light signs, and restroom entrances signage were determined to be 'All Unsuitable' for all sections; therefore, it is necessary to improve the recognizability to minimize misunderstandings and confusion. (5) In the 'Safety' aspect, all items such as the installation of safe pedestrian paths in parking areas, using anti-slip and shock absorption materials on restroom floors, and the continuous installation of pedestrian paths that are separate from bicycle paths were determined to be 'All Unsuitable' for all sections; therefore, it is necessary to improve the safety to prevent accidents. (6) In the 'Amenity' aspect, access roads, parking areas, hygiene facilities, convenience facilities, and waterside facilities for many sections were determined to be 'All Unsuitable'; therefore, it is necessary to conduct more concentrated hygiene management. (7) In the 'Accessibility(Mobility)' aspect, all items such as the installation of safe pedestrian paths in parking areas, and continuous pedestrian paths that are separate from bicycle paths were determined to be 'All Unsuitable' for all sections; therefore, it is necessary to improve the accessibility to provide safety and convenience. (8) In the 'Durability' aspect, access roads, parking areas, rest facilities, convenience facilities, fitness facilities, and waterside facilities were determined to be 'All Unsuitable' for many sections, therefore, it is necessary to improve sunken or damaged areas by inspecting facilities by section.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.147-152
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• 2015

Nitrogen (N) loading from domestic, agricultural and industrial sources can lead to excessive growth of macrophytes or phytoplankton in aquatic environment. Many studies have used nitrogen stable isotope ratios to identify anthropogenic nitrogen in aquatic systems as a useful method for studying nitrogen cycle. In this study to evaluate the precision and accuracy of Kjeldahl processes, two reference materials (IAEA-NO-3, N-1) were analyzed repeatedly. Measured the ${\delta}^{15}N-NO_3$ and ${\delta}^{15}N-NH_4$ values of IAEA-NO-3 and IAEA-N-1 were $4.7{\pm}0.2$‰ and $0.4{\pm}0.3$‰, respectively, which are within recommended values of analytical uncertainties. Also, we investigated spatial patterns of ${\delta}^{15}N-NO_3$ and ${\delta}^{15}N-NH_4$ in effluent plumes from a waste water treatment plant in Han River, Korea. ${\delta}^{15}N-NO_3$ and ${\delta}^{15}N-NH_4$ values are enriched at downstream areas of water treatment plant suggesting that dissolved nitrogen in effluent plumes should be one of the main N sources in those areas. The current study clarifies the reliability of Kjeldahl analytical method and the usefulness of stable isotopic techniques to trace the contamination source of dissolved nitrogen such as nitrate and ammonia.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.287-295
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• 2021

As facilities such as dam reservoir wetlands and agricultural irrigation reservoir wetlands are built, sedimentation occurs over time through erosion, sedimentation transport, and sediment deposition. Sedimentation issues are very important for the maintenance of reservoir wetlands because long-term sedimentation of sediments affects flood and drought control functions. However, research on resignation has been estimated mainly by empirical formulas due to the lack of available data. The purpose of this study was to calculate and compare the sediment deposition rate by developing a multiple regression model along with actual data and empirical formulas. In addition, it was attempted to identify potential causes of collapse by applying it to 64 reservoir wetlands that suffered flood damage due to the long rainy season in 2020 due to reservoir wetland sedimentation and aging. For the target reservoir, 10 locations including the GaGog reservoir located in Miryang city, Gyeongsangnam province in South Korea, where there is actual survey information, were selected. A multiple regression model was developed in consideration of physical and climatic characteristics, and a total of four empirical formulas and sediment deposition rate were calculated. Using this, the error of the sediment deposition rate was compared. As a result of calculating the sediment deposition rate using the multiple regression model, the error was the lowest from 0.21(m³km²/yr) to 2.13(m³km²/yr). Therefore, based on the sediment deposition rate estimated by the multi-regression model, the change in the available capacity of reservoir wetlands was analyzed, and the effective storage capacity was found to have decreased from 0.21(%) to 16.56(%). In addition, the sediment deposition rate of the reservoir where the overflow damage occurred was relatively higher than that of the reservoir where the piping damage occurred. In other words, accumulating sediment deposition rate at the bottom of the reservoir would result in a lack of acceptable effective water capacity and reduced reservoir flood and drought control capabilities, resulting in reservoir collapse damage.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.54 no.spc1
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• pp.1143-1154
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• 2021

The selection of activation function has a great influence on the groundwater level prediction performance of artificial neural network (ANN) model. In this study, five activation functions were applied to ANN model for two groundwater level observation wells in the middle mountainous area of the Pyoseon watershed in Jeju Island. The results of the prediction of the groundwater level were compared and analyzed, and the optimal activation function was derived. In addition, the results of LSTM model, which is a widely used recurrent neural network model, were compared and analyzed with the results of the ANN models with each activation function. As a result, ELU and Leaky ReLU functions were derived as the optimal activation functions for the prediction of the groundwater level for observation well with relatively large fluctuations in groundwater level and for observation well with relatively small fluctuations, respectively. On the other hand, sigmoid function had the lowest predictive performance among the five activation functions for training period, and produced inappropriate results in peak and lowest groundwater level prediction. The ANN-ELU and ANN-Leaky ReLU models showed groundwater level prediction performance comparable to that of the LSTM model, and thus had sufficient potential for application. The methods and results of this study can be usefully used in other studies.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.134-145
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• 2023

Currently, the floodplains of major rivers are transforming into various types of waterfront spaces according to the increase in leisure activities and improved accessibility. In general, waterfront activities in river channels tend to be concentrated in summer, and the waterfront activities during this period directly affect water quality. Accordingly, it is necessary to accurately compare and evaluate the characteristics and water quality of waterfront activities during the period when waterfront activities are concentrated. In this study, the following research was conducted to compare and analyze the current status of waterfront activities of users of waterfront areas and the water quality of waterfront areas. First, three waterfront areas were selected for investigation using the information from the Ministry of Environment's water quality measurement network. Second, a survey was conducted on the satisfaction and types of waterfront activities targeting users of waterfront areas. Third, water quality grades were calculated based on monthly water quality measurement factors and compared. Fourth, statistical analysis (one-way analysis of variance) was conducted to see if there was a significant difference in water quality characteristics between periods of high waterfront activity and periods of low waterfront activity using water quality measurement data for the last 5 years. As a result of this analysis, the following conclusions were drawn in this study. First, the use of waterfront activities was investigated in the order of camping, water skiing, fishing, swimming, and rafting. Second, satisfaction factors for waterfront activities were investigated in the order of activity convenience, water quality, waterlandscape, transportation access convenience, and temperature. Third, it was found that satisfaction with water quality in waterfront areas was generally unsatisfactory regardless of the water quality grade presented by the competent authority. Fourth, as a result of comparing the water quality measurement network data of the Ministry of Environment by water quality grade, generally good grades were found, and in particular, there was a difference in grade frequency by season in the BOD category. Fifth, as a result of statistical analysis (one-way ANOVA) of water quality monitoring network data by season, there were statistically significant differences in COD, BOD, TP, and TOC except for DO. Considering the results of these studies, it is judged that it is necessary to prepare a comprehensive management system for water quality improvement in the waterfront zone and to improve water quality during periods of high waterfront activity, and to prepare a water quality forecasting system for waterfront areas in the future.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.35-48
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• 2022

Fish assemblage of total 325 of Korean peninsula estuaries were surveyed to analyze the characteristics of community structure and diversity by sea areas for three years from 2016 to 2018. The scale (stream width) of Korean estuaries were various (14~3,356 m), and 68.9% of all estuaries showed salinity of less than 2 psu. Total 149 species classified into 52 families of fish were identified, and the dominant and sub-dominant species were Tribolodon hakonensis (relative abundance, RA, 12.5%) and Mugil cephalus (RA, 9.5%), respectively. The estuary of the Korean Peninsula had different physical and chemical habitat environments depending on the sea area, and accordingly, fish community structure also showed statistically significant differences (PERMANOVA, Pseudo-F=26.69, P=0.001). In addition, the NMDS (nonmetric multidimensional scaling) results showed the patterns that indicating fish community difference by sea areas, even though low community similarity within sea area (SIMPER, 21.79~26.39%). The estuaries of east sea areas were distinguished from the others in the aspects of which, the higher importance of migratory fishes and endangered species, and that of brackish species were characterized at south sea estuaries. However, the estuaries of west sea showed higher importance of species that have a relation with freshwater (primary freshwater species, exotic species), which is the result that associating with the lower salinity of west sea estuaries because of the high ratio of closed estuaries(78.2%). The SIMPER analysis, scoring the contribution rates of species to community similarity, also showed results corresponding to the tendency of different fish community structures according to each sea area. So far, In Korea, most studies on fish communities in estuaries have been conducted in a single estuary unit, which made it difficult to understand the characteristics of estuaries at the national level, which are prerequisite for policy establishment. In present study, we are providing fish community structure characteristics of Korean estuaries in a national scale, including diversity index, habitat salinity ranges of major species, distribution of migratory species. We are expecting that our results could be utilized as baseline information for establishing management policies or further study of Korean estuaries.