• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2021

Background: Abandoned coal piles after the closure of mines have a potential negative influence on the environment, such as soil acidification and heavy metal contamination. Therefore, revegetation by efficient species is required. For this, we wanted to identify the role of Silene acaulis in the succession of coal piles as a pioneer and a nurse plant. S. acaulis is a well-studied cushion plant living in the Arctic and alpine environments in the northern hemisphere. It has a highly compact cushion-like form and hosts more plant species under its canopy by ameliorating stressful microhabitats. In this research, we surveyed vegetation cover on open plots and co-occurring species within S. acaulis cushions in coal piles with different slope aspects and a control site where no coal was found. The plant cover and the similarity of communities among sites were compared. Also, the interaction effects of S. acaulis were assessed by rarefaction curves. Results: S. acaulis was a dominant species with the highest cover (6.7%) on the coal piles and occurred with other well-known pioneer species. Plant communities on the coal piles were significantly different from the control site. We found that the pioneer species S. acaulis showed facilitation, neutral, and competition effect in the north-east facing slope, the south-east facing slope, and the flat ground, respectively. This result was consistent with the stress gradient hypothesis because the facilitation only occurred on the north-east facing slope, which was the most stressed condition, although all the interactions observed were not statistically significant. Conclusions: S. acaulis was a dominant pioneer plant in the succession of coal piles. The interaction effect of S. acaulis on other species depended on the slope and its direction on the coal piles. Overall, it plays an important role in the succession of coal piles in the High Arctic, Svalbard.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.38 no.5
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• pp.259-268
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• 2005

Most of the tailings have been left without any management in their mines and have become the main source of serious environmental problems in nearby groundwater, stream and cultivated lands. To compare fractionation and potential mobility of heavy metals in tailings and paddy soils near abandoned 10-metalliferous mines in Korea, the distribution and chemical fractions of heavy metal and their mobility in relation to chemical compositions were investigated. The pollution index of heavy metal in mine tailing calculated with the permissible levels were in the order Cheongyang>Dogok>Beutdeun>Baegwoul mine, which were considered sufficient to raise environmental problems. The rates of 0.1M-HCl extractable Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn, and Ni to total content in paddy soils were 49.1, 50.7, 26.8, 18.4 and 2.9%, respectively, and their rates of heavy metals in paddy soils were higher than that of mine tailing. Dominant chemical forms of heavy metals in tailings were sulfide and residual form (63-91%), specially, the exchangeable portion of Cd (21%) was relatively higher than that of other metals in paddy soils. The mobility factor of heavy metals in tailings and paddy soils was in the order Cd>Zn>Cu>Pb, and the mobility factor in tailing varied considerably among the mines. The potential mobility of heavy metals in tailings showed significant positive correlation with water-soluble $Al^{3+}$ and $Fe^{3+}$ contents, while in paddy soils, it correlated negatively with soil pH values.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.481-490
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• 2003

The objectives of this study are (1) to determine the extent and degree of As contamination of the water and sediments influenced by mining activity of the abandoned Au-Ag mines, (2) to examine As speciation In contaminated water, (3) to monitor variation of As contamination in water system throughout the dry and wet seasons, and (4) to investigate the As chemical form in the sediments through the sequential extraction analyses. Natural water(mine water, surface water and groundwater) and sediments were collected in six abandoned Au-Ag mine(Au-bearing quartz veins) areas. The contamination level of As in mine water of the Dongil(524${\mu}m$/L) is more higher than the tolerance level(500 ${\mu}m$/L) for waste water of mine area in Korea. Elevated levels of As in stream water were also found in the Dongil(range of 63.7∼117.6 ${\mu}m$/L.) and Gubong(range of 56.1∼62.9 ${\mu}m$/L) mine areas. Arsenic contamination levels in groundwater used by drinking water were more significant in the Dongil(11.3∼63.5 ${\mu}m$/L), Okdong(0.2∼68.9 ${\mu}m$/L) and Gubong(2.0∼101.0${\mu}m$/L) mine areas. Arsenate[As(V), $H_2AsO_4^-$] is more dominant than arsenite[As(III), $H_3AsO_3$] in water system of the most mine areas. The concentration ratios of As(III) to As(total), however, extend to the 95% in stream water of the Okdong mine area and 70∼82% in groundwater of the Okdong and Dongjung mine areas. As a study of seasonal variation in the water system, relatively high levels of As from the dongil mine area were found in April rather than in September. Sequential extraction analysis showed that As was predominantly present as coprecipitated with Fe hydroxides from sediment samples of the Dongjung and Gubong mine(35.9∼40.5%), which indicates its possibility of re-extraction and inducing elevated contamination of As in the reductive condition. In sediments from the Dongil, Okdong and Hwachon mine area, high percentage(55.2∼83.4%) of As sulfide form was found.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.553-565
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• 2002

Seasonal variations in vertical distributions of metals were investigated in the contaminated paddy soils around Siheung Cu-Pb-Zn and Deokeum Au-Ag mines. Geochemical behavior of metals was also evaluated with respect to redox changes during the cultivation of rice. Two microcosms simulating the rice-growing paddy field were set up in the laboratory. The raw paddy soils from two sites showed differences in mineralogy, metal concentrations and gecochemical parameters, and it is suggested that high proportions of exchangeable fractions in metals may give high dissolution rates at Deokeum. In both microcosms of Siheung and Deokeum, redox differences between surface and subsurface of paddy soils were maintained during the flooded period of 18 weeks. Siheung soil had neutral to alkaline pH conditions, while strongly acidic conditions and high Eh values were found at the surface soil of Deokeum. The concentrations of dissolved Fe and Mn were higher in the subsurface pore waters than in interface and upper waters from both microcosms, indicating reductive dissolution under reducing conditions. On the contrary, dissolved Pb and Zn had high concentrations at the surface under oxidizing conditions. From the Siheung microcosm, release of dissolved metals into upper waters was decreased. presumably by the trap effect of Fe- and Mn-rich layers at the interface. However, in the Deokeum microcosm, significant amounts of Pb and Zn were released into upper water despite the relatively lower contents in raw paddy soil, and seasonal variations in the chemical fractionation of metals were observed between flooded and drained conditions. Under acidic conditions, rice may uptake high amounts of metals from the surface of paddy soils during the flooded periods, and increases of exchangeable phases may also increase the bioavailability of heavy metals in the drained conditions.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.95 no.1
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• pp.23-31
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• 2006

Vegetation structure of Samchang, Bongmyeong, Kabjeong, Danbong coal mine and control site was investigated to provide basic information on vegetation rehabilitation of abandoned coal mine lands in Mungyeong. Gyeongbuk Province. The middle and lower layer consisted of 3 and 10 species for Samchang, 2 and 5 species for Bongmyeong, 7 and 11 species for Kabjeong, 9 and 12 species for Danbong coal mine, and 15 and 17 species appeared for control site, respectively. Importance value of Lespedeza cyrtobotrya in lower layer was the highest for in Samchang, and that of Rubus crataegifolius in other coal mine lands wast he highest. Importance value in herbaceous layer was the highest for Arundinella hirta in Samchang, for Corchoropsis tomentosa in Bongmyeong, for Miscanthus sinensis in Kabjeong, for Carex lanceolata and Artemisia princeps var. orientalis in Danbong coal mines, and Calamagrostis arundinacea in control site was the highest, respectively. Species diversity of middle and lower layer for four coal mine lands ranged from 0.201 to 0.666 and 0.612 to 0.895, respectively. Evenness of lower layer ranged from 0.683 to 0.875 for four coal mine lands, and it was 0.990 for control site.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.453-464
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• 2008

This study is to examine a relation between coal mining subsidence occurrence at abandoned underground coal mines and underground goaf with respect to surface geology, subsurface structure, depth and thickness of coal beds and the distribution of drifts. A study is carried out at the site where susceptibility of coal mining subsidence was proven high in a previous study. In that previous study, the susceptibility of coal mining subsidence was spatially analyzed by GIS using digitized geological maps, investigation reports, digitized mining tunnel maps without consideration of subsurface structure and the multi-level arrangement of drifts. Here we analyze geological characteristics around the goaf and the distribution of coal seam based upon digitized geological maps and investigation reports on the study area. And digitized mining tunnel maps are also used to analyze the depth and multi-level arrangement of drifts. The results show that weakened surface rock strength, relatively shallow depth and large thickness of coal seam below the surface are closely related to the coal mining subsidence occurrence. Complicatedly inter-connected drifts, shallow depth of drifts and surface rock fractures are revealed as additional control factors affecting coal mining subsidence. These factors examined in this study as well as original factors should be taken into account for the quantitative estimation of coal mining subsidence occurrence at abandoned underground coal mine.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.29-35
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• 2019

The purpose of this study was to assess the applicability of acid mine drainage sludge (AMDS) pellets for the arsenic (As) stabilization and to suggest an evaluation method for arsenic stabilization efficiency in soil around abandoned coal mines. The soil samples were collected from the agricultural field around Ham-Tae, Dong-Won, Dong-Hae, and Ok-Dong coal mine. The As concentration in soil was exceeding the criteria of soil pollution level, except for Ham-Tae coal mine. The AMDS pellets are more appropriate to use by reducing dust occurrence during the transport and application process than AMDS powder. In addition, AMDS pellets were maintained the As stabilization efficiency. The application of AMDS pellets for the As stabilization in soil was assessed by column experiments. The AMDS pellets were more effective than limestone and steel slag, which used as the conventional additives for the stabilization process. The As extraction by $0.43M\;HNO_3$ or $1M\;NaH_2PO_4$ solution were appropriate evaluation methods for evaluation of As stabilization efficiency in the soil.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.129-137
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• 2003

We interpreted the seismic signal characteristics from crosswell seismic tomography in the underground cavity like abandoned mines. The first arrival time delay and amplitude attenuation showed clearly at the low velocity zone of cavity and fracture. Also ray density decreased by detour of raypath. As a result of the amplitude spectrum analysis of fresh rock and low velocity zone, there were no noticeable differences of the amplitude up to about 1000Hz frequency, but indicated that the one passed around cavity decreased about 7dB at 2000Hz, and 20dB at 3000Hz. It was possible to compare the signal characteristics between two media by extracting the signal data from the fresh rock zone and the underground cavity through the seismic crosswell tomography.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.66-74
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• 2016

Environmental pollution from abandoned metal mines has been awarded as serious problem and many techniques have been applied to remediate pollutants. Main objective of this research was to evaluate efficiency of heavy metal sorption capacity of spent mushroom media (SMM) in aqueous and soil matrix. Laboratory batch experiment was conducted and 4 different heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Cu, Zn) were evaluated. In aqueous phase, all 4 heavy metals showed high reduction efficiency ranged from 60-99% and Pb showed the highest sorption efficiency. In case of soil phase, much lower sorption efficiency was observed compared to aqueous phase. The highest reduction efficiency was observed in Cd (average of 38%). With scanning electron microscopy energy dispersive detector (SED-EDS) analysis, we confirmed sorption of heavy metals at the surface of SMM. Overall, SMM can be used as sorption materials for heavy metals in both aqueous and soil matrix and more research should be conducted to increase sorption efficiency of SMM in soil.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.47 no.6
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• pp.518-524
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• 2014

Heavy metal pollution in agricultural field near at the abandoned metal mines has been a critical issue in Korea. In particular, bioaccumulation in plants can have detrimental effect on human health. Main objective of this research was to examine arsenic (As) concentration in soil with varied extraction methods and to determine bioaccumulation and biological transfer factor in different crops. Results showed that bioaccumulation ratio of As for total contents in soil was ordered leafy and stem vegetables (1.19%) > fruit bearing vegetables (0.79%) > pulses (0.40%) > root vegetables (0.36%) with different crop species. Among 6 different extraction methods, all of extraction methods showed high correlation ($R^2=0.87-0.97$) except DTPA ($R^2=0.25$) when comparing As concentration in soil extracted with different extractants and As concentration in each crops. Calculated biological transfer factor was ranged 0.002-0.018 depending on crop species. Overall, concentration of As in crops can be varied and best management practice for minimizing bioaccumulation of As should be considered depending on crop species.