• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.10
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• pp.1717-1722
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• 2016

A novel phytase of Acidobacteria was identified from a soil metagenome, cloned, overexpressed, and purified. It has low sequence similarity (<44%) to all the known phytases. At the optimum pH (2.5), the phytase shows an activity level of 1,792 μmol/min/mg at physiological temperature (37℃) and could retain 92% residual activity after 30 min, indicating the phytase is acidophilic and acidostable. However the phytase shows poor stability at high temperatures. To improve its thermal resistance, the enzyme was redesigned using Disulfide by Design 2.0, introducing four additional disulfide bridges. The half-life time of the engineered phytase at 60℃ and 80℃, respectively, is 3.0× and 2.8× longer than the wild-type, and its activity and acidostability are not significantly affected.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.50 no.5
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• pp.336-344
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• 2017

The soil water characteristics curve (SWCC) represents the relation between soil water potential and soil water content. The shape and range of SWCC according to the relation could vary depending on soil characteristics. The objective of the study was to estimate SWCC depending on soil types and layers and to analyze the trend among them. To accomplish this goal, the unsaturated three soils were considered: silty clay loam, loam, and sandy loam soils. Weighable lysimeters were used for exactly measuring soil water content and soil water potential. Two fitting models, van Genuchten and Campbell, were applied. Two models entirely fitted well the measured SWCC, indicating low RMSE and high $R^2$ values. However, the large difference between the measured and the estimated was found at the 30 cm layer of the silty clay loam soil, and the gap was wider as soil water potential increased. In addition, the non-linear decrease of soil water content according to the increase of soil water potential tended to be more distinct in the sandy loam soil and at the 10 cm layer than in the silty clay loam soil and at the lower layers. These might be seen due to the various factors such as not only pore size distribution, but also cracks by high clay content and plow pan layers by compaction. This study clearly showed difficulty in the estimation of SWCC by such kind of factors.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.1073-1085
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• 2012

Soil microbial communities are immensely diverse and complex with respect to species richness and community size. These communities play essential roles in agricultural soil because they are responsible for most of the nutrient cycles in the soil and influence the plant diversity and productivity. However, the majority of these microbes remain uncharacterized because of poor culturability. Next-generation sequencing techniques have revolutionized many areas of biology by providing cheaper and faster alternatives to Sanger sequencing. Among them, amplicon pyrosequencing is a powerful tool developed by 454 Life Sciences for assessing the diversity of complex microbial communities by sequencing PCR products or amplicons. This review summarizes the current opinions in amplicon sequencing of soil microbial communities, and provides practical guidance and advice on sequence quality control, aligning, clustering, OTU- and taxon-based analysis. The last section of this article includes a few representative studies conducted using amplicon pyrosequencing.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.46 no.6
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• pp.426-433
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• 2013

This study was aimed to classify soil desalination area for cultivation using NDVI (Normalized difference vegetation index) of high-resolution satellite image because the soil salinity affects the change of plant community in reclaimed lands. We measured the soil salinity and NDVI at 28 sites in the Saemangeum reclaimed land in June 2013. In halophyte and non-vegetation sites, no relation was found between NDVI and soil salinity. In glycophyte sites, however, we found that the soil salinity was below 0.1% and NDVI ranged from 0.11 to 0.57 which was greater than the other sites. So, we could distinguish the glycophyte sites from the halophyte sites and non-vegetation, and classify the area that soil salinty was below 0.1%. This technique could save the time and labor to measure the soil salinity in large area for agricultural utilization.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.213-218
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• 2019

BACKGROUND: Monitoring of the dynamic changes of chemical properties in agricultural land is very important for agricultural sustainability. Chemical properties of agricultural soils in Korea have been investigated at four-year interval in the order of paddy, plastic film house, upland, and orchard soils since 1999. METHODS AND RESULTS: Total 8,160 topsoil samples were taken from the upland in 2001, 2005, 2009, 2013, and 2017, respectively. Soil chemical properties such as pH, electrical conductivity (EC), organic matter (OM), available phosphate (Avail. $P_2O_5$), and exchangeable (Exch.) cations (K, Ca, and Mg) were analyzed. Soil pH and Exch. Ca contents have increased since 2001. Average concentration of Avail. $P_2O_5$ increased from $547mg\;kg^{-1}$ in 2001 to $657mg\;kg^{-1}$ in 2017. Average concentration of Exch. Ca in 2017 was higher than the upper limit of its optimal range for upland cultivation. Excess and deficiency of chemical properties of upland soils comply with soil analysis and fertilizer prescription. CONCLUSION: We concluded that excessive nutrient in upland needed to be properly managed with soil test.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.47 no.6
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• pp.432-436
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• 2014

While searching for healthier diets, people became more attentive to agricultural organic products. However, organic foods may be more susceptible to microbiological contamination because of the use of livestock manure compost and liquid manure, potential sources of pathogenic bacteria. This study was undertaken to investigate the persistence of Salmonella enterica, Escherichia coli O157:H7, and Listeria monocytogenes in soil, liquid manure amended soil, and liquid manure. Loamy soil, liquid manure amended soil, and liquid manure were inoculated with S. enterica, E. coli O157:H7, and L. monocytogenes. Samples were incubated in consistent moisture content at $25^{\circ}C$. Samples had been periodically collected during 120 days depending on the given conditions. S. enterica and E. coli O157:H7 survived over 120 days in loamy soil and over 60 days in liquid manure amended soil, respectively. L. monocytogenes decreased faster than other pathogens in soil. S. enterica, E. coli O157:H7, and L. monocytogenes survived for up to 5 days in liquid manure. S. enterica and E. coli O157:H7 in soil decreased by 2 to $2.5log\;CFU\;g^{-1}$ for 120 days. S. enterica and E. coli O157:H7 in liquid manure amended soil decreased slowly for 21 days. However, S. enterica, E. coli O157:H7, and L. monocytogenes sharply decreased after 21 days. S. enterica, E. coli O157:H7, and L. monocytogenes in soil increased by 0.5 to $1.0log\;CFU\;g^{-1}$ for 7 days. Foodborne pathogens in soil and liquid manure amended soil gradually decreased over time.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.50 no.5
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• pp.482-488
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• 2017

The measurement based on reliable standard operating procedures (SOPs) is important for consistent information. The objective of this study is to investigate reliable SOPs of soil physical methods, including core method for bulk density, Yamanaka hardness, and air permeameter method for air permeability. The coefficients of variation in bulk density (core method), Yamanaka hardness, and air permeability were ranged of 1~6%, 8~13%, and 10~84%, respectively. The variation in situ measurement such as bulk density, hardness, and air permeability due to spatial variability at measuring site was larger due to the number of replicates, organic matter content, and soil texture. Nevertheless, air permeability had different values as different number of replicates, and thus, it is thought that more replicates can result in higher reliability. It suggested that investigation of soil physical properties for the target sites should required to consider about soil texture, organic matter content, and number of replications before measurement. In conclusion, core sampling for bulk density measurement in upland soil recommended to perform in 3 repetitions with 2 inch core, and 3 inch core sampling for higher organic matter content.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.535-541
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• 2015

Korean soil classification system is based on the US soil taxonomy. This study aimed to understand and inform the soil taxonomy of 2010 and 2014 US soil classification systems. Ingwan series belonged to anthropogenic soil was classified to coarse loamy over sandy, mixed, mesic family of Aquic Udorthents based on the soil taxonomy of 2010 and coarse loamy over sandy, mixed, mesic family of Anthroportic Udorthents based on the soil taxonomy of 2014. An anthropogenic soil is increasing in Korea. Considering the domestic relationship depending on US soil taxonomy, it is important to be well-informed of the taxonomy and apply the updated taxonomy system properly to the domestic soil classification. This study of defining the anthropogenic soil will provide useful information on soil management and its utilization.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.713-721
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• 2023

Soil acidification challenges global food security by adversely influences soil fertility and agricultural productivity. Carbonized agricultural residues present a sustainable and ecofriendly way to recycle agricultural waste and mitigate soil acidification. We evaluated the effects of organic amendments on lettuce growth and soil chemical properties in two soils with different pH levels. Carbonized rice husk was produced at 600℃ for 30 min and rice husk was treated at 1% (w·w^-1). Carbonized rice husk increased soil pH, electrical conductivity, total carbon content, and nitrogen content compared with untreated and rice husk treatments. Furthermore, this study found that lettuce growth positively correlated with soil pH, with increasing soil pH up to pH 6.34 resulting in improved lettuce growth parameters. Statistical correlation analysis also supported the relationship between soil pH and lettuce growth parameters. The study findings showed that the use of carbonized rice husk increased the constituent elements of lettuce, such as carbon, nitrogen, and phosphate content. The potassium content of lettuce followed a similar trend; however, was higher in acidic soil than that in non-acidic soil. Therefore, improving the pH of acidic soil is essential to enhance agricultural productivity. It is considered advantageous to use agricultural residues following pyrolysis to improve soil pH and agricultural productivity.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers Conference
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• 1999.10c
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• pp.771-776
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• 1999

RUSLE was applied to estimate annual soil loss from two small agricultural watersheds in Kangwon-do, Korea. GIS input parameters were prepared by using DEMs and soil maps prepared by the NGIS project and Rural Development Adminstration, respoctively. RUSLE parameters were prepared based on existing data and equations. Estimated annual soil loss was graphically presented to easily visualize the large soil loss area. Uplands and vineyards proved to be the two greatest sources for soil erosion. It was suggested to develop effective management practices to reduce the soil erosion from uplands and vineyards.