• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.477-484
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• 2014

This study was carried out to investigate the vascular plants of the Mt. Galjeongok-bong (1204 m) Protected Area for Forest Genetic Resource Conservation. The vascular plants collected 12 times (from March 2007 to October 2012) were consisted of total 385 taxa; 82 families, 232 genera, 335 species, 4 subspecies, 43 varieties and 3 forms respectively. Among them, 9 taxa Korean endemic plants and 21 taxa of Korean rare plants were investigated in addition to 89 taxa of specially designated plants announced by the Ministry of Environment. The naturalized plants were 9 taxa, therefore naturalized ratio was 2.3%. 385 taxa listed consists of 152 taxa (39.5%) of edible plants, 123 taxa (31.9%) of medicinal plants, 120 taxa (31.2%) of pasture plants, 52 taxa (13.5%) of ornamental plants, 16 taxa (4.2%) of timber plants, 4 taxa (1.0%) of fiber plants and 3 taxa (0.8%) of industrial plants.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.81-89
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• 2020

The grid-based analysis is useful for conservation planning, species distribution study, education, and others'. On the west coast of Korea, it was high in species richness, rarity and endangered species richness. Our results also showed that coordinated species data can be applied to develop species distribution models due to the high correlation between total species richness and coordinated species 0richness. In hot spot analysis, high species richness areas are concentrated around the west coast, while species richness is relatively low in Gangwon and Gyeongnam. Endangered species and rarity were also concentrated on the west coast and islands. Through the complementary analysis, we selected areas which are efficient to protect species; protecting more species while minimizing the conservation effort. Our result demonstrated that simply protecting Baengyueong island, Gageo island and a part of Jeju island can conserve over 50% of bird species in South Korea. However, the validity of our analysis was limited by the absence of data from national parks, and Baekdudaegan protected areas as well as inconsistent capacity among field researchers.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.102-111
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• 2022

Among protected areas, National Parks are rich in biodiversity, and the benefits of ecosystem services provided to human are higher than the others. Ecosystem service evaluation is being used to manage the value of national parks based on objective and scientific data. Ecosystem services are classified into four services: supporting, provisioning, regulating and cultural. The purpose of this study is to evaluate habitat quality among supporting services. Habitat Quality Model of InVEST was used to analyze. The coefficients of sensitivity and habitat initial value were reset by reflecting prior studies and the actual conditions of protected areas. Habitat quality of 21 national parks except Hallasan National Park was analyzed and mapped. The value of habitat quality was evaluated to be between 0 and 1, and the closer it is to 1, the more natural it is. As a result of habitat quality analysis, Seoraksan and Taebaeksan National Parks (0.90), Jirisan and Odaesan National Parks (0.89), and Sobaeksan National Park (0.88) were found to be the highest in the order. As a result of comparing the area and habitat quality of 18 national parks except for coastal-marine national parks, the larger the area, the higher the overall habitat quality. Comparing the value of habitat quality of each zone, the value of habitat quality was high in the order of the park nature preservation zone, the park nature environmental zone, the park cultural heritage zone, and the park village zone. Considering both the analysis of habitat quality and the legal regulations for each zone of use, it is judged that the more artificial acts are restricted, the higher the habitat quality. This study is meaningful in analyzing habitat quality of 21 National Parks by readjusting the parameters according to the situation of protected areas in Korea. It is expected to be easy to intuitively understand through accurate data and mapping, and will be useful in making policy decisions regarding the development and preservation of protected areas in the future.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.562-581
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• 2018

This study was designed to predict the changes in species richness of plants under the climate change in South Korea. The target species were selected based on the Plants Adaptable to Climate Change in the Korean Peninsula. Altogether, 89 species including 23 native plants, 30 northern plants, and 36 southern plants. We used the Species Distribution Model to predict the potential habitat of individual species under the climate change. We applied ten single-model algorithms and the pre-evaluation weighted ensemble method. And then, species richness was derived from the results of individual species. Two representative concentration pathways (RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5) were used to simulate the species richness of plants in 2050 and 2070. The current species richness was predicted to be high in the national parks located in the Baekdudaegan mountain range in Gangwon Province and islands of the South Sea. The future species richness was predicted to be lower in the national park and the Baekdudaegan mountain range in Gangwon Province and to be higher for southern coastal regions. The average value of the current species richness showed that the national park area was higher than the whole area of South Korea. However, predicted species richness were not the difference between the national park area and the whole area of South Korea. The difference between current and future species richness of plants could be the disappearance of a large number of native and northern plants from South Korea. The additional reason could be the expansion of potential habitat of southern plants under climate change. However, if species dispersal to a suitable habitat was not achieved, the species richness will be reduced drastically. The results were different depending on whether species were dispersed or not. This study will be useful for the conservation planning, establishment of the protected area, restoration of biological species and strategies for adaptation of climate change.

• Journal of Environmental Policy
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.3-16
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• 2012

Objectives of the Korean Environmental Conservation Value Assessment Map (ECVAM) is to evaluate environmental value used in comprehensive environmental information in order to encourage eco-friendly land use and management. The first research was conducted in 2001 to establish the evaluation items and the criteria of the ECVAM, and the first nationwide map was established in the period of 2003 to 2005. The maps are updated annually to reflect environmental changes of land. The evaluation items and the criteria have been modified based on feasibility studies to improve the accuracy of the maps. This study re-evaluated the ECVAMs from 2005 to 2010 with criteria used in current environment and analyzed the changes in the area of the maps in 6 years. This is also an investigation on the maps whether they are appropriate as an index for sustainable environmental monitoring. The result shows that the 1st grade level of the ECVAM area with the highest conservation value had been expanding since 2005. These changes were analyzed in terms of updating the 4th Forest Map (2008) produced once every 10 years, reflecting the new legal protected areas such as Baekdudaegan Protected Area(2010), and the environmental/ecological assessment items such as the National Ecological Network (2009). This mean the ECVAM are a monitoring index that integrates individual environmental indexes including the increase of forest age and diameter due to sustainable management of forest areas, and the change of conservation areas. Therefore, ECVAM can be used as a new index integrating national environmental indicators for monitoring changes of national environment and policy. In order to utilize the ECVAM, improving accuracy and reducing renewal cycle time of thematic maps are required.