• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.112 no.1
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• pp.71-82
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• 2023

Forest biomass is used as a representative indicator of forest size, maturity, and productivity. Therefore, quantitative evaluation is important for management and harvest as well as the evaluation of ecosystem functions and services including CO₂ absorption. The allometric equation is a widely used method for estimating the value of each component through the relative growth rate of plants. Recently, studies indicated that the relative growth of trees is changing because of the increased CO₂ concentration in the atmosphere and the resulting climate change, raising the need to review the previously developed relative growth models and coefficients. In this study, the height-diameter at breast height (DBH) relationships of four major tree species in Korea [(Pinus densiflora (PD), Larix kaempferi (LK), Quercus variabilis (QV), and Quercus mongolica (QM)] were analyzed using the 5th-7th National Forest Inventory (NFI) data. Furthermore, these results were compared with the present yield table from the National Institute for Forest Science. This analysis revealed that the expected height for the same DBH increased as the NFI progressed. For example, in model analysis, the expected heights for PD, LK, QV, and QM for DBH of 25 cm were 12.48, 19.17, 14.47, and 13.19 m, respectively, in the 5th NFI data. In the 7th NFI data, these values were estimated as 13.61 (+9.1%), 21.58 (+12.7%), 15.76 (+8.9%), and 13.93 m (+5.6%), respectively. These results indicate that the major tree species in South Korean forests currently are more vigorous in height growth than in diameter growth when compared to the height-DBH development trends by tree species identified through past survey data.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.646-657
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• 2018

The purpose of this study was to understand the ecological characteristics and vegetation structure of Mt. Daedun Provincial Park by setting up and surveying 42 plots ($100m^2$). The analysis using the TWINSPAN and DCA techniques found seven community groups: Quercus aliena community, Larix kaempferi community, Pinus densiflora community, Quercus variabilis-Quercus serrata community, Pinus rigida community, Carpinus tschonoskii community, and Quercus mongolica community. The results of a vegetation structure analysis showed that the dominant species of each community were likely to maintain the present structure, but, in the case of Pinus densiflora community, it is necessary to monitor the forest succession because of the competition with oak trees. The results of the DBH (diameter of breast height) analysis showed that the species in DBH 20-24cm and over 26cm were many observed, indicating that the communities were becoming stable. It is likely that the dominant species of tree canopies will maintain their state unless the unexpected physical environment changes, serious disturbance, pests or diseases occur. The results of the tree rings and annual growth analysis showed that the dominant trees had an average age of more than 40 years. The average annual growth was the highest for Quercus variabilis in community I at $3.51{\pm}2.39mm$ and the lowest for Quercus mongolica in community VII at $1.61{\pm}0.90mm$.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.40 no.6
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• pp.378-388
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• 2012

This study was carried out to investigate the optimum condition for sap exudation of Juglans mandshurica in comparison with Acer mono Max. trees in a site of Inje-Gun, Gangwon-Do, Korea. Amount of sap exudation, air temperature, relative air humidity and tree diameter at breast height (DBH) were monitored for the period of February 1 through March 31, 2008, and correlation analysis of several factors affecting on sap exudation was carried out. Sap exudation from J. mandshurica initiated on Feb. 28 as the same time in case of A. mono and continued for a month, and enhanced in early March compared to around the middle of March for A. mono. The amount of sap of A. mono was linearly proportional to the diameter at breast height (DBH) but there was no apparent relationship for J. mandshurica. As the amount of sap exudation per tree increased then sap exudation per unit DBH was also linearly proportional in both J. mandshurica and A. mono. The amount of sap exudation per unit DBH of J. manshurica were $0.3{\pm}0.1{\ell}/cm$ on average, which was one third times of $0.9{\pm}0.1{\ell}/cm$ for A. mono. During the days of enhanced sap exudation, the atmospheric conditions such as air temperature and relative humidity around J. manshurica trees were very similar with those of A. mono. The minimum temperature was a significant factor affecting the amount of sap of J. mandshurica whereas the range of temperature was the principal factor for A. mono. In conclusion, the sap of J. mandshurica exudated in atmospheric conditions similar to A. mono, but the amount of sap was affected by different atmospheric factors compared to A. mono.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.109 no.3
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• pp.300-312
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• 2020

The growing stocks of young forests that are less than10 years of age have been excluded from the Korean forest resource statistics, despite the existence of standing trees; however, sustainable forest management and carbon removals in the forestry section require complete information regarding forest resources. This study developed a method to estimate the growing stocks for young forests from National Forest Inventory (NFI) data. After reviewing previous research on growth characteristics for young forests, we conducted stem analysis of major species, and examined stand characteristics by site index, based on real yield tables. Our statistical analysis results showed that there were few standing trees with diameters at breast height (DBH) above 6 cm in young stands, and that it would have taken 12 years, on average, to reach 6 cm DBH. This suggests that mean tree height by diameter should be assessed at the root, in order to assess growing stocks for young stands through the NFI. Moreover, the database system should be improved to differentiate tree species, since diverse shrubs, including trees, have been surveyed.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.111 no.4
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• pp.502-510
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• 2022

In the national greenhouse gas inventory, a settlements category has never been included owing to the lack of activity data. Therefore, this study was conducted to obtain basic data for estimating biomass carbon storage in settlements. Nondestructive stem analysis with a laser dendrometer was performed on four major street tree species (Metasequoia glyptostroboides, Prunus armeniaca, Ginkgo biloba, and Acer buergerianum) in Wonju city, South Korea. Allometric equations of the aboveground volume were developed using five models, and allometric equations of crown area were developed with diameter at breast height (DBH) as an independent variable. The best performing allometric equations were aD²+bD+c for M.glyptostroboides and G. biloba, aD+bD² for P. armeniaca, and a+bD² for A. buergerianum. Regarding the allometric equations of crown area with DBH as an independent variable, G. biloba and A. buergerianum exhibited low coefficients of determination (R²), i.e., < 0.364, whereas M. glyptostroboides and P. armeniaca exhibited satisfactory R² values, i.e., > 0.767, probably due to different street tree management practices. The allometricequations in this study will support the carbon inventory of settlements and urban tree monitoring in management practices.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.113 no.2
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• pp.187-197
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• 2024

In this study, we aimed to identify the factors influencing post-fire mortality in Korean red pine (Pinus densiflora) using Cox's proportional hazards model and analyze the impact of these factors. We monitored the mortality rate of fire-damaged pine trees for seven years after a forest fire. Our survival analysis revealed that the risk of mortality increased with higher values of the delta normalized difference vegetation index (dNDVI), delat normalized burn ratio (dNBR), bark scorch index (BSI), bark scorch height (BSH) and slope. Conversely, the risk of mortality decreased with higher elevation, greater diameter at breast height (DBH), and higher value of delta moisture stress index (dMSI) (p < 0.01). Verification of the proportional hazards assumption for each variable showed that all factors, except slope aspect, were suitable for the model and significantly influenced fire occurrence. Among the variables, BSI caused the greatest change in the survival curves (p < 0.0001). The environmental change factors determined through remote sensing also significantly influenced the survival rates (p < 0.0001). These results will be useful in establishing restoration plans considering the potential mortality risk of Korean red pine after a forest fire.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.1-18
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• 2024

The study aims to establish a direction for forest ecological restoration by classifying forest types and understanding the ecological characteristics of the Uljin forest area damaged by a large fire in 2022. Hierarchical cluster analysis and indicator species analysis were conducted on 78 survey plots located in the forest fire-affected area, and four forest cover types were derived: P. densiflora pure forests, P. densiflora dominant forests, mixed broad-leaved forests, and Q. variabilis dominant forests. As a result of visually comparing changes in forest types before and after forest fire damage, by classifying data according to whether or not upper dead trees are included, it was confirmed that pine forests, which have a high proportion of pine trees, spread widely due to forest fire damage. However, broad-leaved mixed forests and oyster oak dominant forests showed characteristics of maintaining concentration, indicating that pine forests were severely damaged. As a result of the important value analysis, during the process of natural recovery after a forest fire, the species that appear early in the lower layer are the sprouts of existing species such as Quercus mongolica Fisch. ex Ledeb., Quercus variabilis Blume, Fraxinus sieboldiana Blume, Rhododendron mucronulatum Turcz. The distribution of diameter at breast height by forest cover type showed that among areas with extreme forest fire damage, the proportion of dead trees was relatively high and structural changes were large in P. densiflora pure forests and P. densiflora dominant forests where pine trees had a high distribution ratio. However, if continuous monitoring is carried out in the future with reference to the results of this study and plant data is collected and analyzed from a mid- to long-term perspective, it is believed that it will be used as useful data to promote forest ecological restoration projects in forest fire-affected areas.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.525-534
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• 2017

The study aims to observe the cellular anatomical properties of Dahurian larch and Japanese larch for the species identification. In addition, other factors - the ring width, tracheid length, density, and strength - were compared and analyzed to clarify their physical and mechanical properties. To the end, three Dahurian larch trees and three Japanese larch trees by each diameter class were collected as specimens from Jeongseon-eup, Jeongseon-gun, Gangwon-do, to conduct a stem analysis. It was found that the average stand age, average diameter at breast height, and average tree height of three Dahurian larch trees and Japanese larch trees were 74 years and 51 years, 442 mm and 352 mm, and 26.1 m and 20.8 m, respectively. The cellular anatomical difference between Dahurian larch and Japanese larch can be usually found by spiral thickening, considering that it doesn't occur in Dahurian larch at all, while rarely does in the ray tracheids of Japanese larch. However, in this study, spiral thickening was not observed in the radial section of Japanese larch. The average annual growth diameters measured at 1.2 m-height of Dahurian larch and Japanese larch were 5.167 mm and 5.954 mm, respectively. Meanwhile, arboreal growth of Japanese larch was observed to be higher than that of Dahurian larch. In the physical properties test, it was measured that the latewood proportion and oven-dry density of Dahurian larch with low annual diameter growth were higher than those of Japanese larch, while the mechanical properties of Dahurian larch wood were measured 2-7% higher than those of Japanese larch wood. The data obtained from this study are expected to be used as the basic reference for species identification between Dahurian larch and Japanese larch by DNA analysis.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.82 no.5
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• pp.1231-1245
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• 2021

Purpose To investigate the usefulness of imaging features for differentiating between small lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) and invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC). Materials and Methods It included 52 female with LCISs (median 45 years, range 32-67 years) and 180 female with ILCs (median 49 years, range 36-75 years), with the longest diameter of ≤ 2 cm, who were evaluated between January 2012 and December 2016. All the female underwent mammography and ultrasonography. Twenty female with LCIS and 150 female with ILC underwent MRI. The clinical and imaging features were compared, and multivariate analysis was performed to identify the independent predictors of LCIS. Female with LCIS were also sub-grouped by lesion size and compared with the female with ILC. Results Multivariate analysis showed that younger age (odds ratio [OR] = 1.100), smaller lesion size (OR = 1.103), oval or round shape (OR = 4.098), parallel orientation (OR = 5.464), and isoechotexture (OR = 3.360) were significant independent factors predictive of LCIS. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for distinguishing LCIS from ILC was 0.904 (95% confidence interval, 0.857-0.951). Subgroup analysis showed that benign features were more prevalent in female with smaller LCISs (≤ 1 cm) than in those with ILC. Conclusion Small LCISs tend to demonstrate more benign features than small ILCs. Several imaging features are independently predictive of LCIS.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.235-248
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• 2020

The purpose of this study was to quantitatively analyze and investigate changes in the structural characteristics of the warm-temperate evergreen broad-leaved forest community in Mt. Cheomchalsan on Jindo Island. The Mt. Cheomchalsan has high conservation value because the representative warm temperate species such as Quercus acuta and Castanopsis sieboldii are distributed there. The community classification with TWINSPAN and DCA identified 4 communities: C. sieboldii community (I), C. sieboldii-Q. Salicina community (II), Q. acuta-C.sieboldii community (III), and deciduous broad-leaved trees-evergreen broad-leaved trees community (IV). According to the results of the mean importance percentage (MIP) analysis, C. sieboldii, Q. salicina, and Q. acuta were dominant species in the canopy layer, Camellia japonica, Ligustrum japonicum, and Cinnamomum yabunikkei were dominant in the understory layer, and Trachelospermum asiaticum, C. japonica, and C. sieboldii were dominant in the shrub layer. The comparison of the results of the diameter of breast height (DBH) analysis with the past data showed that the ratio of large-sized trees in the C. sieboldii and Q. acuta, which dominated the canopy layer, increased. However, there was no difference in the distribution of C. japonica and L. japonicum in the understory layer. In the future, it is necessary to generate a precision inhabiting vegetation map around the Natural Reserve to understand the actual habitation of evergreen broad-leaved trees and rezone the protective districts of evergreen broad-leaved trees forest with the watershed concept to preserve the evergreen broad-leaved forests of Mt. Cheomchalsan in Jindo.