• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.272-287
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• 2019

The Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) was established in 1953 by the Korean War Armistice Agreement. It extends from the estuary of the Imjin River, in the west, to the coast of the East Sea. It is 4 km in width and 148 km in length. However, the ecosystems of the civilian control zone (CCZ) located between the southern border of the DMZ and the civilian control line (CCL) and the CCZ in the estuary of the Han River and the Yellow Sea are similar to those in the DMZ, and, therefore, the ecosystems of the DMZ and the CCZ are collectively known as the "ecosystems of the DMZ and its vicinities." The flora in the DMZ and its vicinities is composed of 1,864 species, which accounts for about 42% of all the vascular plant species on the Korean Peninsula and its affiliated islands. Conducting a detailed survey on the vegetation, flora, and fauna in the DMZ is almost impossible due to the presence of landmines and limitations on the time allowed to be spent in the DMZ. However, to assess the environmental impact of the Munsan-Gaesong railroad reconstruction project, it was possible to undertake a limited vegetation survey within the DMZ in 2001. The vegetation in Jangdan-myeon, in Paju City within the DMZ, was very simple. It was mostly secondary forests dominated by oaks such as Quercus mongolica, Q. acutissima, and Q. variabilis. The other half of the DMZ in Jangdan-myeon was occupied by grassland composed of tall grasses such as Miscanthus sinensis, M. sacchariflorus, and Phragmites japonica. Contrary to the expectation that the DMZ may be covered with pristine mature forests due to more than 60 years of no human interference, the vegetation in the DMZ was composed of simple secondary forests and grasslands formed on former rice paddies and agricultural fields. At present, the only legal protection system planned for the DMZ is the Natural Environment Conservation Act, which ensures that the DMZ would be managed as a nature reserve for only two years following Korean reunification. Therefore, firstly, the DMZ should be designated as a site of domestic legally protected areas such as nature reserve (natural monument), scenic site, national park, etc. In addition, we need to try to designate the DMZ as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve or as a World Heritage site, or as a Ramsar international wetland for international cooperation. For nomination as a world heritage site, we can emphasize the ecological and landscape value of the wetlands converted from the former rice paddies and the secondary forests maintained by frequent fires initiated by military activities. If the two Koreas unexpectedly reunite without any measures in place for the protection of nature in the DMZ, the conditions prior to the Korean War, such as rice paddies and villages, will return. In order to maintain the current condition of the ecosystems in the DMZ, we have to discuss and prepare for measures including the retention of mines and barbed-wire fences, the construction of roads and railroads in the form of tunnels or bridges, and the maintenance of the current fire regime in the DMZ.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.173-184
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• 2020

Irrigation ponds, 'dumbeong', which are artificially constructed water resources for traditional farming, serve as a biological shelter connecting seasonally created rice paddy fields to local freshwater ecosystems. This 2018 study surveyed 143 irrigation ponds in the western Civilian Control Zone (CCZ) area from August to September, revealing species diversity and community characteristics of benthic macroinvertebrates. A total of 13,454 individuals of macroinvertebrates were captured and classified into 3 phyla, 5 classes, 17 orders, 59 families, 192 species. Among Insecta, the most frequently recorded order was Odonata, 55 spp.(33.7%), followed by Coleoptera, 52 spp. (31.9%), Hemiptera, 34 spp. (20.8%), Diptera, 17 spp. (9.8%), Ephemeroptera, 3 spp. (2.4%), Trichoptera, 1 spp. (0.6%) and Lepidoptera, 1 spp. (0.6%). Taxon of non-Insecta consisted of Mollusca, 14 spp. (48.2%), Annelida, 11 spp. (37.9%) and Arthropoda, 4 spp. (3.4%). The analysis of Diversity Index (H'), Species Richness Index (RI), Dominance Index (DI) and Evenness Index (J') revealed the general stability of communities in the study sites. A total of 28 rare species were found in 98 study sites, including three endangered species designated by the Ministry of Environment. These results showed that the species diversity and rarity of macroinvertebrates in the study area were greater than those of previous research on lentic wetlands (lake, etc.) and national conserved wetlands(Upo-swamp, etc.) in Korea. A conservation planning of aquatic ecosystems in the western CCZ area, therefore, should focus on conservation of irrigation ponds.

• Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
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• 2019.04a
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• pp.31-31
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• 2019

서부 민통지역은 육군 제 1사단, 육군 제 25사단, 육군 제 28사단 관할지역에 걸쳐있다. 경기도 파주시 민통지역은 육군 제1사단 관할지역으로 장단면, 군내면, 진동면을 포함한다. 연천군 반정리는 육군 제 25사단 관할 지역 내에 있다. 본 조사에서는 장단면 일대와 군내면 정자리 덕진산성, 진동면 동파리 일월봉, 임진강변, 수내천, 세월천을 중심으로 세 개 면과 연천군 장남면 반정리의 식물상을 조사하여, 서부 민통지역의 주요 식물들의 분포를 자세히 파악하고자 하였다. 2012년 4월부터 2018년 10월까지 조사를 통해 463점의 표본을 확보하였고, 총 96과 307속 415종, 3아종, 45변종 6품종의 469분류군이 확인되었다. 조사 시기 중 멸종위기종은 발견되지 않았으며, 우리나라 특산식물로는 고려엉겅퀴, 벌개미취, 키버들 등 7분류군이 확인 되었다. 식물구계학적 특정종으로는 Ⅴ등급 통발을 비롯, IV등급 8종, III등급 11종, II등급 11종, I등급 16종이 발견되었다. 서부 민통지역에서 확인된 외래 및 귀화식물은 단풍잎돼지풀을 포함한 35분류군으로 전체 식물의 7.5%에 해당한다. 최근 무분별한 개발로 인한 민통지역 자연자원의 보전대책 수립도 요구된다.

• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.224-235
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• 2023

South Korea is the only divided nation globally, marked by a military demarcation line establishing demilitarized and civilian control zones, ensuring national security. Consequently, these areas exhibit relatively minimal ecological disruption compared to other regions. However, the threat to safety persists due to the presence of unexploded ordnances and landmines, imposing significant constraints on ecological research. To address this, we conducted a comparative study utilizing eDNA analysis as a supplementary and alternative approach within three points of the "Road of Peace" - Inje, Yanggu, and Hwacheon courses, located within the civilian control zone. Direct surveys and indirect eDNA sampling were carried out in May, July, and September of 2022. Genetic material obtained from the samples underwent amplification, library preparation, MiSeq sequencing, and subsequent ASV generation for indirect analysis. These results were then compared with the findings of direct surveys. Our findings revealed the detection of eDNA for both observed species at the Yanggu-1 point, and for two out of four species at Yanggu-2. Hwacheon-1 displayed the detection of eDNA for one out of one observed species, whereas Hwacheon-2 yielded seven out of twelve, Hwacheon-3 showed four out of six, and all one observed species at Hwacheon-4 exhibited eDNA detection. Consequently, approximately 69% of the fish species identified through direct surveys were confirmed by indirect eDNA analysis. It is necessary to verify if certain fish species, such as the continental trout and catfish, have genetic information registered in the NCBI database. Additionally, it is believed that further marker development research utilizing different genetic sequences is essential. Given the limitations imposed by the hazardous nature of the surveyed civilian control zone, eDNA analysis proves to be a suitable supplement for fish research in the area.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.331-341
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• 2016

A small irrigation pond for a rice paddy field is a very important refuge for aquatic insects and plants. To reveal environmental factors determining species composition of aquatic insect and plant communities, we analyzed water chemistry and connection between pond and surrounding in five types of irrigation ponds based on water source and connection in CCZ of South Korea: stagnation, exchange-stagnation, spring, stagnation-spring, and exchange-spring types. The stagnation type had the most stable water chemistry among the 16 irrigation ponds studied, and the spring type had the most variable water chemistry. Anion content was highest in the stagnation type, and cation content was highest in the exchange-stagnation type. 228 taxa including 63 wetland plants and 95 aquatic insect taxa were recorded. Six rare plant species and four rare aquatic insect species were identified. The stagnation-spring type had the highest species richness. There was no correlation between size and species richness. Multivariate analyses showed distinctive species assemblages among the irrigation pond types. This would indicate that water chemical change at annual cycle and connection influenced on the species assemblages in irrigation pond. In additional, irrigation pond contributes to regional biodiversity in agricultural areas, as irrigation pond provides heterogeneous communities for the freshwater ecosystem.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.247-256
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• 2012

We evaluated the landscape ecological value of selected minefields and wetland patches as a habitat of the forest bird community. The avian fauna of three minefields of 8.5ha, 17.4ha, and 40.6ha were evaluated by comparing that of three control sites of mountain area. Average number of forest bird species, number of individuals, species diversity index, species richness, and species evenness were analyzed according to the size of patch and environmental characteristics such as the presence of wetland and connectivity. Community similarity was evaluated between test and control plots. Avian fauna can be summarized as follows. First, 63 species were recorded, and the sum of maximum counts was 828 individuals. Species diversity index was 3.8, and the species richness was 9.2. Species evenness was 93.3. Second, small, isolated forest patch had a low average number of species and individuals as expected. But, small forest patches with streams had higher bird density than patches without water surface. Third, forest patches with marsh wetland were evaluated as lower habitat quality than forest patches with stream wetland in terms of the number of bird species per unit area, number of individuals per unit area, species diversity index, species richness index, and species evenness. Finally, Community similarity of the small forest patches with streams was similar with large connected forest. As a result, lowland forest patch was shown the good quality for the forest bird community in spite of small extents, and community structure was similar with mountain forest bird community. Thus, riparian forest restoration could improve the biodiversity of the forest bird community.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.307-322
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• 2020

This study was conducted to obtain information relevant to resolving problems related to artificially introduced plants in ecological restoration projects. We investigated artificially introduced plants and plants growing naturally from its surroundings in the active restoration sites of the Ecosystem Conservation Fund Return Project (ECFRP) of the Ministry of Environment and the Civilian Control Zone Forest Restoration Project (CCZFRP) of the Korea Forest Service. We also analyzed the characteristics of native, exotic, and cultivated plants in addition to their Raunkiaer's life forms. Furthermore, we compared the planted areas and inhabited areas, as well as the characteristics of the habitats of native plants among the planted plants. We found that among the plants planted in the ECFRP, 50.4% were native, 6.8% were exotic, and 42.9% were cultivated. Meanwhile, in the CCZFRP, 78.6% were native, 21.4% were exotic. We also noted that many native plants were found in the planted areas that were far from their habitats. In addition, we identified many native plants that were planted in areas judged to have characteristics different from that of their natural habitat. In the case of Raunkiaer's life forms, the planted plants showed high ratios of megaphanerophytes (MM) and microphanerophytes (N), while the invasive plants showed high ratios of therophytes (Th) and hemicryptophytes (H). When restoring the ecosystem, the ratio of planting native plants should be higher than that of exotic or cultivated plants. Moreover, the habitats and ecological characteristics should be considered when selecting native plants to enhance the effect of ecological restoration.

• Journal of The Geomorphological Association of Korea
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.31-49
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• 2012

Satae cheon, a tributary of the Suip cheon in Yanggu, Gangwon province, is an international river extended to North Korea. Most of drainage basin area of the river was the fierce battle field during the Korean War(1950-1953) and hard to access as it located between the MDL(Military Demarcation Line) and the CCZ(Civilian Control Zone: about 10km south from MDL). By the restriction of access to the sites, most of natural landscape have been well conserved except limited use for military activities. Even the landfoms in that area were not studied, except the government's heritage reports. Satae Cheon's channel follows the Imdang fault line(N-S) to Satae-ri and flow to west to the Dutayeon area. The river meanders along geological structure or weak line at the Dutayeon area. The meandering channel was shorten by the meander cut which linked the thalweg line of meander loop ant the meander neck. As a result of this cut, the river cliff formed by the Satae cheon became the part of newly formed channel bed and the S-forms are formed. After the channel route stabilized, channel incised the rock with large potholes and undulating walls were formed. The channel width changes from 1m to 10m with restriction of the undulating walls, so this part can be regarded as inner channel or inner gorge. From the point of planar forms it also can be slot-type canyon.