• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.193-206
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• 2024

This study aimed to quantify changes in forest cover and carbon storage of Korean Peninsular during the last two decades by integrating field measurement, satellite remote sensing, and modeling approaches. Our analysis based on 30-m Landsat data revealed that the forested area in Korean Peninsular had diminished significantly by 478,334 ha during the period of 2000-2019, with South Korea and North Korea contributing 51.3% (245,725 ha) and 48.6% (232,610 ha) of the total change, respectively. This comparable pattern of forest loss in both South Korea and North Korea was likely due to reduced forest deforestation and degradation in North Korea and active forest management activity in South Korea. Time series of above ground biomass (AGB) in the Korean Peninsula showed that South and North Korean forests increased their total AGB by 146.4Tg C (AGB at 2020=357.9Tg C) and 140.3Tg C (AGB at 2020=417.4Tg C), respectively, during the last two decades. This could be translated into net AGB increases in South and North Korean forests from 34.8 and 29.4 Mg C ha^-1 C to 58.9(+24.1) and 44.2(+14.8) Mg C ha^-1, respectively. It indicates that South Korean forests are more productive during the study period. Thus, they have sequestered more carbon. Our approaches and results can provide useful information for quantifying national scale forest cover and carbon dynamics. Our results can be utilized for supporting forest restoration planning in North Korea

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.104 no.3
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• pp.421-426
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• 2015

The objective of this paper is to look into the growth of Cryptomeria japonica stand in South Korea along with the evaluation on their yields, followed by their carbon stocks and removals. A total of 106 sample plots were selected from Jeonnam, Gyeongnam, and Jeju, where the groups of standard are grown. We only used 92 plots data except outlier. As part of the analysis, the Weibull diameter distribution was applied. In order to estimate the diameter distribution, the growth estimation equation for each of the growth factors including the height, the diameter at breast height, and the basal area was drafted out and the verification for each equation was examined. The site index for figuring out the forest productivity of Cryptomeria japonica stand for each district was also developed as a Schumacher model and 30yr was used as a reference age for the estimation of the site index. It was found that the site index for Cryptomeria japonica stand in South Korea ranges from 10 to 16 and this result was used as a standard for developing the stand yield table. According to the site 14 in the stand yield table, the mean annual increment (MAI) of the Cryptomeria japonica reaches $7.6m^3/ha$ on its 25yr and its growing stock is estimated to be at $190.1m^3/ha$. This volume is about $20m^3$ as high as that of the Chamaesyparis obtusa. Furthermore, the annual carbon absorptions for a Cryptomeria japonica stand reached the peak at 25yr, which is 2.14 tC/ha/yr, $7.83tCO_2/ha/yr$. When compared to the other conifers, this rate is slightly higher than that of a Chamaecyparis obtusa ($7.5tCO_2/ha/yr$) but lower than that of the Pinus koraiensis ($10.4tCO_2/ha/yr$) and Larix kaempferi ($11.2tCO_2/ha/yr$). With such research result as a base, it is necessary to come up with the ways to enhance the utilization of Cryptomeria japonica as timbers, besides making use of their growth data.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.283-292
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• 2015

The total global emission of $CO_2$ from soils is recognized as one of the largest fluxes in the global carbon cycle. Especially it is necessary to quantify the amount of $CO_2$ emitted by the organic material decomposition processes of microorganisms in the soil, because it becomes one of a factor for determining the carbon stocks in the soil. This study was conducted to estimate the impact of the Korean water deer(Hydropotes inermis)' feces to the soil organic matter. Also, effects of Korean water deer' feces on $CO_2$ emissions of soil and land use pattern dependent $CO_2$ flux quantification are studied. The organic materials in the Korean water deer' feces significantly changed organic matter content of soil and influenced the activity of soil microorganisms, both changing of respiration of the soil and physical chemical components in soil. In particular, C/N ratio and the $CO_2$ flux of soil of four regions (Rice paddy, Fallow ground, Salix koreensis community, Phragmites australis community) showed a statistically highly significant correlation (P<0.01) with the presence or absence of feces. $CO_2$ flux of soil affected by the feces was 2-20 times higher than the soil unaffected by the feces. This study has great significance to quantify the extent of the material circulation and its impact to the terrestrial ecosystem and soil zone throughout Korean water deer' feces. Feces of wildlife can affect soil and soil material circulation.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.95 no.1
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• pp.50-54
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• 2006

Biomass expansion factors and stem density values were commonly used in converting stand volumes into total carbon stocks for the purpose of national inventories of greenhouse gas emissions and carbon sequestration. The objective of this study was to examine the influence of stand age classes on aboveground and total biomass expansion factors, and stem density values in Chamaecyparis obtusa species. A total of 25 representative sample trees based on the three different stand age classes were destructively sampled to measure green weights and dry weights of the major four(root, stem, branch and foliage) portions of C. obtusa species grown in Jangseung-gun of southern Korea. According to the results of this study, as stand age classes increase, total biomass expansion factors tended to be decreased with the ranges from 3.64 to 1.44, while the stem density values tended to be slightly increased with the ranges from $0.35(g/cm^3)$ to $0.44(g/cm^3)$. There were statistically significant differences in biomass expansion factors and stem density values between stand age classes, but became nearly constant after 30 years old for C. obtusa species. This information could be very useful to improve a national-scaled inventory of greenhouse gas emissions and carbon sequestration for the C. obtusa species by applying different biomass expansion factors and stem density values.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.115-123
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• 2022

This study was performed to determine carbon (C) storage of urban parks [Hadae park (established year: 1977), Songlim park (established year: 1990), Pyeonggeo park (1992), Chojeon park (2005)] in Jinju-si, Gyeongsangnam-do. The soil at 0-30 cm depth was collected to measure soil C concentration. Bulk density in all soil depths was not significantly different among the four parks, whereas coarse fragments (>2 mm) were significantly higher in the Chojeon park than in the Pyeonggeo park. Soil pH and electrical conductivity were highest in Chojeon park among four parks. Soil C concentrations in all soil depths were significantly higher in the Hadae park established in 19 77 compared with the other parks established since 1990. Mean soil C concentration at 0-30 cm was the highest in the Hadae park (1.04%), followed by the Chojeon park (0.87%), the Songlim park (0.75%), and the Pyeonggeo park (0.57%). Soil C storage at 0-10 cm was not significantly different among the four urban parks, whereas soil C storage at 10-20 cm and 20-30 cm was higher in the Hadae parks than in the other parks. Total soil C storage was significantly higher in the Hadae park (28,425 kg C ha^-1) than in the Pyeonggeo park (15,622 kg C ha^-1). Mean soil C concentration and C storage were positively correlated with silt content and negatively correlated with sand content. The results suggest that soil C storage of urban parks in Jinju-si might be related to the established period of parks and silt contents.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.110 no.4
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• pp.554-568
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• 2021

Forests are the largest carbon (C) sinks in terrestrial ecosystems. Recently, as enhancing forest C sequestration capacity has been proposed as a basic direction of the Republic of Korea's "2050 Carbon Neutral Strategy," accurate estimation of forest C sequestration has been emphasized. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change guidelines, sequestration quantity is calculated from changes in C stocks in forest C pools, such as biomass, deadwood, litter and soil layer, and harvested wood products. However, in Korea, only the overstory biomass increase is now considered the amount of sequestration quantity, so there can be a significant difference from the actual forest C sequestration. In this study, we quantified forest C exchange through C flux measurement using an eddy covariance system and an automated soil chamber system in a 57-year-old Korean pine plantation located in Mt. Taehwa, Gwangju-si, Gyeonggi-do. Then, the net amount of C sequestration was compared with the amount of the overstory biomass increase. We estimated the annual C stock change in the remaining C pools by comparing the net sequestration amount from the C flux measurement with the overstory biomass increase and C stock change in the litter layer. Therefore, the net C sequestration of the Korean pine plantation estimated from the flux measurement was 5.96 MgC ha^-1, which was about 2.2 times greater than 2.77 MgC ha^-1 of the overstory biomass increase. The annual C stock increase in the litter layer was estimated to be 0.75 MgC ha^-1, resulting in a total annual C stock increase of 2.45 MgC ha^-1 in the remaining C pools. Our results indicate that the domestic forest is a larger C sink than the current methods, implying that more accurate calculations of the C sequestration capacity are necessary to quantify C stock changes in C pools along with the C flux measurement.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.102 no.1
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• pp.82-89
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• 2013

Harvest is one of the major disturbances affecting the soil carbon (C) dynamics in forests. However, researches on the long-term impact of periodic harvest on the soil C dynamics are limited since they requires rigorous control of various factors. Therefore, we adopted a modeling approach to determine the long-term impacts of harvest interval, harvest intensity and post-harvest residue management on soil C dynamics by using the Korean Forest Soil Carbon model (KFSC model). The simulation was conducted on Pinus densiflora S. et Z. stands in central Korea, and twelve harvest scenarios were tested by altering harvest intervals (50, 80, and 100-year interval), intensities (partial-cut harvest: 30% and clear-cut harvest: 100% of stand volume), and the residue managements after harvest (collection: 0% and retention: 100% of aboveground residue). We simulated the soil carbon stock for 400 years for each scenario. As a result, the soil C stocks in depth of 30 cm after 400 years range from 50.3 to 55.8 Mg C $ha^{-1}$, corresponding to 98.1 to 108.9% of the C stock at present. The soil C stock under the scenarios with residue retention was 2.5-11.0% higher than that under scenarios with residue collection. However, there was no significant impact of harvest interval and intensity on the soil C stock. The soil C dynamics depended on the dead organic matter dynamics derived from the amount of dead organic matter and growth pattern after harvest.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.105 no.4
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• pp.463-471
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• 2016

The purpose of this study was to develop allometric equations for identifying the amount of wood and building biomass statistics of L. tulipifera by density, biomass expansion factors and root ratio. For this purpose, total of 40 trees were sampled, which were used consideration the area and the DBH class. As a results, the wood density was $0.43g{\cdot}cm^{-3}$, biomass expansion factors were 1.2, root ratio was 0.2 and uncertainty were 3.9%, 4.6%, 24.1%, respectively. Allometric equations for above ground of L. tulipifera trees were $W=0.060D^{2.524}$. Total and underground allometric equations were $W=0.063D^{2.578}$, $W=0.010D^{2.591}$, respectively.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.151-160
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• 2017

This study was conducted by using a Nikon Coolpix S800c camera equipped with a NIR filter to measure the NDVI(Normalized Difference Vegetation Index). It was used for the measurement of the three trees of Pinus densiflora, Taxus cuspidata, Zelkova serrata and Acer palmatum in Kangwon National University. The NDVI value of the surface of the building was compared and analyzed. The average value of NDVI in August and September was high in all species. The NDVI distribution of Taxus cuspidata was higher than the other trees. The NDVI distribution of Pinus densiflora and Taxus cuspidata did not show any significant seasonal differences, but The NDVI distribution of Zelkova serrata and Acer palmatum were relatively low in May and June, which are leafless periods. Previous studies related to NDVI value were generally analyzed using satellite imagery. However, it was scarce related to study the NDVI value of each tree or study the changing process of NDVI by time series. Previous studies have used NDVI values on the ground but this study used NDVI values in the ground section. Future studies will be necessary to measure the NDVI value at different times for various species and also to make efforts to generalize the measurement method. In addition, research related to various fields such as the relationship between NDVI and carbon stocks and the relationship with LAI needs to be conducted.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 1992

In this energy and environment conscious age, methanol has come to attention increasingly since the well established process is commercially available to produce methanol from abundant low grade carbonaceous resources ; methane, carbon dioxide, coal and biomass etc. Methanol is a Clean energy source which is a readily storable and transportable liquid. It is elaborated to correlate power generation, city gas and chemical feed stocks including transportation fuel, enhancing the national efficiency of resource utilization as well as reducing the environmental problems for the future via C1 technology. It is emphasized that $CO_2$ could be used to produce methanol as a mean of hydrogen storage as in the nature, which will alleviate the environmental problem such as green house effect.