• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.272-277
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• 2018

Background: Studying the ecosystem carbon cycle requires analysis of interrelationships between soil respiration (Rs) and the environment to evaluate the balance. Various methods and instruments have been used to measure Rs. The closed chamber method, which is currently widely used to determine Rs, creates a closed space on the soil surface, measures $CO_2$ concentration in the inner space, and calculates Rs from the increase. Accordingly, the method is divided into automatic or manual chamber methods (ACM and MCM, respectively). However, errors of these methods and differences in instruments are unclear. Therefore, we evaluated the characteristics and difference of Rs values calculated using both methods with actual data. Results: Both methods determined seasonal variation patterns of Rs, reflecting overall changes in soil temperature (Ts). ACM clearly showed detailed changes in Rs, but MCM did not, because such small changes are unknown as Rs values are collected monthly. Additionally, Rs measured using MCM was higher than that using ACM and differed depending on measured plots, but showed similar tendencies with all measurement times and plots. Contrastingly, MCM Rs values in August for plot 4 were very high compared with ACM Rs values because of soil disturbances that easily occur during MCM measurements. Comparing Rs values calculated using monthly means with those calculated using MCM, the ACM calculated values for monthly averages were higher or lower than those of similar measurement times using the MCM. The difference between the ACM and MCM was attributed to greater or lesser differences. These Rs values estimated the carbon released into the atmosphere during measurement periods to be approximately 57% higher with MCM than with ACM, at 5.1 and $7.9C\;ton\;ha^{-1}$, respectively. Conclusion: ACM calculated average values based on various Rs values as high and low for measurement periods, but the MCM produced only specific values for measurement times as representative values. Therefore, MCM may exhibit large errors in selection differences during Rs measurements. Therefore, to reduce this error using MCM, the time and frequency of measurement should be set to obtain Rs under various environmental conditions. Contrastingly, the MCM measurement is obtained during $CO_2$ evaluation in the soil owing to soil disturbance caused by measuring equipment, so close attention should be paid to measurements. This is because the measurement process is disturbed by high $CO_2$ soil concentration, and even small soil disturbances could release high levels into the chamber, causing large Rs errors. Therefore, the MCM should be adequately mastered before using the device to measure Rs.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.210-218
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• 2018

Background: Soil respiration (Rs) is a major factor of the absorption and accumulation of carbon through photosynthesis in the ecosystem carbon cycle. This directly affects the amount of net ecosystem productivity, which affects the stability and sustainability of the ecosystem. Understanding the characteristics of Rs is indispensable to scientifically understand the carbon cycle of ecosystems. It is very important to study Rs characteristics through analysis of environmental factors closely related to Rs. Rs is affected by various environmental factors, such as temperature, precipitation, soil moisture, litter supply, organic matter content, dominant plant species, and soil disturbance. This study was conducted to analyze the effects of micro-topographical differences on Rs in forest vegetation by measuring the Rs on the ridge and southern slope sites of the broadly established Quercus mongolica forest in the central Korean area. Method: Rs, Ts, and soil moisture data were collected at the southern slope and ridge of the Q. mongolica forest in the Mt. Jeombong area in order to investigate the effects of topographical differences on Rs. Rs was collected by the closed chamber method, and data collection was performed from May 2011 to October 2013, except Winter seasons from November to April or May. For collecting the raw data of Rs in the field, acrylic collars were placed at the ridge and southern slope of the forest. The accumulated surface litter and the soil organic matter content (SOMC) were measured to a 5 cm depth. Based on these data, the Rs characteristics of the slope and ridge were analyzed. Results: Rs showed a distinct seasonal variation pattern in both the ridge and southern slope sites. In addition, Rs showed a distinct seasonal variation with high and low Ts changes. The average Rs measurements for the two sites, except for the Winter periods that were not measured, were $550.1\;mg\;CO_2m^{-2}h^{-1}$ at the ridge site and $289.4\;mg\;CO_2m^{-2}h^{-1}$ at the southern slope, a difference of 52.6%. There was no significant difference in the Rs difference between slopes except for the first half of 2013, and both sites showed a tendency to increase exponentially as Ts increased. In addition, although the correlation is low, the difference in Rs between sites tended to increase as Ts increased. SMC showed a large fluctuation at the southern slope site relative to the ridge site, as while it was very low in 2013, it was high in 2011 and 2012. The accumulated litter of the soil surface and the SOMC at the depth range of 0~5 cm were $874g\;m^{-2}$ and 23.3% at the ridge site, and $396g\;m^{-2}$ and 19.9% at the southern slope site. Conclusions: In this study, Rs was measured for the ridge and southern slope sites, which have two different results where the surface litter layer is disturbed by strong winds. The southern slope site shows that the litter layer formed in autumn due to strong winds almost disappeared, and while in the ridge site, it became thick due to the transfer of litter from the southern slope site. The mean Rs was about two times higher in the ridge site compared to that in the southern slope site. The Rs difference seems to be due to the difference in the amount of litter accumulated on the soil surface. As a result, the litter layer supplied to the soil surface is disturbed due to the micro-topographical difference, as the slope and the change of the community structure due to the plant season cause heterogeneity of the litter layer development, which in turn affects SMC and Rs. Therefore, it is necessary to introduce and understand these micro-topographical features and mechanisms when quantifying and analyzing the Rs of an ecosystem.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.84-98
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• 2022

Estuary is important in terms of biodiversity because it has the characteristics of transition waters, created by the mixing of fresh- and seawater. The estuarine water circulation provides a variety of habitats with different environments by inducing gradients in the chemical and physical environment, such as water quality and river bed structure, which are ultimately the main factors influencing biological community composition. If the water circulation is interrupted, the loss of brackish areas and the interception of migration of biological communities will lead to changes in the spatial distribution of biodiversity. In this study, among the sites covered by the Estuary Aquatic Ecosystem Health Assessment, we selected study sites where changes in biodiversity can be assessed by spatial gradient from the upper reaches of the river to the lower estuarine area. The α-, γ- and β-diversity of diatom, benthic macroinvertebrates, and fish communities were calculated, and they were divided into open and closed estuary data and compared to determine the trends in biodiversity variation due to estuarine circulation. As results, all communities showed higher γ-diversity at open estuary sites. The benthic macroinvertebrate community showed a clear difference between open and closed estuaries in β-diversity, consequently the estuarine transects were considered as a factor that decreases spatial heterogeneity of their diversity among sites. The biodiversity trends analyzed in this study will be used to identify estuaries with low γ- and β-diversity by community, providing a useful resource for further mornitoring and management to maintain estuarine health.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.27-38
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• 2009

The multi-level profile system is designed to measure the vertical profile of $H_2O$ and $CO_2$ concentrations in the surface layer to estimate the storage effects within the plant canopy. It is suitable for long-term experiments and can be used also in advection studies for estimating the spatial variability and vertical gradients in concentration. It enables the user to calculate vertical fluxes of water vapor, $CO_2$ and other trace gases using the surface layer similarity theory and to infer their sources or sinks. The profile system described in this report includes the following components: sampling system, calibration and flow control system, closed path infrared gas analyzer(IRGA), vacuum pump and a datalogger. The sampling system draws air from 8 inlets into the IRGA in a sequence, so that for 80 seconds air from all levels is measured. The calibration system, controlled by the datalogger, compensates for any deviations in the calibration of the IRGA by using gas sources with known concentrations. The datalogger switches the corresponding valves, measures the linearized voltages from the IRGA, calculates the concentrations for each monitoring level, performs statistical analysis and stores the final data. All critical components are mounted in an environmental enclosure and can operate with little maintenance over long periods of time. This report, as a practical manual, is designed to provide helpful information for those who are interested in using profile system to measure evapotranspiration and net ecosystem exchanges in complex terrain.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.80 no.4
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• pp.369-378
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• 1991

Major statutory nature protection areas include Nature Parks, Nature Reserves. Nature Ecological System Protected Areas. Biosphere Reserves, Nature Protected Forests, Wildlife Sanctuaries, and Protection Forests with total area of 1,124,000 ha. These protected areas cover almost 18% of the forested area. The number of visitors of NPs reached over 33 million per year with sharp increasing rate over the years. To protect the deteriorated hiking trails and camp grounds caused by overuse, two management policies have been implemented : cooking prohibition and natural rest rotation system. While prohibition of cooking is based on the fact that most of the solid wastes in nature parks are leftovers of cooking, natural rest rotation system is mainly for rehabilitation of deteriorated areas by natural processes. The system has closed 47 trails(in 27 mountains) throughout the country since January 1991, which is scheduled to continue 3 years. Due to the lack of accumulated scientific knowledge on how, when and where to close, application of the system leaves much to be desired. This paper discusses the current efforts to protect the natural resources for recreational use and suggests future directions for an effective policy implementation.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.22 no.12
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• pp.31.1-31.12
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• 2019

Background: The black-chinned tilapia, Sarotherodon melanotheron, is the most abundant fish species in the Nakwa (an open lagoon) and Brenu (a closed lagoon) in the Central Region of Ghana. Aspects of the life history characteristics and the ecology of the fish populations in both lagoons were studied to assess the bio-ecological status of this important resource. Methods: Fish samples were obtained from fishermen that fish on the Nakwa and Brenu lagoons using cast, drag and gill nets. The age of the fish was assessed from otoliths analysis and its growth modelled following the von Bertalanffy growth function. Morphometric characteristics of the fish populations were analysed using power regression and ANOVA for parameters comparisons, and Student's t test to determine whether species grew isometrically. The percentage occurrence method was used to analyse the stomach contents of the fish. Results: A total of 382 fish samples from both lagoons were measured, comprising 209 from Nakwa lagoon and 176 from Brenu lagoon. The size and weight of fish samples ranged between 3.9-11.5 cm total length and 1.0-27.3 g for Nakwa Lagoon and 5.6-12.8 cm total length and 3.2-29.8 g for the Brenu Lagoon. The estimated von Bertalanffy growth parameters were L∞ = 12.04 cm and K = 2.76/year for the Nakwa Lagoon samples and L∞ = 13.44 cm and K = 3.27/year for Brenu Lagoon samples. Daily otolith incremental rate ranged from 0.01-0.03 mm per day to 0.01-0.02 mm per day for Nakwa and Brenu lagoons, respectively. Stomach content analysis of the fish samples revealed that the species are planktivorous and the range of food varied between the lagoons. Green algae were the most prevalent food item in the stomachs of the fish samples from Nakwa with the frequency of 69% whilst diatoms (80.5%) were most prevalent phytoplanktonic food item for the fish in Brenu lagoon. Conclusions: The estimates of asymptotic length for the species in both lagoons are close to known values of the species length at first sexual maturity and points to intensive fishing pressure. As a consequence, a comprehensive sample-based survey is required in both lagoons to derive estimates of management reference points. The results of the stomach content analysis are beneficial to the construction of diet matrix for ecosystem models of the two systems.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.235-246
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• 2002

The fish farming using net cages has been developed in many semi-closed bays in the southern coast of Korea for the last two decades. The intensive cage cultures of fishes generate considerable amounts of organic waste in the form of uneaten food and faeces. In order to evaluate the effect of fish farming activities we collected the benthic macrofauna near the fish farm area located in Wolho Islet of Gamak Bay and in Haklim Island of Tongyeong in November 1998. Benthic macrofaunal assemblages showed dramatic changes in species number, species diversity, and faunal abundance in the region of the fish farm. These changes were clearly observed even at a distance of up to 30 m from the fish farming cage area. Within 5 m from the cage, there was a zone with low species diversity and highest density, dominated by opportunistic polychaete worm, Capitella capitata. By a distance of 15-30 m, this zone presents highest species number and higher density. Our results clearly demonstrated that fish farm area was highly enriched with organic materials, and implied that the fish farm industry and adjacent benthic ecosystem in semi-closed bay will be seriously damaged by self produced organic wastes in the near future.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.95-101
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• 2019

In tidal flats that lack plants, methane ($CH_4$) fluxes are both positive (gas emission) and negative (gas "sinking") in nature. The levels of methanotroph populations significantly affect the extent of $CH_4$ sinking. This preliminary study examined $CH_4$ flux in tidal flats using a circular closed-chamber method to understand the effects of macroinvertebrate burrowing activity. The chamber was deployed over decapods (mud shrimp, Laomedia astacina and crab, Macrophthalmus japonicus) burrows for ~ 2 h, and the $CH_4$ and $CO_2$ concentrations were continuously monitored using a closed, diffuse $CH_4/CO_2$ flux meter. We found that Laomedia astacina burrow (which is relatively long) site afforded higher-level $CH_4$ production, likely due to diffusive emission of $CH_4$ in deep-layer sediments. In addition, the large methanotrophic bacteria population found in the burrow wall sediments has $CH_4$ oxidation (consumption) potential. Especially, nitrite-driven anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) may occur within burrows. The proposed $CH_4$-oxidation process was supported by the decrease in the ${\delta}^{13}C$ of headspace $CO_2$ during the chamber experiment. Therefore, macroinvertebrate burrows appear to be an important ecosystem environment for controlling atmospheric $CH_4$ over tidal flats.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.67-73
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• 2009

Soil $CO_2$ efflux can vary markedly in magnitude over both time and space, and understanding this variation is crucial for the correct measurement of $CO_2$ efflux in ecological studies. Although considerable research has quantified temporal variability in this flux, comparatively little effort has focused on its spatial variability. To account for spatial heterogeneity, we must be able to determine the number of sampling points required to adequately estimate soil $CO_2$ efflux in a target ecosystem. In this paper, we report the results of a study of the number of sampling points required for estimating soil $CO_2$ efflux using a closed-dynamic chamber in young and old Japanese cedar plantations in central Japan. The spatial heterogeneity in soil $CO_2$ efflux was significantly higher in the mature plantation than in the young stand. In the young plantation, 95% of samples of 9 randomly-chosen flux measurements from a population of 16 measurements made using 72-$cm^2$ chambers produced flux estimates within 20% of the full-population mean. In the mature plantation, 20 sampling points are required to achieve means within $\pm$ 20% of the full-population mean (15 measurements) for 95% of the sample dates. Variation in soil temperature and moisture could not explain the observed spatial variation in soil $CO_2$ efflux, even though both parameters are a good predictor of temporal variation in $CO_2$ efflux. Our results and those of previous studies suggest that, on average, approximately 46 sampling points are required to estimate the mean and variance of soil $CO_2$ flux in temperate and boreal forests to a precision of $\pm$ 10% at the 95% confidence level, and 12 points are required to achieve a precision of $\pm$ 20%.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.429-435
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• 1996

A wind tunnel consisting of two air flow conditioners with polycarbonate pipes, a plant growth room, a suction fan and fan controller, and fluorescent lamps, was designed to investigate the interactions between the growth of plug seedlings under artificial light and their Physical environments. Light transmissivities in the plant growth room based on the photosynthetic photon flux density and photosynthetically active radiation was appeared to be 96.3% and 96.8%, respectively. Measurement showed a uniformity in the vertical profiles of air current speed at the middle and rear regions of plug trays in wind tunnel. This result indicated that the development of a wind tunnel based on the design criteria of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers was adequate. Air current speed inside the plug stand was significantly decreased due to the resistance by the leaves of plug seedlings and boundary layer developed over and below the plug stand. Driving force to facilitate the diffusion of gas inside the plug stand might be regarded as extremely low. Aerodynamic characteristics above the plug stand under artificial light were investigated. As the air current speed increased, zero plane displacement decreased but roughness length and frictional velocity increased. Zero plane displacement linearly increased with the average height of plug seedlings. The wind tunnel developed in this study would be useful to investigate the effects of air current speed on the microclimate over and inside the plug stand and to collect basic data for a large-scale plug production under artificial light in a semi-closed ecosystem.