• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.98 no.6
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• pp.659-668
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• 2009

Time series data on forest resources and population over the period from 1927 to 2007 were constructed and analyzed in order to identify trends and characteristics of forest transition in Korea. Korean forest transition could be classified into three phases in terms of the average annual growing stock of forest; forest degradation period (1927-1952), forest stagnation period (1953-1972) and forest growth period (1973-2007). Over the past 80 years forest area decreased 0.05% each year. The decreasing rate was very low, especially considering rapid economic growth and increased population of Korea with over 60% of forest cover. Growing stock per hectare significantly increased from $5.6m^3$ in 1952 to $97.8m^3$ in 2007, or 17.5 times during 1952 to 2007. Despise of increasing population and rapid economic growth, in particular, growing stock per capita has increased from $1.7m^3$ in 1952 to $12.9m^3$ in 2005 and un-stocked forest area decreased from 3,315 thousand ha to 165 thousand ha during the same period. In this regard, Korea represents a case of modern forest growth. Among 56 countries with more than 10 million of population and 10% or more of forest cover over the period 1990 to 2005, Korea is classified as a country which has high forest cover but low deforestation rate. Also, Korea is the only developing country which has 50% or more of forest cover and shows a below average deforestation rate.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2016

As the deforestation in North Korea gets severed, the interest for REDD+ is also increasing. This study analyzed historical land cover changes of the study area which is 10,000 ha in Hwanghaebukdo of North Korea for assessing change in landcover and carbon storage. The result showed that the forest area had decreased from 7,035 ha to 4,293 ha which is approximately 39% of total forest area between 1989 and 2013. The deforestation caused that forest carbon storage had decreased approximately $284,399tCO_2$. Set the baseline and analysed the potential reduction amount of carbon emission, it was estimated that REDD+ project could store approximately $364,704tCO_2$ for next 30 years. This study still has limitations such as lacking in direct field survey and the data of stand volume of each tree species which was replaced with the data of stand volume in South Korea. But, study can be applied for future REDD+ projects in North Korea.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.102 no.2
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• pp.189-197
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• 2013

The Cancun Agreements under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change require developing countries aiming to undertake REDD+ activities to develop a national strategy or action plan, addressing the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation, a measurement, reporting and verifying (MRV) system including forest monitoring system, and safeguards to ensure equity and co-benefits for local communities and indigenous peoples, and biodiversity. The Government of Indonesia and the Government of Norway established REDD+ cooperation through signing a 'Letter of Intent' in May, 2010. Indonesia agreed on 'a two year suspension on all new concessions for conversion of peat and natural forest'. In turn, Norway agreed to support Indonesia's REDD+ implementation efforts up to one billion United States dollars. Indonesia's REDD+ national strategy (June, 2012) accepted most of the requests included in the 'Letter of Intent'. The REDD+ national strategy, however, does not reflect requests of the Cancun Agreements which noted identification of the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation and guarantee of real greenhouse gas emissions reductions. Indonesia lays emphasis on Norwegian requests which includes expected financial support rather than the Cancun Agreements which have a weak legally-binding requirements.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.484-497
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• 2012

In recent, the primary concern of the forest policy paradigm, which has been mostly focusing on reducing emissions by the effort of afforestation and reforestation, is moving to the REDD activities that are operated by deforestation and forest degradation. In response, the phased studies is going well to visualize performance outcomes of REDD activities. This study brings up the optimum baseline approach for operating the national REDD program by simulating six different baseline approaches broadly used throughout the worldwide, and classified forestry condition for each province in Korea. From this study, we could aware that the carbon credit of HFLD has a low acquisition, but LFMD and LFHD has a high acquisition. Therefore, there are not many reasons for performing REDD activities due to the lack of economical benefits in compared to the devleopment of producing district in HFLD. All kinds of forestry condition, satisfactory baseline approach are needed to enhance the participation and the actuality about REDD program. When evaluating the participation and actuality, the rational decision should be considered as the most appropriate Corridor Approach. This study suggests that the modified Corridor Approach is required for overcoming the weak points, so that we developed the New Corridor Approach which could be easily adopted to Korea environment.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.185-195
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• 2009

We investigated the change of several meteorological variables due to deforestation. We established two sets of automatic weather observation system: one on a hill where forest was destructed by lumbering (Point 1) and the other in a neighboring district (Point 2) of fairly preserved forest. The observations were continued for one year (2006. 12-2007. 12). In this study, we analysed the data observed for one week from the nea day after summertime rainfall. The results showed that the air temperatures of Point 1 were about $1.5^{\circ}C$ higher than those of Point 2 during the daytime. But there were small gaps between the two poults during the nighttime. The relative humidities also differed greatly between the two during the daytime. It was as high as about 10% at Point 2. The surface and underground (15 cm in depth) soil temperatures were also fealty different between the two points during the daytime. They were $3-10^{\circ}C$ higher at Point 2 than those of Point 1. And the gaps reduced drastically during the nighttime. The averaged soil moistures were 7.1% at Point 1 and 19.5% at Point 2 during the observation period, respectively. The differences of wind direction were small, but the wind speeds differed between the two points. The observed wind speeds during the observation period were roughly estimated to be about 0.5m/s at Point 1 and 0.3m/s at Point 2. The heat budget analysis was also performed based on the observation data.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.103 no.1
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• pp.80-86
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• 2014

$^{210}Pb$ dating was conducted to examine the influence of land use changes in the forest catchment on lake sedimentation. The Kushiro River, into which Lake Takkobu drains under regular flow conditions, contributed to an increased sedimentation rate in sampling point at the lake outflow because turbid water from the Kushiro River flows back into Lake Takkobu during floods. The elevated sediment flux from the catchment dilutes the $^{210}Pb$ concentration in sampling points at the inflow of the Takkobu River and the lake outflow, which causes fluctuations in the $^{210}Pb$ concentrations in sediment cores. The $^{210}Pb$ dating was estimated using the CRS (Constant rate of Supply) model. The dates by the CRS model in Lake Takkobu profiles were in good agreement with the dates by $^{137}Cs$. Sedimentation rates reconstructed for the past 100-150 years suggested that sedimentation rates increased drastically following land use changes. While a natural sedimentation rate of $0.01-0.03g/cm^2/year$ is observed until the 1880s, whereas lake sedimentation accelerated to $0.03-0.09g/cm^2/year$ following land use changes such as deforestation and channelization, between the 1880s and 1940s. In particular, the sedimentation rates have been associated with deforestation, channelization, agricultural development and road construction, since the 1980s, and these rates were about 9-28 times higher than those under natural conditions, leading to accelerated lake shallowing.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.100 no.3
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• pp.315-326
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• 2011

In recent years, domestic and international interests focus on climate change, and importance of forest as carbon sink have been also increased. Particularly REDD+ mechanism expanded from REDD (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) is expected to perform a new mechanism for reducing greenhouse gas in post 2012. To conduct this mechanism, countries which try to get a carbon credit have to certify effectiveness of their activities by MRV (Measuring, Reporting and Verification) system. This study analyzed the approaches for detecting land cover change and estimating carbon stock by remote sensing technology which is considered as the effective method to develop MRV system. The most appropriate remote sensing for detection of land cover change is optical medium resolution sensors and satellite SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) according to cost efficiency and uncertainty assessment. In case of estimating carbon stock, integration of low uncertainty techniques, airborne LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), SAR, and cost efficient techniques, optical medium resolution sensors and satellite SAR, could be more appropriate. However, due to absence of certificate authority, guideline, and standard of uncertainty, we should pay continuously our attention on international information flow and establish appropriate methods. Moreover, to apply monitoring system to developing countries, close collaboration and monitoring method reflected characteristics of each countries should be considered.

• The Southeast Asian review
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.49-92
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• 2013

In May 2010, Indonesia and Norway signed a Letter of Intent on "Cooperation on Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation(REDD)." In the LoI, Norway agreed to offer Indonesia a sum of USD 1 billion with a view to encourage Indonesia to significantly contribute to the successful implementation of REDD+. On 20 May 2011, correspondingly, Indonesia announced the 2011 'Forest Moratorium' (the Presidential Instruction No. 10/2011) which was valid for the following consecutive two years. By means of the 2011 'Forest Moratorium', Indonesia aimed at significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation, forest degradation and peatland conversion. In so doing, it also sought to improve forest governance. Meanwhile, concerned stakeholders also raised various questions about the effectiveness of the 'Forest Moratorium'. As an extension of the 2011 'Forest Moratorium', Indonesia announced the 2013 'Forest Moratorium'(the Presidential Instruction No. 6/2013) for another two-year period on 13 May 2013. Indonesia's 'Forest Moratorium' is concerned with stakeholders at various levels, who may play a role of significant 'agent' in the process of implementing the 'Forest Moratorium'. This mechanism of the 'Forest Moratorium' should be understood in the light of forest governance. Employing stakeholder approach, therefore, this article attempts to analyze Indonesia's 'Forest Moratorium' in the light of forest governance. In this regard, it analyzes the detailed contents of the 'Forest Moratorium', the process of making the 'Forest Moratorium', current development of the Indicative Moratorium Map for suspension of new concessions on forest land, and contesting views of various stakeholders. At the same time, it also talks about how 'weak' forest governance had influence upon Indonesia's 'Forest Moratorium'. In so doing, this article consequently attempts to evaluate Indonesia's 'Forest Moratorium' and also put it into perspective in terms of improving forest governance. The 2013 'Forest Moratorium' fundamentally represents a radical policy that is designed to suspend new concessions on forest conversion for another two-year period and its detailed contents attempt to reflect on various stakeholders from related industries and environmental NGOs. However, there are challenging factors in the process of implementing the 'Forest Moratorium', that is, 'weak' forest governance and also a discrepancy between forest planning maps designated by central and regional governments. The announcement of the 2013 'Forest Moratorium', as an extension of the 2011 'Forest Moratorium', may functionally strengthen and improve Indonesia's forest governance. However, at the same time, there is a practical limit due to the fact that it is merely a Presidential Instruction that lacks legal binding.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.204-214
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• 2023

This study aimed to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the potential impact of deforestation and forest restoration on carbon storage in North Korea until 2050, employing rigorous analyses of trends of land use change in the past periods and projecting future land use change scenarios. We utilized the CA-Markov model, which can reflect spatial trends in land use changes, and verified the impact of forest restoration strategies on carbon storage by creating land use change scenarios (reforestation and non-reforestation). We employed two distinct periods of land use maps (2000 to 2010 and 2010 to 2020). To verify the overall terrestrial carbon storage in North Korea, our evaluation included estimations of carbon storage for various elements such as above-ground, below-ground, soil, and debris (including litters) for settlement, forest, cultivated, grass, and bare areas. Our results demonstrated that effective forest restoration strategies in North Korea have the potential to increase carbon storage by 4.4% by the year 2050, relative to the carbon storage observed in 2020. In contrast, if deforestation continues without forest restoration efforts, we predict a concerning decrease in carbon storage by 11.5% by the year 2050, compared to the levels in 2020. Our findings underscore the significance of prioritizing and continuing forest restoration efforts to effectively increase carbon storage in North Korea. Furthermore, the implications presented in this study are expected to be used in the formulation and implementation of long-term forest restoration strategies in North Korea, while fostering international cooperation towards this common environmental goal.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.176-186
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• 2024

This study aimed to provide ecological information by identifying the stand characteristics of Larix kaempferi forest vegetation (deforestation, forest influence, patch, forest) for aggregated retention harvest in Mt. Nambyeongsan, Pyeongchang-Gun. Data were collected using the Braun-Blanquet vegetation survey method from July 2020, with 54 quadrats analyzed for importance value, species diversity, similarity index, and detrended correspondence analysis (DCA). The results showed that vine species had a higher importance value in the deforestation area and forest influence area. Forest regions had the highest species diversity (2.419), while the forest influence area had the lowest(2.171). The similarity index was highest between the forest region and patch area (0.723), and lowest between the patch area and forest influence area (0.658), which was consistent with the DCA results. In conclusion, although species diversity temporarily showed higher values in the initial stage after aggregated retention harvest, it was difficult to assign ecologically specific meanings to these values. Long-term monitoring is therefore necessary to accumulate ecological information on aggregated retention harvests.