• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
• /
• v.113 no.2
• /
• pp.222-238
• /
• 2024

Coniferous species in subalpine ecosystems are known to be highly sensitive to climate change. Therefore, it is becoming increasingly important to monitor community and population dynamics. This study monitored 37 plots within the distribution area of Abies koreana on Mt. Jirisan for a period of eight years. We analyzed the importance value, density of living stems, mortality rate, recruitment rate, basal area, DBH (diameter of breast height) class distribution, and tree health status. Our results showed changes in the importance value based on the tree stratum, with A. koreana decreasing by 3.6% and Tripterygium regelii increasing by 2.5% in the tree layer. Between 2015 and 2023, there were 149 dead trees/ha (17.99% mortality rate) and 12 living trees/ha (1.02% recruitment rate) of A. koreana. The decrease in basal area was attributed to a decrease in the number of living trees. Tree mortality occurred in all DBH classes, with a particularly high decline in the <10 cm class (65 trees/ha reduced). In terms of changes in tree health status, the population of alive standing (AS) type trees, initially consisting of 539 trees/ha, has been transformed into alive standing (AS), alive lean (AL), and death standing (DS), accounting for 69.7%, 0.5%, and 13.8%, respectively. Meanwhile, DS-type trees have transitioned into dead broken (DB) and dead fallen (DF) types. This phenomenon is believed to be caused by strong winds in the subalpine region that pull up the rootlets from the soil. Further research on this finding is recommended.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
• /
• v.38 no.3
• /
• pp.230-245
• /
• 2024

Amphibians, sensitive to external environmental changes, serve as bioindicator species for assessing alterations or disturbances in local ecosystems. It is known that one-third of amphibian species within the order Anura are at risk of extinction due to anthropogenic threats such as habitat destruction and fragmentation caused by urbanization. To develop effective protection and conservation strategies for anuran amphibians, species surveys that account for population characteristics are essential. This study aimed to investigate the potential for citizen participation in ecological monitoring using the mating calls of anura species. We also proposed suitable quality control measures to mitigate errors and biases, ensuring the extraction of reliable species occurrence data. The Citizen Science project was carried out nationwide from April 1 to August 31, 2022, targeting 12 species of anura amphibians in Korea. Citizens voluntarily participated in voice signal monitoring, where they listened to anura species' mating calls and recorded them using a mobile application. Additionally, we established a quality control process to extract reliable species occurrence data, categorizing errors and biases from citizen-collected data into three levels: omission, commission, and incorrect identification. A total of 6,808 observations were collected during the citizen participation in anura species vocalization monitoring. Through the quality control process, errors and biases were identified in 1,944 (28.55%) of the 6,808 data. The most common type of error was omission, accounting for 922 cases (47.43%), followed by incorrect identification with 540 cases (27.78%), and commission with 482 cases (24.79%). During the Citizen Science project, we successfully recorded the mating calls of 10 out of the 12 anuran amphibian species in Korea, excluding the Asian toads (Bufo gargarizans Cantor), Korean brown frog (Rana coreana). Difficulties in collecting mating calls were primarily attributed to challenges in observing due to population decline or discrepancies between the breeding season of non-emergent individuals and the timing of the citizen science project. This study represents the first investigation of distribution status and species emergence data collection through mating calls of anura species in Korea based on citizen participation. It can serve as a foundation for designing future bioacoustic monitoring that incorporates citizen science and quality control measures for citizen science data.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
• /
• v.37 no.4
• /
• pp.392-400
• /
• 2024

This study was conducted to find the flowering and growth characteristics according to the different altitudes (plains and mid-mountain regions) and cultivation methods (field and plastic houses cultivation) of Elsholtzia splendens. Experimental regions located at 12 meters and 500 meters above sea level were selected for the plains and the mid-mountain, respectively, and the same method was applied for cultivation management by different altitudes and cultivation methods. In the mid-mountain region, flower bud emergence (2-3 days), flowering (9 days), and full bloom (6-7 days) stages of Elsholtzia splendens were earlier than in the plains, and field cultivation was earlier than plastic house cultivation. The plant height, the main stem diameter, and the number of branches tended to increase gradually after an initial rapid growth at 59 to 69 days after planting date. The days of duration of sunshine (less than 8 hours) from the rainy season (June 20) to the period when vegetative growth increases gradually (59 to 69 days after planting) was 22 to 29 days and 26 to 35 days in the plains and the mid-mountain regions respectively, and this period was estimated time of transition from vegetative growth to reproductive growth. The spikes growth of Elsholtzia splendens by cultivation altitudes was higher in the mid-mountain region than in the plains, and there were no statistically significant differences in growth characteristics except for the main stem diameter, the number of branches, and the dry matter. Also, the amount of flowering and growth was higher in the plastic house cultivation compared to the field cultivation. As a result, some differences in flowering amount were observed when cultivating Elsholtzia splendens for landscaping purposes, but it was considered possible to cultivate in both plains and mid-mountain regions. This study therefore provides ecological information for understanding the relationship between weather characteristics and growth of Elsholtzia splendens.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
• /
• v.3 no.1
• /
• pp.1-9
• /
• 1983

The purpose of this study was to elucidate the ecophysiological habitat of natural Sorbus commixta forest at Mt. Seorak. The results obtained were as follows: 1. The Sorbus commixta trees mainly distributed from 900m to 1,500m altitude. In there, the warm index(WI) was about 42$3.2{\times}10^3$ to $9.2{\times}10^3$, cation exchange capacity(CEC) was 13.7 to 19.5mg/100g, N content 0.21 to 0.39%, $P_2O_5$ content was 22.6 to 38.7ppm, and pH value was 5.6 to 5.8 respectively. 4. The upper crown trees in Sorbus commixta communities were Abies nephrolepis, Taxus cuspidata, Betula platyphylla var. japonica, Quercus${\times}$grosseserrata, Acer mono, Prunus sargentii, Carpinus cordata, Tilia amurensis, and the under crown trees were Rhododendron brachycarpum, Acer pseudo-sieboldianum, Thuja olientalis, Corylus heterohpylla, Philadelphus schrenckii, Rhododendron schlippenbachii, Rhododendron mucronulatum, and Magnolia sieboldii. 5. The stand densities were 1,156 trees/ha at 1,160m and 3,600 trees/ha at 1,300m respectively. The coverages by the DBH basal area were 0.37 at 1,160m and 0.31 at 1,300m respectively, and the vegetation coverages by the crown projection area were 2.04 at 1,160m and 1.61 at 1,300m respectively. 6. The light extinction coefficient(k) in Beer-Lambert's law, showed the distance, F(z), from top canopy to aboveground, was 0.17. 7. The water relations parameters of Sorbus commixta shoot were obtained by the pressure chamber technique. The osmotic pressure, ${\pi}_o$, at maximum turgor was -16.2 bar, and VAT pressure was 14.5bar. The osmotic pressure, ${\pi}_p$, at incipient plasmolysis was -19.4bar. The relative water contents at incipient plasmolysis were 83.1% ($v_p/v_o$) and 87.1%($v_p/w_s$;$w_s$, total water at maximum turgor). 8. The bulk modulus of elasticity(E) of shoot was about 69.6. The total symplasmic water to total water in shoot was 67.7%, and the apoplastic water to total water was 32.3%.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
• /
• v.31 no.2
• /
• pp.152-165
• /
• 2017

The greater long-tail hamster, Tscherskia triton, is widely distributed in Northern China, Korea and adjacent areas of Russia. Except for its distribution, biological characteristics related to life history, behavior, and ecological influences for this species are rarely studied in Korea. This study was conducted to obtain biological information on breeding, growth and development that are basic to species-specific studies. The study adopted laboratory management of a breeding programme for T. triton collected in Jeju Island from March, 2015 to December, 2016. According to the study results, the conception rate was 31.67% and the mice in the large cages had a higher rate of conception than those in the small cages (56.7 vs. 6.7%). The gestation period was $22{\pm}1.6days$ (ranges from 21 to27 days), and litter size ranged from 2 to 7, with a mean of $4.26{\pm}1.37$ in the species. The minimum age for weaning was between $19.2{\pm}1.4days$ (range of 18-21 days). There were no significant differences by sex between mean body weight and external body measurements at birth. However, a significant sexual difference was found from the period of weaning (21 days old) in head and body length, as well as tail length (HBL-weaning, $106.50{\pm}6.02$ vs. $113.34{\pm}4.72mm$, p<0.05; HBL-4 months, $163.93{\pm}5.42$ vs. $182.83{\pm}4.32mm$, p<0.05; TL-4 months, $107.23{\pm}3.25$ vs. $93.95{\pm}2.15mm$, p<0.05). Gompertz and Logistic growth curves were fitted to data for body weight and lengths of head and body, tail, ear, and hind foot. In two types of growth curves, males exhibited greater asymptotic values ($164.840{\pm}7.453$ vs. $182.830{\pm}4.319mm$, p<0.0001; $163.936{\pm}5.415$ vs. $182.840{\pm}4.333mm$, p<0.0001), faster maximum growth rates ($1.351{\pm}0.065$ vs. $1.435{\pm}0.085$, p<0.05; $2.870{\pm}0.253$ vs. $3.211{\pm}0.635$, p<0.05), and a later age of maximum growth than females in head and body length ($5.121{\pm}0.318$ vs. $5.520{\pm}0.333$, p<0.05; $6.884{\pm}0.336$ vs. $7.503{\pm}0.453$, p<0.05). However, females exhibited greater asymptotic values ($105.695{\pm}5.938$ vs. $94.150{\pm}2.507mm$, p<0.001; $111.609{\pm}14.881$ vs. $93.960{\pm}2.150mm$, p<0.05) and longer length of inflection ($60.306{\pm}1.992$ vs. $67.859{\pm}1.330mm$, p<0.0001; $55.714{\pm}7.458$ vs. $46.975{\pm}1.074mm$, p<0.05) than males in tail length. These growth rate constants, viz. the morphological characters and weights of the males and females, were similar to each other in two types of growth curves. These results will be used as necessary data to study species specificity of T. triton with biological foundations.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
• /
• v.45 no.3
• /
• pp.344-352
• /
• 2012

Soil physical properties determine soil quality in aspect of root growth, infiltration, water and nutrient holding capacity. Although the monitoring of soil physical properties is important for sustainable agricultural production, there were few studies. This study was conducted to investigate the condition of soil physical properties of arable land according to land use across the country. The work was investigated on plastic film house soils, upland soils, orchard soils, and paddy soils from 2008 to 2011, including depth of topsoil, bulk density, hardness, soil texture, and organic matter. The average physical properties were following; In plastic film house soils, the depth of topsoil was 16.2 cm. For the topsoils, hardness was 9.0 mm, bulk density was 1.09 Mg $m^{-3}$, and organic matter content was 29.0 g $kg^{-1}$. For the subsoils, hardness was 19.8 mm, bulk density was 1.32 Mg $m^{-3}$, and organic matter content was 29.5 g $kg^{-1}$; In upland soils, depth of topsoil was 13.3 cm. For the topsoils, hardness was 11.3 mm, bulk density was 1.33 Mg $m^{-3}$, and organic matter content was 20.6 g $kg^{-1}$. For the subsoils, hardness was 18.8 mm, bulk density was 1.52 Mg $m^{-3}$, and organic matter content was 13.0 g $kg^{-1}$. Classified by the types of crop, soil physical properties were high value in a group of deep-rooted vegetables and a group of short-rooted vegetables soil, but low value in a group of leafy vegetables soil; In orchard soils, the depth of topsoil was 15.4 cm. For the topsoils, hardness was 16.1 mm, bulk density was 1.25 Mg $m^{-3}$, and organic matter content was 28.5 g $kg^{-1}$. For the subsoils, hardness was 19.8 mm, bulk density was 1.41 Mg $m^{-3}$, and organic matter content was 15.9 g $kg^{-1}$; In paddy soils, the depth of topsoil was 17.5 cm. For the topsoils, hardness was 15.3 mm, bulk density was 1.22 Mg $m^{-3}$, and organic matter content was 23.5 g $kg^{-1}$. For the subsoils, hardness was 20.3 mm, bulk density was 1.47 Mg $m^{-3}$, and organic matter content was 17.5 g $kg^{-1}$. The average of bulk density was plastic film house soils < paddy soils < orchard soils < upland soils in order, according to land use. The bulk density value of topsoils is mainly distributed in 1.0~1.25 Mg $m^{-3}$. The bulk density value of subsoils is mostly distributed in more than 1.50, 1.35~1.50, and 1.0~1.50 Mg $m^{-3}$ for upland and paddy soils, orchard soils, and plastic film house soils, respectively. Classified by soil textural family, there was lower bulk density in clayey soil, and higher bulk density in fine silty and sandy soil. Soil physical properties and distribution of topography were different classified by the types of land use and growing crops. Therefore, we need to consider the types of land use and crop for appropriate soil management.