• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
• /
• v.27 no.4
• /
• pp.29-38
• /
• 1999

Present green space planning of Korea pay little attention to biodiversity conservation in urban areas. The quality of urban wildlife habitat has been deteriorated severely due to fragmentation and isolation of urban open spaces. The application of ecological corridors to urban green space planning and management can greatly enhance the bird habitat of Seoul. The objectives of this study were to evaluate bird habitat potential of existing urban parks of Seoul, and to investigate methods to develop ecological corridors for wild birds. This study consists of three parts. The first part is to construct bird species/habitat relationship model. The second part is to evaluate 207 urban parks of Seoul with the model. Based on the relative potential for bird habitat, urban parks of Seoul can be classified into cores, nodes, and points of the network. Outcomes of this part can also be used to enhance the quality of bird habitats by identifying limits or weakness of existing green spaces for bird habitat. The final part is to develop three green network plans; north-south network, the Han river network, and a district network for Kangnam-Gu.

• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• v.33 no.1
• /
• pp.85-97
• /
• 2011

The tidal flats of Korea today have reduced by 40% in size compared to 1964. To manage this important habitat properly, development of well-organized and nationwide-applicable grading systems is required. There have been several assessment systems proposed previously in Korea, but they are critically flawed in that selected biological indicators are not adequate and grading criteria are obscure and arbitrary. We reviewed the indicators used in these previous evaluation systems (e.g., diversity indices, quantity and quality of benthic macrofauna, halophytes, water birds, etc.) and subsequently proposed new indicators and an improved grading scheme. For the quantitative assessment of macrobenthic community, biomass reflecting production and ecosystem function is recommended over density, which is much less discriminatory among habitats. Of biodiversity indices used, within-, between-habitat and regional biodiversity indices that accurately reflect sampling efforts are suggested. In addition, we proposed to include species rarity, ecosystem engineers, and the ecological quality index ISEP (Inverse function of Shannon-Wiener Evenness Proportion). As for halophytes, their low spatial coverage on benthic habitat suggests that their presence can be used as an ecological indicator of benthic habitat, regardless of their protective status. We stress the need to introduce 1) quantile approach for quantitative indicators (e.g., diversity, biomass, etc.) in relation to grading, 2) presence-absence approach for spatial or aggregate indicators (e.g., boundaries of halophytes and feeding ground of water birds) and 3) benthic habitat mapping that combines all of these indicators.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
• /
• v.26 no.6
• /
• pp.221-234
• /
• 2023

This study was conducted to develop a habitat assessment system for the endangered wildlife II Kirengeshoma koreana Nakai through in-depth interviews with experts based on field surveys and environmental characteristics through spatial data analysis and literature research. Evaluation factors were selected based on the survey results of 31 variables for 23 K. koreana habitats. Afterwards, the importance and evaluation range for each assessment factor were selected. The selection of survey variables, assessment factors, importance of each factor and assessment range was conducted through in-depth interviews with experts at each stage. As a result, the assessment factors and importance were 16% for precipitation of the wettest month, 10% for vegetation zone, 12% for vegetation type, 10% for crown canopy vitality, 14% for tree layer coverage, 13% for drainage grade, 12% for soil depth, and 13% for distance to stream including dry stream. This study provides basic ecological information and a habitat assessment system for K. koreana habitats. Therefore, it can be used as primary data for preparing an endangered wildlife conservation policy, preparing a habitat improvement plan, and selecting an alternative habitat.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
• /
• v.42 no.6
• /
• pp.481-491
• /
• 2009

In this study, a comprehensive field monitoring was conducted to understand habitat conditions of fish species in the upper Geum river. Based on the monitoring data, riverine health conditions such as composition ratio of fish species, richness and dominance indexes, bio-diversity (dominance index, diversity, evenness and richness), and index of biological integrity were assessed, and optimal ecological flowrates were estimated using the habitat suitability indexes established for three fish species Coreoleuciscus splendidus, Zacco platypus and Pseudopungtungia nigra selected as icon species using the physical habitat simulation system (PHABSIM). The total number of species sampled was 20 species, and two sensitive species of C. splendidus (22.4%) and Z. platypus (22.0%) dominated the fish community. The estimated IBI values ranged from 34 to 42 with average being 38 out of 50, rendering the site ecologically fair to good health conditions. An optimal ecological flowrate of 9.0 cms was recommended for the representative fish species at the site.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
• /
• v.25 no.2
• /
• pp.69-84
• /
• 2022

The purpose of this research is to examine the user experience design that effectively exhibits botanical information through a virtual habitat built with 3D modeling and scanning data for the conservatory at Seoul Botanic Park. Seoul Botanic Park's conservatory contains environmental and ecological information on the wide spectrum of diverse plants under twelve cities all over the world. However, the exhibition method, which focuses on maps and information boards, has limitations in delivering diverse plant and habitat information to visitors. Virtual and augmented reality can be used as an effective tool for educating and experiencing the contents of various plant species as it can convey the ecological and environmental conditions of the habitat and local culture at diverse levels. This study experimented with constructing virtual habitats using the Unreal Engine and effectively communicating various botanical information through the interaction. With the introduction of a virtual habitat, we intend to enhance the user experience of park visitors and ultimately explore the possibility of using virtual and augmented reality to convey multi-layered environmental and ecological information of landscape.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
• /
• v.26 no.4
• /
• pp.35-50
• /
• 2023

As urbanization progresses, there is a growing and continuous demand for green spaces that provide ecosystem services. However, increasing the quantity of green spaces within major cities is challenging. Therefore, it is essential to pursue qualitative improvements that consider ecological characteristics of existing green spaces. In this study, we focus on local neighborhood parks in Seoul and present the following two questions through an evaluation utilizing ecological design indicators and land use data: 1. Which factor, design or location, has a greater influence on the ecological quality of neighborhood parks in Seoul? 2. Additionally, when evaluating ecological characteristics, is there similarity between assessments based on land-use data and those utilizing ecological design indicators? For this study, we conducted research on 30 neighborhood parks in Seoul and classified them into mountainous types (adjacent to mountains, natural terrain parks) and urban types (independently designed within 300m without existing forests) based on previous studies. Firstly, we conducted evaluations according to park location types. When comparing the evaluation scores of urban types (14 parks) and mountainous types (16 parks), significant differences were observed with scores of 16.86 and 35.94, respectively. Statistical analysis showed a significant difference between park types. In terms of habitat quality, the average values for urban and mountainous parks were 0.33 and 0.53, respectively, and statistically significant differences were observed between park types indicating differences in ecological potential according to park location. Secondly, when comparing the results of ecological potential evaluations based on park design and external connectivity, a correlation was found between habitat quality and total scores according to evaluation indicators. The correlation analysis showed significant linear relationships between habitat quality and total scores, biodiversity scores, and ecosystem function scores, with high positive correlation coefficients of 0.829, 0.861, and 0.802, respectively. This study holds significance in analyzing the ecological aspects of urban parks through the lens of both park location characteristics and design indicators. The analysis results underscore the importance of planning and managing ecologically sound urban parks contingent upon their location. Moreover, the utilization of appropriate ecological design indicators can help alleviate environmental limitations surrounding parks. Integrating these considerations could enhance the ecological quality and ecosystem services of urban green spaces.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
• /
• v.21 no.5
• /
• pp.39-60
• /
• 2018

National parks are designated for the purpose of maintenance, conservation and utilization of different habitats. Therefore, it is necessary to select habitats of a high value as a protected area in order to balance conservation and development. However, the existing national park boundary adjustment and new designation criteria only focused on the endangered species and protected area, without proper evaluation of the habitat value of actual species. Therefore, this study aims to quantitatively evaluate habitat function in terms of biodiversity and habitat value, so that it can be referred to for the designation and boundary adjustment of national parks. We assessed species diversity and habitat values for each of the habitat types, for mammals only, as they are able to choose preferred habitats. In order to evaluate biodiversity, we used Maxent to derive species richness map and used InVEST's Habitat quality model to evaluate habitat value. As a result of evaluation, species richness was high in the national park boundary area. Also, even if the same edge is adjacent to the development area depending on the land cover, the species richness is low. Compared with Wolaksan and Sobaeksan National Park, the species richness and habitat value of the northern area, which is connected with other forests, were higher than those of the southern area where roads were developed. Therefore, it is expected that the use of the result of this study for the national park boundary adjustment and management will enhance the function of the national park as a habitat.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
• /
• v.24 no.2
• /
• pp.156-163
• /
• 2008

This study was to introduce a methodology of ecological health assessment for efficient management and to provide some diagnostic results of the survey. We evaluated ecological health assessment at five sampling locations of Sikjang Mountainous Stream using the index of biological integrity (IBI) and Qualitative Habitat Evaluation Index (QHEI) during May - October 2006. The health condition, based on the IBI model, averaged 32 and varied from 27 to 37 depending on the sampling sites. Thus, the stream health was judged as "good" to "fair" conditions. IBI values showed slight differences between upstream and downstream sites. Whereas, QHEI values varied from 75 (fair condition) to 196 (excellent condition) and QHEI at St. 4~5, indicating the downstream reach had significantly lower than the headwater site (St.1). Regression analyses also showed that QHEI values had a linear decrease from the headwater to downstream. This result indicated that habitat quality was rapidly degradated by human influence. Overall, data of IBI and QHEI suggested that the stream health was maintained well in the present but the habitat and biological quality were partially degradated in the downstream. So, the human interference should be minimized to protect the downstream environment.

• Proceedings of the National Institute of Ecology of the Republic of Korea
• /
• v.4 no.1
• /
• pp.9-15
• /
• 2023

We analyzed data of endangered mammals in the 1st grade zone of the Ecological and Natural Map of Korea that were obtained through 202 field surveys over six years. Five endangered mammal species were identified including otters, long-tailed gorals, martens, leopard cats, and flying squirrels. The total number of habitat traces collected was 918, of which 897 traces (97.7%) were excrement types. The total surveyed distance was 697.7 km and there were 2,184 grids of 250×250 m each. Of these grids, 441 or 20.2% were confirmed as habitats of endangered mammals. Moreover, we analyzed results of repeated surveys in the same area by converting them into individual one-time surveys, accounting for 23.1% of the total area. The flying squirrel showed a low correlation with the frequency of field surveys but showed many habitats in a specific season. Leopard cats and martens were correlated with the frequency of field surveys. Results of analysis confirm that the grid method used for establishing the Ecological and Natural Map is unsuitable for the habitat division of flying squirrels, otters, leopard cats, and martens, and it does not reflect the actual habitats of these four species. Therefore, we propose that the concept of the habitat grid of species must be reevaluated and improved, specifically for endangered mammals.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
• /
• v.24 no.3
• /
• pp.287-299
• /
• 2015

If the Nakdong River estuary is to be sustainable, land use management practices need to consider bird habitat requirements, especially given that the area serves as an important migratory bird sanctuary. In this study, bird habitats found in the Nakdong River estuary were classified into 11 different types including Phragmites australiss, mud flat, farmland, open surface in freshwater, sand bar, riparian forest, Scirpus planiculmis, waterway, construction, grasslands, and open surface in sea or brackish water. Taking into consideration the regional characteristics, habitat properties, and landscape indices, a total of 12 study sites were analyzed. Mud flat, construction, farmland, and P. australis account for 80% of the total land area. The high area ratio of construction and farmland to other types of habitat revealed a high amount of historical human activity and intervention in the area. Both patch numbers as well as patch density were high in West Nakdong River, Samrak Waterfront, Maekdo River, and Daejeo Floodgate, with these areas showing the greatest fragmentation as well. Total numbers of species and individuals had a positive correlation with the area and the number of habitat types. Findings suggest that protecting the habitat area, especially in S. planiculmis, is the most important factor for bird habitat management and that future development could result in habitat loss, having a profoundly adverse impact on bird populations. Therefore, it is important that the total area should be carefully protected by land use regulations in order to ensure that the Nakdong River estuary maintains its functional integrity as a migratory bird sanctuary.