• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.108 no.4
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• pp.493-512
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• 2019

The purpose of this study was to provide the basic data necessary for establishing a vegetation management plan for the Yeongcheon River area by presenting a better understanding of the distribution and characteristics of naturalized plants through an investigation of the flora present in the Yeongcheon riverside, in Jinju, South Korea. Vascular plants were investigated for a total of 470 taxa, including 90 families, 282 genera, 425 species, one sub-species, 38 varieties, and six forms. Together, these accounted for 9.62% of the vascular plants (4,881 species) in Korea. Gramineae was the most abundant at 77 taxa (16.38%), followed by Cyperaceae at 56 taxa (11.91%), Leguminosae at 33 taxa (7.02%), Cyperaceae at 25 taxa (5.32%), and Rosaceae at 22 taxa (4.86%). Thirty species of indicator plants were surveyed and, among them, annual plants and hemicryptophytes accounted for a significantpercentage. Among ground plants, trees, shrubs, and sub-shrubs were surveyed to include 23 (4.89%), 17 (3.61%), and 14 taxa (2.97%), respectively. Furthermore, 36 aquatic plant taxa were found. Six rare plant taxa were surveyed including Penthorum chinense, Melothria japonica, Aristolochia contorta, Acorus calamus, Millettia japonica, and Magnolia kobus. Floristic special plants comprised 35 taxa,including 26 families, 34 genera, 34 species, and one variety. Plants endemic to Korea included six species. Naturalized plant species comprised 71 taxa, including 18 families, 53 genera, 68 species, and three varieties. The naturalization rate and urbanization index were 15.1% and 22.1%, respectively. Ecological disturbance species in Korea comprised nine taxa, including four families, eight genera, eight species, and one variety. These groups accounted for 64% of the ecological disturbance species in Korea. Ecological disturbance species in Korea tended to increase toward the downstream of Yeongcheon River. In particular, Ambrosia artemisiifolia and Sicyos angulatus, which cause human allergies and disrupt the habitats of plants and animals, must be removed artificially.

• Journal of Marine Life Science
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.20-26
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• 2017

In this study, we evaluated the toxic effects of heavy metals (As, Cr and Pb) on the population growth rate (r) of the marine diatom, Skeletonema costatum. The r of the species was determined after 96 h (4 days) exposure to As (0, 0.31, 0.63, 1.25, 2.50 and 5.00 mg L^-1), Cr (0, 0.16, 0.31, 0.63, 1.25 and 2.50 mg L^-1) and Pb (0, 1.25, 2.50, 5.00, 10.00 and 20.00 mg L^-1). It was observed that r in the control (absence of As, Cr and Pb) were greater than 0.04, however suddenly decreased with increased heavy metal concentrations. As, Cr and Pb reduced r in a dose-dependent manner and a significant reduction were occurred at concentration of greater than 0.31, 0.31 and 5.00 mg L^-1, respectively. Based on the toxicity, the heavy metal were ranked as Cr>As>Pb, with EC₅₀ (50% effective concentration) values of 0.80, 2.57 and 13.88 mg L^-1, respectively. The lowest-observed-effective-concentration (LOEC) of r in exposed to As, Cr and Pb were 0.63, 0.63 and 10.00 mg L^-1, respectively. Precisely, a concentration of greater than 0.63 mg L^-1 of As, 0.63 mg L^-1 of Cr and 10.00 mg L^-1 of Pb in marine ecosystems induced toxic effect on the r of S. costatum. Based on our results, we suggested that the r of S. costatum might be a useful bio-indicator for the toxicity assessment of heavy metals on the producer in marine ecosystems.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.490-498
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• 2008

This study was to analyze fish composition and ecological indicator characteristics from eight sampling sites of Geum River, October 2007. Total number of family and species sampled were 9 and 40. The most dominant family was Cyprinidae (27 species, 85%), and then followed by Cobitidae, Odomtobutidae, and Gobiidae. Constancy values of Zacco platypus and Zacco temminckii were 1.00 and 0.30, respectively, and the relative abundance of Acheilognathus koreensis and Pseudogobio esocinus were greater than 5% of the total. The number of Korean endemic species sampled in this Geum River study was 7 family 19 species, which is 47.5% of total 40 species, and endangered species of Pseudopungtungia nigra and Gobiobotia brevibarba were only 0.5% of the total and these species were only distributed within the upstream regions. Exotic species, Micropterus salmoides, which is known as large-mouth bass, were observed in two sites of G3 and G7. Analytical results of fish community showed that community dominance index was 0.19, which is low, and the species evenness index (0.74), diversity index (2.03), and richness index (3.00) appeared high. These results indicate that structure of fish community is stable in the Geum River. According to various guilds analysis, the relative abundance of tolerant and omnivores at all sites were 40% and 47% of the total, respectively. This monitoring data may contribute changes of fish fauna and compositions in relation to habitat modifications and chemical water quality degradations in the future.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.845-856
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• 2011

In order to establish fundamental data for stream restoration and environmental flow, we investigated inhabitation and species diversity of fish to substrate size in the typical streams of Geum River Basin. Field monitoring including fish sampling was conducted from October 2007 to October 2009. Substrate size was determined according to six different : silt (Si), sand (Sa), fine gravel (Fg), coarse gravel (Cg), cobbles (Co) and boulders (Bo). A total number of fish caught in the 18 sites was 7,649 representing 10 families 50 species, and Si, Sa, Fg, Cg, Co and Bo stations occupied 30, 29, 38, 30, 27 and 17 species, respectively. The most frequently found species in number was pale chum (Zacco platypus, 29.7%, n=2,275) followed by Z. koreanus (22.5%, n=1,720) in total stations. Biological diversity with increase of substrate size from the dominance of part species showed higher values as dominance index, lower and diversity, richness and evenness index. Index of biological integrity (IBI) and qualitative habitat evaluation index (QHEI) scores decreased with increase of substrate size. Therefore, it is necessary to make an effort on stream rehabilitation with evaluation of physical habitat condition by indicator species in order to maintain biodiversity and perform ecological restoration.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.260-277
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• 2015

The object of this study was the climate change sensitivity assessment of Korean Fir and Khinghan Fir as a representative subalpine plant in South Korea. Using species distribution models, we predicted the probability of current and future species distribution. According to this study, potential distribution that have been predicted based on the threshold (MTSS) is, Khinghan Fir was higher loss rate than Korean Fir. And in the climate change sensitivity assessment using the scalar sensitivity weight ($W_{is}$), $W_{is}$ of Korean Fir was higher relatively than the sensitivity of Khinghan Fir. When using the species distribution models as shown in this study may vary depending on the probability of presence data and spatial variables. Therefore should be prior decision studies on the ecological environment of the study species. Based on this study, if it is domestic applicable climate change sensitivity assessment method is developed. it would be important decision-making to climate change and biological diversity of adaptation policy.

• The Korean Journal of Ecology
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.273-280
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• 2001

We investigated the flora and vegetation structure of exotic plants along stream geomorphology and disturbance factors in the riparian zone of Seunggi stream, Incheon. Total 53 exotic plant species were found in the riparian corridors of Seunggi stream. The percentage of exotics ranged from 25% to 33% of total species richness, and its mean value was 24% in the whole riparian area. The percentage of exotics reflected the vulnerability of riparian zones to plant invasions by disturbances, and it could be used as an indicator of riparian system dysfunction. The distinct distribution patterns of exotic plants did not found in the lateral topographic features of the stream. Invasion and proliferation of the exotic plants were somewhat remarkable at terraces and bank slopes of the stream. Among various disturbance factors, plowing and trampling were important on the invasion of exotic plant species of Seunggi stream.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.43-51
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• 2005

Due to rapid and reckless economic development, natural resources of the national land have been damaged and polluted. Accordingly, the necessity for environment-friendly development has been on the rise and many have made efforts to assess the environmental value of the national land. This study divides the conservation areas by means of using relative elevation, slope, and development of housing land based on environmental evaluation of the national land. The relative elevation is obtained by the difference of altitude at the edge of the forest patch extracted from the land cover classification map based on the ridgeline, and the slope is obtained by environment-oriented land suitability analysis. The development of housing land is classified in accordance with the progress of each project. Twenty-six evaluation criteria are divided into five different grades using the minimal indicator approach and then sub-divided into ten grades by means of using the following two scenarios. The first one uses the weight of input materials while the second one relies on the size of patches that are emphasized in landscape ecology. Consequently, such a study demonstrated the following results. The method relying on the weight of input materials revealed the limitation of emphasizing input materials excessively, whereas the method of considering the size of patches resulted in the division of conservation areas that embody regional characteristics. This study is meaningful in that it classifies the conservation areas by reflecting the regional characteristics and the ecological values of animals and plants.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.185-195
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• 2020

Background: The flathead grey mullet Mugil cephalus has the widest distribution among mugilid species. Recent studies based on mitochondrial DNA sequences showed that the species comprises at least 14 different groups, three of which occur in the northwest Pacific. We analyzed the otolith microchemistry of M. cephalus at several locations in Korea to improve understanding of migration pattern and population origin. Results: We collected 123 sagittal otoliths from seven locations and determined their concentrations of eight elements (⁷Li, ²⁴Mg, ⁵⁵Mn, ⁵⁷Fe, ⁶⁰Ni, ⁶³Cu, ⁸⁸Sr, and ¹³⁸Ba) using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Mean otolith elemental ratios differed significantly among the locations. The Sr:Ca, Fe:Ca, and Ba:Ca ratios were significantly higher than others, and useful chemical signatures for investigating the habitat use of M. cephalus populations. We identified five diverse and complicated migration patterns using the otolith data that we collected: estuarine resident (type I), freshwater migrant (type II), estuarine migrant (type III), seawater resident (type IV), and seawater migrant (type V). A canonical discriminant analysis plot revealed separation of two groups (type II in the Yellow Sea vs. other types in remaining locations). Two locations on Jeju Island, despite their close proximity, had fish with quite different migration patterns, corroborating previous molecular studies that distinguished two groups of fishes. Conclusion: We successfully showed that the migration patterns of the Korean mullet varied by location. Only fish from the western sector of Jeju had a unique migration pattern, which is likely confined population in this area. Among the eight otolith elements measured, the Sr:Ca ratio was found to be the best indicator of migration pattern and population origin.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.17-29
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• 2016

We conducted the study on the relationship between the distribution of coastal sand dune plants and edaphic factors from the shoreline to inland in sand dune ecosystem. The application of TWINSPAN classification based on 10 species, led to the recognition of three vegetative groups (A-C), which associated with their habitats (foredune, hummuck in semistable zone and stable zone). The associations were separated along soil gradient far from the seashore. The relationships between species composition and environmental gradients were explained by canonical correspondence analysis (CCA). Distance from the shoreline was an important indicator to determine soil properties (pH, total ion contents, sand particle sizes, organic matters and nitrogen contents) from the seaward area to inland area and distribution pattern of coastal sand dune plants. Group A is foredune zone, characterized by Calystegia soldanella; group included typical foredune species such as Elymus mollis, Carex kobomugi, Ixeris repens, C. soldanella and Glehnia littoralis. Group B on semi-stabilized zone was characterized by Vitex rotundifolia, a perennial woody shrub. This group was associated the proportion of fine sand size (100 to 250 μm). The results on the proportion of soil particle size showed a transition in sand composition, particularly with respect to the proportion of fine sand size that occurred from the foredune ridge at 32.5 m to the Vitex rotundifolia community at 57.5 m from the shoreline. Group C on stabilized zone was characterized by Zoysia macrostachya, Lathyrus japonicus and Cynodon dactylon and were associated soil organic matter and nitrogen contents. The spatial distribution of plants in the Goraebul coastal sand dune system may result from the interactions between the plant species and environmental heterogeneity.

• KIEAE Journal
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.65-75
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• 2012

The rapid urbanization caused drastic temperature changes in Korea. Excessive urbanization and development result in unpredictable and abnormal climate change all over the world. These changes are reflected in Korean government policy and research about cities, such that various research endeavors have been undergone recently. There are lots of ways to improve the urban environment; the easiest way to solve the urban heat effect problem is to make green spaces within the city. Even though we can't enlarge green spaces over the city limitlessly, it is desperately need for a methodology to efficiently create green space in limited area. Based on awareness of issues as mentioned earlier, we would like to propose landscaping method that can increase thermal comfort in the same area. For this study, simulating the change of temperature, mean radiant temperature, PMV were done due to number of species planted in apartment complex. To increase the reliability of the simulation, first above all, field measurement for temperature change was performed in apartment complex, where residential building are arranged in the form of ㄷ. And based on this data, Envi-met simulation was performed varying 1-7 kinds of species divided by grass, shrubs, arbor (deciduous, conifers) planted in apartment complex. As a result, there was a change less than $1^{\circ}C$ with the increasing number of species in daytime, but the average radiation temperature about $6-7^{\circ}C$ was reduced. In addition, PMV index was improved by more than 0.5 point. Thermal comfort indicator improved significantly depending on the number of species during the day, on the other hand, there were no significant changes at night. As a consequence, this study has shown that not single-species planting but mixed planting varied the number of species would improve the thermal comfort in the same area of landscaping space at daytime.