• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.29-43
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• 2024

Legally protected species are one of the crucial considerations in the field of natural ecology when conducting environmental impact assessments (EIAs). The occurrence of legally protected species, especially 'Endangered Wildlife' designated by Ministry of Environment, significantly influences the progression of projects subject to EIA, necessitating clear investigations and presentations of their habitats. In perspective of statistics, a minimum of 30 occurrence coordinates is required for population prediction, but most of endangered wildlife has insufficient coordinates and it posing challenges for distribution prediction through modeling. Consequently, this study aims to propose modeling methodologies applicable when coordinate data are limited, focusing on Rodgersia podophylla, representing characteristics of endangered wildlife and northern plant species. For this methodology, 30 random sampling coordinates were used as input data, assuming little survey data, and modeling was performed using individual models included in BIOMOD2. After that, the modeling results were evaluated by using discrimination capacity and the reality reflection ability. An optimal modeling technique was proposed by ensemble the remaining models except for the MaxEnt model, which was found to be less reliable in the modeling results. Alongside discussions on discrimination capacity metrics(e.g. TSS and AUC) presented in modeling results, this study provides insights and suggestions for improvement, but it has limitations that it is difficult to use universally because it is not a study conducted on various species. By supporting survey site selection in EIA processes, this research is anticipated to contribute to minimizing situations where protected species are overlooked in survey results.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.482-496
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• 2023

Many changes in the scale and structure of the Korean rice cropping system have been made over the past few decades. Still, insufficient research has been conducted on the sustainability of this system. This study analyzed changes in the Korean rice cropping system's sustainability from a system ecology perspective using an emergy approach. For this purpose, an emergy table was created for the Korean rice cropping system in 2011, 2016, and 202, and an emergy-based indicator analysis was performed. The emergy analysis showed that the total emergy input to the rice cropping system decreased from 10,744E+18 sej year^-1 to 8,342E+18 sej year^-1 due to decreases in paddy field areas from 2011 to 2021, and the proportion of renewable resources decreased by 1.4%. The emergy input per area (ha) was found to have decreased from 13.13E+15 sej ha^-1 year^-1 in 2011 to 11.89E+15 sej ha^-1 year^-1 in 2021, and the leading cause was a decrease in nitrogen fertilizer usage and working hours. The amount of emergy used to grow 1 g of rice stayed the same between 2016 and 2021 (specific emergy: 13.3E+09 sej g^-1), but the sustainability of the rice cropping system (emergy sustainability index, ESI) continued to decrease (2011: 0.107, 2016: 0.088, and 2021: 0.086). This study provides quantitative information on the emergy input structure and characteristics of Korean rice cropping systems. The results of this study can be used as a valuable reference in establishing measures to improve the ecological sustainability of the Korean rice cropping system.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.99-111
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• 2022

Vegetation is the basis for biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. In the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), which is the most direct and efficient policy measure to prevent degradation of nature, vegetation-related assessment has limitations as it is not based on quantitative and scientific methods. In addition, it focuses on the presence of protected species; hence, it does not take into account the role of vegetation as a habitat on a wide-area scale. As a way to overcome these limitations, this study aims to contribute to the quantification and advancement of future EIA on vegetation. Through the review of previous studies, core areas, connectivity, and vegetation condition were derived as the items to be dealt within the macroscopic aspect of vegetation impact assessment. Each item was spatially constructed using land cover maps and satellite imageries, and time series change analysis was performed. As a result, it was found that vegetation has been continuously deteriorating due to development in all aspects, and in particular, development adversely affects not only the inside of the project site but also the surrounding area. Although this study suggested the direction for improvement of the EIA in the vegetation sector based on data analysis, a more specific methodology needs to be established in order to apply it to the actual EIA process. By actively utilizing various environmental spatial data, the impact of the development on the natural ecosystem can be minimized.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.683-696
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• 2023

The conservation of wetland ecosystems has a significant role in climate change. Notably, the Han River Protected Area, including the Siam-ri wetland and Janghang wetland, provides high biodiversity value. Thus, it is necessary to comprehensively evaluate the function and value of wetland ecosystems. This study evaluated the ecosystem services of Siam-ri and Janghang Wetlands located in the Han River Protected Area using the Rapid Assessment Wetland Ecosystem Services approach, a function-oriented ecosystem analysis. The results were calculated using the Ecosystem Services Index formula to analyze wetland ecosystem services. We also assessed the key ecosystem services based on a focus group interview. We identified that the supporting and cultural services index scores were relatively high in the study area. The results can provide helpful information for sustainable wetland conservation, conservation planning as primary data, and raising awareness for the Han River Protected Area.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.46-58
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• 2024

Pollinators are organisms that carry out the pollination process of plants and include Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, Diptera, and Coleoptera. Among them, bees not only pollinate plants but also improve urban green spaces damaged by land use changes, providing a habitat and food for birds and insects. Today, however, the number of pollinating plants is decreasing due to issues such as early flowering due to climate change, fragmentation of green spaces due to urbanization, and pesticide use, which in turn leads to a decline in bee populations. The decline of bee populations directly translates into problems, such as reduced biodiversity in cities and decreased food production. Urban beekeeping has been proposed as a strategy to address the decline of bee populations. However, there is a problem asurban beekeeping strategies are proposed without considering the complex structure of the socio-ecological system consisting of bees foraging and pollination activities and are therefore unsustainable. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the socio-ecological system of honeybees, which are pollinators, structurally using system thinking and propose a green space planning strategy to revitalize urban beekeeping. For this study, previous studies that centered on the social and ecological system of bees in cities were collected and reviewed to establish the system area and derive the main variables for creating a causal loop diagram. Second, the ecological structure of bees' foraging and pollination activities and the structure of bees' ecological system in the city were analyzed, as was the social-ecological system structure of urban beekeeping by creating an individual causal loop diagram. Finally, the socio-ecological system structure of honey bees was analyzed from a holistic perspective through the creation of an integrated causal loop diagram. Citizen participation programs, local government investment, and the creation of urban parks and green spaces in idle spaces were suggestedas green space planning strategies to revitalize urban beekeeping. The results of this study differ from previous studies in that the ecological structure of bees and the social structure of urban beekeeping were analyzed from a holistic perspective using systems thinking to propose strategies, policy recommendations, and implications for introducing sustainable urban beekeeping.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.525-549
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• 2022

The process of biological invasion is led by the dynamics of a population as a demographic and evolutionary unit. Spatial structure can affect the population dynamics, and it is worth being considered in research on biological invasion which is always accompanied by dispersal. Metapopulation theory is a representative approach to spatially structured populations, which is chiefly applied in the field of ecology and evolutionary biology despite the controversy about its definition. In this study, metapopulation was considered as a spatially structured population that includes at least one subpopulation with significant extinction probability. The early phase of the invasion is suitable to be analyzed in aspects of the metapopulation concept because the introduced population usually has a high extinction probability, and their ecological·genetic traits determining the invasiveness can be affected by the metapopulation structure. Although it is important in the explanation of the prediction of the invasion probability, the metapopulation concept is rarely used in ecological research about biological invasion in Korea. It is expected that applying the metapopulation theory can supply a more detailed investigation of the invasion process at the population level, which is relatively inadequate in Korea. In this study, a framework dividing the invasive metapopulation into long- and middle-distance scales by the relative distance of movement to the natural dispersal range of species is proposed to easily analyze the effect of a metapopulation in real cases. Increased understanding of the mechanisms underlying invasions and improved prediction of future invasion risk are expected with the metapopulation concept and this framework.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.19 no.10
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• pp.74-81
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• 2018

This study investigated the ecological factors influencing second-year middle school students' academic motivation. A total of 371 students were surveyed for this study and data were analyzed for descriptive statistics using SPSS Win 21.0. The results of this study revealed that female students showed higher academic motivation than male students. However, school life satisfaction was strong for both male and female students. Finally, the introduction of parent education programs that target children to improve learners' self-identity and parent-child or teacher-student communication programs are necessary to enhance academic motivation.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.15.1-15.14
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• 2020

Background: Large rivers are ecological treasures with high human value, but most have experienced decades of degradation from industrial and municipal sewage, row-crop agricultural practices, and hydrologic alteration. We reviewed published analyses of long-term fish diversity publications from three intensively managed large river ecosystems to demonstrate the conservation potential of large river ecosystems. Results: We show how the incorporation of recent advances in river concepts will allow a better understanding of river ecosystem functioning and conservation. Lastly, we focus on the Wabash River ecosystem based on high conservation value and provide a list of actions to maintain and support the ecosystem. In the Wabash River, there were originally 66 species of freshwater mussels, but now only 30 species with reproducing populations remain. Although there were multiple stressors over the last century, the largest change in Wabash River fish biodiversity was associated with rapid increases in municipal nutrient loading and invasive bigheaded carps. Conclusions: Like similarly neglected large river systems worldwide, the Wabash River has a surprising amount of ecological resilience and recovery. For instance, of the 151 native fish species found in the 1800s, only three species have experienced local extinctions, making the modern assemblage more intact than many comparable rivers in the Mississippi River basin. However, not all the changes are positive or support the idea of recovery. Primary production underpins the productivity of these ecosystems, and the Wabash River phytoplankton assemblages shifted from high-quality green algae in the 1970s to lower less nutritional blue-green algae as nutrient and invasive species have recently increased. Our recommendations for the Wabash River and other altered rivers include the restoration of natural hydrology for the mainstem and tributaries, nutrient reductions, mechanisms to restore historical hydrologic patterns, additional sediment controls, and improved local hydraulics.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2023

To understand the health conditions and growth patterns of forest estate for environmental resilience and climate change mitigation, assessment of structure and species diversity is paramount. This study aimed at assessing the structure, alpha, and beta diversities of tree species in three ecological zones in Taraba, Nigeria for management purposes. In recent time, no research has been reported on the structure and beta diversity of the study areas. A systematic sampling design was used for data collection. Five sample plots of 50×50 m were laid in each of the six natural forest areas. The result showed a mean DBH (42.5 cm) and a tree height (15.0 m) from the forests. The forests have a structure of an inverse "J-shape," which is typical of natural forests in the tropics. The southern Guinea savanna zone had the highest mean Shannon-Weiner diversity index (2.8). The least beta diversity index (0.02) was between Baissa and Jen Gininya forest areas. Baissa and Bakin Dutse Protected Forest Areas (PFAs) contained 76.5% of the tree species. There is a high chance of all tree species to be found in these 2 forest areas. Proximity to a location influences how similar two tree species are, according to the least beta diversity index (0.02) recorded. The Federal Government's method of management for the forest, known as Gashaka Gumti National Park, may be responsible for the high beta diversity index in the Montane ecozone. Therefore, it should be strongly encouraged to practice strict oversight of natural areas, as their contributions to reducing climate change in Taraba State, Nigeria, cannot be overstated.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.149-169
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• 2022

Hwapocheon stream is located in Gimhae-si, Gyeongsangnam-do, and a part was declared a protected wetland area in 2017. In 2020 and 2021, we investigated the community structure of benthic macroinvertebrates of the Hwapocheon stream to provide ecological information for the management of the wetland. As a result, 4 phyla, 6 classes, 20 orders, 51 families, 83 species, and 2,621 individuals of benthic macroinvertebrates were identified. The average indices of diversity, richness, and evenness were the highest in the midstream area, whereas the highest average index of dominance was observed upstream. Seven biological water quality evaluations based on the distribution of benthic macroinvertebrates showed that the Biological Monitoring Working Party was an extremely suitable method for environmental evaluation of the Hwapocheon stream. Regarding functional feeding groups, the number of species of predators and gathering-collectors was the highest, and considering habitual dwelling groups, the number of species of clingers and sprawlers was the highest. The species number of Odonata, Hemiptera, and Coleoptera increased toward the downstream area, whereas the community loss index was the highest upstream. We also investigated relative resistance and resilience based on the distribution of aquatic insects and found that community stability was the highest downstream, whereas the lowest upstream.