• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.648-657
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• 2008

This research was conducted to investigate the breeding density and seasonal food items of the magpies in Jeju Island and the near-manned islets. The examination of nest distribution to determine breeding density was performed during breeding season from February 2006 to April 2008, and that of food items from May 2006 to February 2008. A total of 2,113 nests were found across Jeju Island, the average density was $1.33\;nest/km^2$, and the magpies were distributed up to 600 meters above the sea level. The nest density was the highest in the central areas of Jeju Island, with 688 nests at $3.61\;nest/km^2$, while that in the eastern areas was the lowest, with 214 nests at $0.66\;nest/km^2$. In terms of the number of nests depending on the height above the sea level, 1,172 nests, which was equivalent to the density of $1.85\;nest/km^2$, was observed below 100m and highest among the intervals of height, but 16 nests found at 500-600m were the lowest, corresponding to $0.20\;nest/km^2$. The number of nests found in the manned islets near Jeju Island was eight in Biyang-do with the density of $15.38\;nest/km^2$, nine in U-do with $1.49\;nest/km^2$, and one in Gapa-do with $1.15\;nest/km^2$, whereas none of nests were observed in Mara-do. The contents of stomach consisted of 17 types of prey sources including countless bones, eggshells, plants, and seed, most of which were the individuals of the order Coleoptera. In spring and summer, the foraging frequency for invertebrate animals such as insects was high, but less than 30% in winter. In contrast, the magpies preyed upon plants and seeds at the frequency of 10% and 30%, respectively, in spring, while the foraging frequencies for both of them were 100% in winter and higher than any of other seasons. Eggshells and bones of birds were also detected infrequently. If the density of the magpies, which may play role as the upper predator within the ecosystem, increases, it would be expected to affect directly the reduction of the number of the species and population of endemic animals such as small birds and reptiles, etc. Therefore, it is considered that long-term monitoring for the density of the magpies and precaution is prerequisite to minimize adverse effects on ecosystem.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.31-41
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• 2016

Deutzia paniculata is an endemic species to the Korean Peninsula. Despite of importance for conservation, the population structure and habitat characteristics of D. paniculata have not been determined yet. We analyzed the ecological characteristics of the species based on the literature review and field survey. Field survey was conducted on May to October 2014 during which 11 quadrats of size $15{\times}15m$ were studied in six regions. Each of the quadrats were further divided into $5{\times}5m$ small quadrats and population characteristics were recorded. The population and habitat characteristics were analyzed, including species abundance (density and coverage), demographic attributes (flowering rates and fruiting plants), vegetation (structure, species composition), light availability (transmitted light and canopy openness) and soil characteristics (temperature and humidity). We found that D. paniculata mainly distributed in Gyeongsangdo (including Taebaek in Gangwondo) along a broad elevational range of 290~959 m (mean: 493 m) above sea level. In preferred habitat the species grows within the slope range of $7^{\circ}$ and $35^{\circ}$ with the average of $16^{\circ}$. D. paniculata was generally distributed on talus deposits and low adjacent slopes. The average number of individual plants per small quadrat was 12.5 with the mean density $0.5stems\;m^{-2}$. The vegetative reproduction was frequent in D. paniculata and mean flowering rate was as low as 15%. Altogether 138 taxa were found in whole observation area with the dominant tree species mainly spring ephemerals, such as Cornus controversa (importance value: 25.5%) and Fraxinus rhynchophylla (importance value: 15.8%). Although, C. controversa usually grows on steep slopes and F. rhynchophylla mostly distributed at high-altitudes, however, both species distributed in disturbed environments and among talus deposits. Thus based on our results, we concluded that D. paniculata is a disturbance-prone species, primarily existing in habitats subjected to natural disturbances, such as floods. The species occurs less at anthropogenically disturbed sites, thus there is no apparent threat to the populations and habitat of D. paniculata.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.570-579
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• 2015

Lindera sericea, which belongs to genus Lindera in the Lauraceae family, is labeled under Least Concerned (LC) among Korean rare plants, floristics specific species IV grade and also flagpole species of the Mudeung National Park. It is distributed in Mt. Mudeung, Mt. Cheonbong and Mt. Chogye within gradients from $12^{\circ}$ to $51^{\circ}$. The slope area is from northeast to northwest sides and the altitude range of distribution site is between 220 m and 533 m. The vascular plants in the quadrate where Lindera sericea were studied were identified as a total of 72 taxa; 37 families, 54 genera, 66 species, 5 variants and 1 forma. Among the floristics specific species, IV grade species was Lindera sericea and III grade species were Stewartia pseudocamellia and Acer palmatum. Korean endemic species were Stewartia pseudocamellia and Carex okamotoi. As for the vegetation group, Quercus mongolica and Q. serratak - Lindera sericea, Styrax japonicus populations were found in Mt. Mudeung area where Lindera sericea appeared, Stewartia pseudocamellia-Lindera sericea and Sasa borealis populations were found in Mt. Cheonbong areas, Carpinus laxiflora - Lindera sericea and Sasa borealis populations were found in Mt. Chogye area, and Stewartia pseudocamellia-Lindera sericea and Sasa borealis populations were found in Songgwangsa area. A total number of 662 Lindera sericea individuals were examined. The number of trees with 1 trunk including younger individuals was 353 (53.32%), and the number of trees with 2 to 5 stems was 270 (40.79%). The number of trees with the greatest number of sprouts was 27. Of 662 trees in total, the total number of sprouts was 1,198. Among these, 699 trees (58.34%) were between 50 cm and 150 cm in height. The tallest tree was 585 cm. The most common root-collar diameter of sprouts (992, 82.81%) was under 1 cm, followed by the sprouts with collar diameter from 1.0 to 1.5 cm(156, 13.2%). Among them, the largest root-collar diameter was 3.2 cm. This Lindera sericea specimen had the tallest trunk (565 cm) which was torn lengthwise on one side. Its root and breast parts were decayed by 50% and 25 respectively. Some branches of the three trunks that were more than 4 m in length were dead in the apical portion. Therefore, it is proposed that the Korean Lindera sericea maintains an apical dominance tree type while showing morphological adaptation as a typical shrub because it autonomously decays some branches and trunks over a certain height while increasing the number of its sprouts.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.271-279
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• 2013

The species of Corydalis cornupetala Y.H.Kim et J.H.Jeong Which is belong to the Corydaliaceae is only distributed at the Gyaejeong Forest in Gyeongsan. As one of the spring ephemeral plants, this species has limited growing period. The present study is on site characteristics and vegetation structure in the wild habitats of Corydalis cornupetala Y.H.Kim et J.H.Jeong and offers basic information on habitat conservation including recovery plan. The soil texture is silty loam and soil acidity is ranged as pH 5.4~5.9. The electric conductivity was 0.22-0.50 ds/m and soil organic content is ranged as 7.61~15.78 %. Fifty nine vascular plants were identified from 5 quadrats. According to the two way cluster analysis applied by the PC-ORD, the community was classified as Acer ginnala, Vicia amoena and Stellaria aquatica. The habitat of Corydalis cornupetala Y.H.Kim et J.H.Jeong was determined by the dissimilarity indices rather than the species number of appearance. Species diversity was 1.26, and dominance and evenness were found to be 0.08 and 0.92, respectively.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.23-36
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• 2010

The Cat Ba Islands in Hai Phong City, northern Vietnam, consist of a large limestone island with a maximum height of 322 m above sea level and 366 small limestone islets with a total area of about $180\;km^2$. The islands are relicts of karst limestone mountains that became submerged during the Holocene transgression 7000 - 8000 year ago. The combination of the longtime karst process and recent marine processes in the monsoonal tropical zone has created a very diversity landscape on the Cat Ba Islands that can be divided into 3 habitat types with 16 forms. The first habitat type is the karst mountains and hills, including karst mountains and hills, karst valleys and dolines, karst lakes, karst caves, and old marine terraces. The second habitat type is the limestone island coast, including beaches, mangrove marshes, tidal flats, rocky coasts, marine notch caves, marine karst lakes, and bights. The third habitat type is karst plains submerged by the sea, including karst cones (fengcong) and towers (fengling), bedrock exposed on the seabed, sandy mud seabed, and submerged channels. Like the landscape, the biodiversity is also high in ecosystems composed of scrub cover - bare hills, rainy tropical forests, paddy fields and gardens, swamps, caves, beaches, mangrove forests, tidal flats, rocky coasts, marine krast lakes, coral reefs, hard bottoms, seagrass beds and soft bottoms. The ecosystems on the Cat Ba Islands that support very high species biodiversity include tropical evergreen rainforests, soft bottoms; coral reefs, mangrove forests, and marine karst lakes. A total of 2,380 species have been recorded in the Cat Ba Islands, included 741 species of terrestrial plants; 282 species of terrestrial animals; 30 species of mangrove plants; 287 species of phytoplankton; 79 species of seaweed; 79 species of zooplankton; 196 species of marine fishes; 154 species of corals; and 538 species of zoobenthos. Many of these species are listed in the Red Book of Vietnam as endangered species, included the white-headed or Cat Ba langur (Trachypithecus poliocephalus), a famous endemic species. Human activities have resulted in significantly changes to the landscape end ecosytems of the Cat Ba islands; however, many natural aspects of the islandsd have been preserved. For this reason, the Cat Ba Islands were recognized as a Biological Reserved Area by UNESCO in 2004.

• Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.128-138
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• 2013

The conservation status of an endemic perennial herb, Hanabusaya asiatica (Nakai) Nakai (Campanulaceae) was determined by applying the IUCN risk assessment criteria from our field study and available specimen data. Also, the GIS technology was used to develop a species distribution map to calculate the extent of occurrence (EOO) and area of occupancy (AOO) for the taxon. After two years of continuous field studies, 269 mature individuals were found in four localities in 2011, while 216 mature individuals were confirmed in three localities in 2012. Based on the following data, such as EOO (2,742 $km^2$), AOO (76 $km^2$) and estimated population size of mature individuals, the taxon, which is known as 20 localities in Korean peninsula, is evaluated as the category of Endangered (EN). A major difficulty in application of IUCN criteria to Korean rare plants were the lack of essential biological information and understanding the correct knowledge of the IUCN criteria in previous Korean studies. Sound conclusions regarding the conservation status of individual species require more intensive population studies, observations, and applying IUCN assessment procedures correctly.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.536-544
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• 2017

Abeliophyllum distichum Nakai is deciduous shrubs of flowering plant in Oleaceae. It is important plant resources and consists of one species in the world. Also the endemic plant of A. distichum has been protected and designed endangered plant in Korea. For this reason, study on the immature seeds of A. distichum (ADS) hasn't progressed. In the present study, we evaluated the antioxidant activity and inhibitory effects on proteins and mRNA levels were related in the whitening effect in B16F10 cells. ADS was effective for reaction oxygen species (ROS). ROS causes various diseases such as aging, inflammation, cancer, and etc. Antioxidant properties were evaluated DPPH, ABTS radical scavenging activity and Reducing power. Plants were known that contained phenolic compounds were related in antioxidant activity. Phenolic compounds were phytochemicals commonly named natural polyphenols. These are secondary metabolites of plants involved in the defense against different types of stresses. In results, ADS suppressed the expression and transcription of Tyrosinase, TRP-1, TRP-2, and Microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF). Tyrosinase, tyrosinase-related protein 1 (TRP-1), tyrosinase-related protein 1 (TRP-2) are known to play an important role in melanin biosynthesis. MITF regulated the expression and transcription of Tyrosinase, TRP-1, and TRP-2. In conclusion, ADS was effective in both antioxidant activities and whitening effects. Also, they were associated with the content of phenolic compounds. We suggested that ADS can be use antioxidants and skin-whitening functional cosmetics material derived from natural plant resources.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2018

Background: In the study, the effects of elevated $CO_2$ and temperature on the nitrogen content, carbon content, and C:N ratio of seven rare and endangered species (Quercus gilva, Hibiscus hambo, Paliurus ramosissimus, Cicuta virosa, Bupleurum latissimum, Viola raddeana, and Iris dichotoma) were examined under control (ambient $CO_2$ + ambient temperature) and treatment (elevated $CO_2$ + elevated temperature) for 3 years (May 2008 and June 2011). Results: Elevated $CO_2$ concentration and temperature result in a decline in leaf nitrogen content for three woody species in May 2009 and June 2011, while four herb species showed different responses to each other. The nitrogen content of B. latissimum and I. dichotoma decreased under treatment in either 2009 and 2011. The leaf nitrogen content of C. virosa and V. raddeana was not significantly affected by elevated $CO_2$ and temperature in 2009, but that of C. virosa increased and that V. raddeana decreased under the treatment in 2011. In 2009, it was found that there was no difference in carbon content in the leaves of the six species except for that of P. ramosissimus. On the other hand, while there was no difference in carbon content in the leaves of Q. gilva in the control and treatment in 2011, carbon content in the leaves of the remaining six species increased due to the rise of $CO_2$ concentration and temperature. The C:N ratio in the leaf of C. virosa grown in the treatment was lower in both 2009 and 2011 than that in the control. The C:N ratio in the leaf of V. raddeana decreased by 16.4% from the previous year, but increased by 28.9% in 2011. For the other five species, C:N ratios increased both in 2009 and 2011. In 2009 and 2011, chlorophyll contents in the leaves of Q. gilva and H. hamabo were higher in the treatment than those in the control. In the case of P. ramosissimus, the ratio was higher in the treatment than that in the control in 2009, but in 2011, the result was the opposite. Among four herb species, the chlorophyll contents in the leaves of C. virosa, V. raddeana, and I. dichotoma did not show any difference between gradients in 2009, but decreased due to the rise of $CO_2$ concentration and temperature in 2011. Leaf nitrogen and carbon contents, C:N ratio, and chlorophyll contents in the leaves of seven rare and endangered species of plant were found to be influenced by the rise and duration of $CO_2$ concentration and temperature, species, and interaction among those factors. Conclusions: The findings above seem to show that long-term rise of $CO_2$ concentration, and temperature causes changes in physiological responses of rare and endangered species of plant and the responses may be species-specific. In particular, woody species seem to be more sensitive to the rise of $CO_2$ concentration and temperature than herb species.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.1-20
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• 2005

This study aims to investigate the flora of Mt. Gaya National Park, especially focused on the forested wetland vegetation of Danji-bong area. The flora of Mt. Gaya was investigated from April in 2003 to October in 2004. Vascular plants of this area consist of total 465 taxa, 4 hybrids, 12 forma, 75 varieties, 1 subspecies, 373 species, 268 genera, 91 families. It corresponds to 11.4% of totally 4,071 taxa appeared in Korea. Korean endemic plants were composed 11 families, 15 genera, 14 species, 1 variety and totaling 15 taxa. And also actual vegetation structures were analyzed the newly founded forested wetland and natural population Ajuga spectabilis on the Danji-bong area using the vegetation and the species composition by tree layer.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.1-18
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• 2016

This study was carried out to investigate the flora of the western front (Paju-Yencheon Area) of the Civilian Control Zone. Vascular plants collected in these areas were a total of 558 taxa composing of 501 species, 3 subspecies, 48 varieties and 1 forma of 330 genera under 109 families This shows that 11% of the 4,880 vascular plant species that are known to exist in Korea is distributed in the western part of the DMZ. 1 taxa of endangered species designated by the Ministry of Environment was found: the Polygonatum stenophyllum Maxim in the edge of the military operation road from Taepung observatory to Imjin river. For the floristically specific ones of the Korean floristic zones, 3 taxa of the $5^{th}$ grade, 3 taxa of the $4^{th}$ grade, 13 taxa of the $3^{rd}$ grade, 13 taxa of the $2^{nd}$ grade and 22 taxa of the $1^{st}$ grade were found. For the endemic species of Korea, 4 taxa including Cirsium setidens (Dunn) Nakai were confirmed to be distributed mostly on the slope or the cutting area. Among the collected rare plants (11 taxa), there were 1 taxa of endangered species, 4 taxa of vulnerable species and 6 taxa of least concern species. Also, 51 taxa of naturalized plants were identified and 4 taxa of ecosystem disturbance organism designated by the Ministry of Environment were identified. The urbanization index and naturalization index for all species were estimated to be 15.89% and 9.14% respectively. Our survey is expected to be considered as primary data of biological diversity and ecological axis in the DMZ and the western part of the DMZ. According to the results of this study, it is thought to be necessary to establish policies for conservation and protection of the DMZ.