• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.558-568
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• 2021

Poor supervision and tourism activities have resulted in forest degradation in islands in Korea. Since the southern coastal region of the Korean peninsula was originally dominated by warm-temperate evergreen broad-leaved forests, it is desirable to restore forests in this region to their original vegetation. In this study, we identified suitable areas to be restored as evergreen broad-leaved forests by analyzing the environmental factors of existing evergreen broad-leaved forests in the islands of Jeollanam-do. We classified forest lands in the study area into six vegetation types from Sentinel-2 satellite images using a deep learning algorithm and analyzed the tolerance ranges of existing evergreen broad-leaved forests by measuring the locational, topographic, and climatic attributes of the classified vegetation types. Results showed that evergreen broad-leaved forests were distributed more in areas with a high altitudes and steep slope, where human intervention was relatively low. The human intervention has led to a higher distribution of evergreen broad-leaved forests in areas with lower annual average temperature, which was an unexpected but understandable result because an area with higher altitude has a lower temperature. Of the environmental factors, latitude and average temperature in the coldest month (January) were relatively less contaminated by the effects of human intervention, thus enabling the identification of suitable restoration areas of the evergreen broad-leaved forests. The tolerance range analysis of evergreen broad-leaved forests showed that they mainly grew in areas south of the latitude of 34.7° and a monthly average temperature of 1.7℃ or higher in the coldest month. Therefore, we predicted the areas meeting these criteria to be suitable for restoring evergreen broad-leaved forests. The suitable areas cover 614.5 km², which occupies 59.0% of the total forest lands on the islands of Jeollanamdo, and 73% of actual forests that exclude agricultural and other non-restorable forest lands. The findings of this study can help forest managers prepare a restoration plan and budget for island forests.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.336-346
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• 2021

The enforcement of the Nagoya Protocol, which regulates the acquisition and use of genetic sources, an essential material for biotechnology R&D, has imposed a burden for additional documentation works to researchers. In the past, countries regarded genetic resources as a common human heritage and thus allowed researchers to use them freely. However, they can no longer afford the luxury of such freedom now since many countries are introducing new laws and regulations on the acquisition and use of the resources as the Nagoya Protocol recognizes the exclusive ownership of genetic resources. Therefore, Korea, which is highly dependent on foreign genetic resources, needs a more systematic response. This paper aims to review the key contents of the Nagoya Protocol to raise awareness among domestic and foreign genetic resource users, including researchers of environment and ecology and present the overall structure, and flow of acquisition, access, and benefit sharing (ABS) for the use of foreign genetic resources to help them respond appropriately to the new landscape. The researchers' efforts and support at the national level are necessary at the same time to appropriately respond to the Nagoya Protocol. First, the researchers must understand the overall framework and the specific response in each stage under the Nagoya Protocol scheme. It is necessary to respond to the ABS procedure of the resource provider country from accessing genetic resources to sharing benefits resulting from it. In that regard, the Nagoya Protocol has imposed more restrictions on research activities and raised the burden outside of research. The current trend of recognizing the country's sovereign rights over genetic resources is likely to continue and widespread worldwide as resource-rich countries are expected to continue protecting their resources. Therefore, our study will help environmental ecology researchers understand ABS and conduct research under the Nagoya Protocol and legal obligations of resource provider countries step by step, from access to benefit sharing.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.299-308
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• 2021

Fe(II) released from mining activities is precipitated as various Fe(III)-oxyhydroxides when exposed to an oxidizing environment including mine drainage. Ferrihydrite, one of the representative precipitated Fe(III) minerals, is easy to adsorb heavy metals and other pollutants due to the large specific surface area caused by very low crystallinity. Ferrihydrite is transformed to thermodynamically more stable goethite in the natural environment. Hence, information on the transformation of ferrihydrite to goethite and the related mobility of heavy metals in the acid mine drainage is important to predict the behaviors of those elements during ferrihydrite to goethite transition. The behaviors of heavy metals during the transformation of ferrihydrite to goethite were investigated for core samples collected from an AMD treatment system in the Heungjin-Taemaek coal mine by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), chemical analysis, and statistical analysis. XRD results showed that ferrihydrite gradually transformed to goethite from the top to the bottom of the core samples. Chemical analysis showed that the relative concentration of As was significantly high in the core samples compared with that in the drainage, indicating that As was likely to be adsorbed strongly on or coprecipitated with iron oxyhydroxide. Correlation analysis also indicated that As can be easily removed from mine drainage during iron mineral precipitation due to its high affinity to Fe. The concentration ratio of As, Cd, Co, Ni, and Zn to Fe generally decreased with depth in the core samples, suggesting that mineral transformation can increase those concentrations in the drainage. In contrast, the concentration ratio of Cr to Fe increased with depth, which can be explained by the chemical bond of iron oxide and chromate, and surface charge of ferrihydrite and goethite.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.557-574
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• 2020

The purpose of this study is to analyze the cause of high PM2.5 mass concentrations in Cheongju for the period of non-Asian dust days using the weather chart, the stream lines at 850 hPa, the backward trajectory, and the weather and air quality model. As a result of analyzing the time series of PM2.5 concentrations and weather charts for the episodic days in Cheongju, the weather patterns were shown in related to long-range transport of PM2.5 from China or surrounding areas. In fact, in the PM2.5 time series, 60-80 ㎍ m-3, which is more than 2-3 times higher than the concentration attributed to Cheongju activities, was observed as a background concentration related to long-range transport. The distribution of high PM2.5 concentration was typically dependent on the locations of the high and low pressures above the ground while the upper jet stream passed through the Korean Peninsula. Consequently, the high PM2.5 concentration in Cheongju is due to massive air pollutants in the form of smog originated from industrial, household and energy combustion sources of Beijing and other nearby regions of China. These air pollutants move along a fast zonal wind caused by the atmospheric pressure arrangement. high concentration of PM2.5 in Cheongju City is because the mass of air pollutants in the form of smog generated from industrial, household and energy combustion origins in Beijing or other nearby regions of China move along a fast wind speed zone according to the atmospheric pressure arrangement of long-distance transportation. Air pollutants including PM2.5 show an M-shaped pattern that passes through the topography of the Cheongju basin from north to south as a belt or band-shaped pollutant. The ground high pressure according to the above-ground high pressure expansion area and cut-off low or low pressure arrangement, or the bands in the form of river stems appear in a gradual incremental pattern that changes into a U-shape under the influence of the wind.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.630-646
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• 2020

In rural areas, nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N) pollution caused by agricultural activities is a major obstacle to the use of shallow groundwater as domestic water or drinking water. In this study, the water quality characteristics of shallow groundwater in Hyogyo-ri agricultural area of Yesan-gun, Chungcheongnam-do province was studied in connection with land use and chemical composition of soil layer. The average NO3-N concentration in groundwater exceeds the domestic and agricultural standard water qualities of Korea and is caused by anthropogenic sources such as fertilizer, livestock wastewater, and domestic sewage. The groundwater type mainly belongs to Ca(Na)-Cl type, unlike Ca-HCO3 type, a general type of shallow groundwater. The average NO3-N concentration (7.7 mg L-1) in groundwater in rice paddy/other (upstream, ranch, and residential) area is lower than the average concentration (22.8 mg L-1) in farm field area, due to a lower permeability in paddy area than that in farm field area. According to the trend analysis by the Mann-Kendall and Sen tests, the NO3-N concentration in the shallow groundwater shows a very weak decreasing trend with ~0.011 mg L-1yr-1 with indicating almost equilibrium state. Meanwhile, SO42- and HCO3- concentrations display annual decreasing trend by 15.48 and 13.15%, respectively. At a zone of 0 to 5 m below the surface, the average hydraulic conductivity is 1.86×10-5 cm s-1, with a greater value (1.03×10-4cm s-1) in sand layer and a smaller value (2.50×10-8 cm s-1) in silt layer.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.588-598
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• 2020

The seafloor geology of Ieodo, a submerged volcanic island, has been poorly understood, although this place has gained considerable attention for ocean and climate studies. The main purpose of the study is to understand and elucidate types, distribution patterns and provenance of the surficial sediments in and around the Ieodo area. For this purpose, 25 seafloor sediments were collected using a box-corer, these having been analyzed for grain sizes. XRD (X-ray Diffraction) analysis of fine-grained sediments was conducted for characterizing clay minerals. The peak of Ieodo exists in the northern region, while in the southern area, shore platforms occur. The extensive platform in the south results from severe erosion by strong waves. However, the northern peak still survived from differential weathering. Grain size analyses indicated that gravels and gravelly sands with skeletons and shells were distributed predominantly on the volcanic apron and shore platform. Muddy sediments were found along the Ieodo and the adjacent deeper seafloor. Based on the analysis of clay mineral composition, illites were the most abundant in fine muds, followed by chlorites and kaolinites. The ratio plots of clay minerals for the provenance discrimination suggested that the Ieodo muds were likely to be derived from the Yangtze River (Changjiang River). As a consequence, gravels and gravelly sands with bioclastics may be supplied from the Ieodo volcanic apron by erosion processes. Wave activities might play a major role in transportation and sedimentation. In contrast, fine muds were assumed to be derived from the inflow of the Yangtze River, particularly in summer. Deposition in the Ieodo area is, therefore, probably controlled by the inflow from the Changjiang Dilute Water and summer typhoons from the south.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.49 no.6
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• pp.49-63
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• 2021

The Forest Visitor Centers for Little Children who means preschoolers is an educational facility that achieves holistic growth by experiencing forests, and it should not be completed by installing specific facilities in the forest environment, but should be a space where preschoolers can play freely in the forest environment themselves. This study comprehensively evaluated the current status of Seoul Forest Visitor Centers for Little Children and suggested space improvement measures to enhance the effectiveness of forest experience. Through the theoretical review, seven spatial elements that enhance the effect of forest experience and six areas composing outdoor play areas were derived to prepare an analysis table for current status evaluation, and field survey studies were conducted on 24 centers in Seoul. Through expert interviews, the physical status was examined from the perspective of childhood education and the experiences of the users were summarized. As a result of the study, the Seoul Forest Visitor Center for Little Children is classified into six types according to the location characteristics and spatial structure, and has the characteristics of each type. The effectiveness of forest experience can be enhanced by identifying and revealing the environmental strengths of individual centers. In the case of outdoor experience learning zones, the proportion of exercise play areas was very large. By evenly organizing the forest experience space for each area, it will be possible to provide more diverse experiences to preschoolers. However, the status of uniform facility-oriented cannot be viewed as a fragmentary factor that lowers the effect of forest experience. The key to increasing the effect of forest experience by inducing creative activities is the spatial composition that considers the surrounding natural environment. Facilities should be a medium to help preschoolers' interest move into the forest. This study prepared data to understand the average physical status of the Seoul Forest Visitor Center for Little Children and suggested space improvement measures to increase the effectiveness of forest experience. This can be used as basic data for research to improve the quality level of the Seoul Forest Visitor Center for Little Children about 10 years after the project was implemented.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.565-573
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• 2022

Gingival inflammation is one of the main causes that can be related to various periodontal diseases. Human gingival fibroblast (HGF) is the major constituent in periodontal connective tissue and secretes various inflammatory mediators, such as nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂), upon lipopolysaccharide stimulation. This study is aimed at investigating the anti-inflammatory and antioxidative activities of Lotus Root extract (LRE) in Porphyromonas gingivalis derived lipopolysaccharide (LPS-PG)-stimulated HGF-1 cells. The concentration of NO and PGE₂, as well as their responsible enzymes, inducible NO synthase (iNOS), and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), was analyzed by Griess reaction, ELISA, and western blot analysis. LPS-PG sharply elevated the production and protein expression of inflammatory mediators, which were significantly attenuated by LRE treatment in a dose-dependent manner. LRE treatment also suppressed activation of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)/myeloid differentiation primary response gene 88 (MyD88) and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) in LPS-PG-stimulated HGF-1 cells. In addition, one of phase II enzyme, NAD(P)H quinone dehydrogenase (NQO)-1, and its transcription factor, Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), were significantly induced by LRE treatment. Consequently, these results suggest that LRE ameliorates LPS-PG-induced inflammatory responses by attenuating TLR4/MyD88-mediated NF-κB, and activating NQO-1/Nrf2 antioxidant response element signaling pathways in HGF-1 cells.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.241-259
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• 2022

In general, the REE were produced by mining conventional deposits, such as the carbonatite or the clay-hosted REE deposits. However, because of the recent demand increase for REE in modern industries, unconventional REE deposits emerged as a necessary research topic. Among the unconventional REE recovery methods, the REE-bearing coal deposits are recently receiving attentions. R-types generally have detrital originations from the bauxite deposits, and show LREE enriched REE patterns. Tuffaceous-types are formed by syngenetic volcanic activities and following input of volcanic ash into the basin. This type shows specific occurrence of the detrital volcanic ash-driven minerals and the authigenic phosphorous minerals focused at narrow horizon between coal seams and tonstein layers. REE patterns of tuffaceous-types show flat shape in general. Hydrothermal-types can be formed by epigenetic inflow of REE originated from granitic intrusions. Occurrence of the authigenic halogen-bearing phosphorous minerals and the water-bearing minerals are the specific characteristics of this type. They generally show HREE enriched REE patterns. Each type of REE-bearing coal deposits may occur by independent genesis, but most of REE-bearing coal deposits with high REE concentrations have multiple genesis. For the case of the US, the rare earth oxides (REO) with high purity has been produced from REE-bearing coals and their byproducts in pilot plants from 2018. Their goal is to supply about 7% of national REE demand. For the coal deposits in Korea, lignite layers found in Gyungju-Yeongil coal fields shows coexistence of tuff layers and coal seams. They are also based in Tertiary basins, and low affection from compaction and coalification might resulted into high-REE tuffaceous-type coal deposits. Thus, detailed geologic researches and explorations for domestic coal deposits are required.

• Korea Science and Art Forum
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• v.29
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• pp.305-318
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• 2017

The need for recognizing the crime in the urban spaces as a social problem and finding out specific approaches such as the study of space design and various guidelines for crime prevention is increasing. In this regard, "Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design" (marked as "CPTED") is actively underway. Yeomri-dong Salt Way is the first place to which the Seoul Crime Prevention Design Project was appled. The business objective of improving the local environment has been implemented rationally through cooperation and voluntary participation between subject of the project executives and community members. Since its efficiency has been proven, the sites have been expanded since then and becomes a benchmarking example of each local government.This kind of problem solving effort has the same context in purpose and direction of the 'Village Art Project' which has been implemented since 2009 with the aim of promoting the culture of the underdeveloped area and encouraging the participation of the residents by introducing the public art. It is noteworthy that this trend is centered around the characteristics of community functions and values. The purpose of this study is to propose the application method of community furniture as a way to increase the efficiency of CPTED to improve the 'quality of life' of residents. To do this, we reviewed CPTED, community design, public art literature and prior research, and identified the problems and implications based on the site visit Yeomri-dong of Seoul and Gamcheon Village of Pusan which is the successful model of "Seoul Root out Crime by Design" and 'Maeulmisul Art Project' respectively. The common elements of the two case places identified in this study are as follows: First, the 'lives' of community residents found its place in the center through the activation of community by collaborative activities in addition to the physical composition of the environment. Second, community design and introduction of public art created a new space, and thereby many people came to visit the village and revitalize the local economy. Third, it strengthened the natural monitoring, the territoriality and control, and the activity increase among the CPTED factors. The psychological aspect of CPTED and the emotional function of public art are fused with the 'community furniture', thereby avoiding a vague or tremendous approach to the public space through a specific local context based on the way of thinking and emotion of local people and it will be possible to create an environment beneficial for all. In this way, the possibility and implication of the fusion of CPTED and public art are expected to be able to reduce the social cost through the construction of the crime prevention infrastructure such as expansion of the CPTED application space, and to suggest a plan to implement the visual amenity as a design strategy to regenerate city.